Orient-Express Launches Website for Weddings & Events

This seems like a great way to hold a swank family reunion…or any other kind of gathering, for that matter: Designed specifically with group and event travel in mind, Orient-Express Hotels has launched orient-express.com/events, a new website that offers information and technical content on each of the 45 hotel, train, cruise and restaurant businesses within the luxury travel company’s portfolio. 

The new website is broken down into different sections to help readers find the information they need for both leisure and corporate group travel. Section Highlights Include:

Our Collection: This section of the website contains separate pages dedicated to each OEH property. Planners can find key information on room numbers, venues sizes, best contact, dining and incentive options. Facts and details on each location, from Machu Picchu to St Petersburg, are also included. Good to know: Users can download and view e-brochures, videos, menus and power point presentations on the hotels from the individual property pages.

Great Group Rates: Special rates are highlighted here for the next 12 months and are specifically customized to cater for parties of 10 rooms or more. The page is broken down into calendar months, so planners can find the best offers for the date they are looking to hold their event.

Corporate Events: Examples of creative campaigns are used to illustrate the venues, such as a luxury fashion brand’s photo-shoot at Grand Hotel Timeo in Sicily, the exclusive charter of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express by a perfume company or a car launch at Copacabana Palace in Brazil.

Incentive Travel: Off-the-beaten-track activities and fun ideas for team events are shared here. Activities can include rafting down the Arno River, launched this year at Villa San Michele in Florence and paint-balling at Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg. There are also longer itinerary suggestions that combine a number of properties, such as a seven day Italian itinerary from London to Florence and a seven night journey through Peru.

Wedding & Celebrations: Top venues include El Encanto in Santa Barbara, which opened in March, where clients can choose between five indoor and five outdoor settings for their wedding. A more unusual option, for just two people, is the underwater wedding at Hotel Splendido in Portofino. Idyllic venues for LGBT weddings and civil partnerships are also displayed in the Weddings & Celebrations section including La Samanna in the Caribbean and The Royal Scotsman luxury train.

Leisure Groups: This section outlines the different tours and experiences available to leisure group travelers. Examples include ‘The Chase of Charleston’ organized by Charleston Place in South Carolina, which has guests armed with a Polaroid camera, details of historical locations and a list of tasks to complete. Alternatively, with a host of first-class cookery schools worldwide a culinary experience with OEH is never far away. La Résidence Phou Vao in Luang Prabang, Laos is a highlight; here guests are invited to learn the secrets of preparing exotic Laotian cuisine.

Exclusive Hire: Orient-Express hotels, restaurants, trains and cruises can accommodate any group size for exclusive takeovers from as little as six to as many as 300 guests. For an intimate retreat, The Royal Scotsman can be privately chartered to take 36 guests straight to the heart of the Highlands. Like a fine country house on wheels itineraries can be tailor-made and include a host of activities such as whisky tasting, visits to ruined castles and clay pigeon shooting. Larger venues include La Residencia in Deia, Mallorca which has 67 rooms and Reid’s Palace in Madeira which has 163 rooms.

Fore more information, visit orient-express.com/events and register for access to Orient-Express Hotel’s group’s website. Those that sign-up to the website will also have the option to receive a regular newsletter with all the latest groups news.