BELMOND HOTELS AND TRAINS

 

The Belmond concept was born when its founders received the keys to the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice.  Back in 1976, the hotel epitomised Venetian glamour.  Set on Guidecca Island, a five-minute ride by private launch from St Mark’s Square, it still does today.  It’s where the great and the good stay when they’re in town, savouring incredible views across the lagoon as they relax into their sumptuous surroundings.

 

The following year, Belmond began collecting the carriages for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which they launched in 1982.  This now links Venice with Europe’s most elegant capitals, transporting travellers back in time as it does so.  Lounging in one of the express train’s exquisite grand suites or settling down for the night in one of the art deco cabins, you can’t help but feel as if you’re reliving the Golden Age of travel on the continent.

 

The Belmond portfolio has expanded further in the past four decades and, as part of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, it now offers discerning travellers the opportunity to enjoy exceptional experiences in some of the world’s most iconic hotels, trains, river cruises and safaris.  

 

Take the Belmond Nelson Hotel in Cape Town for example.  This oasis of calm at the heart of the city has a star-studded history, with the likes of John Lennon, Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela having spent time here in the past.  It’s a place of restored colonial grandeur with lots of modern twists and local artwork.  After a day on the buzzing streets of Cape Town, there’s no better place to relax than with a drink on one of its sun-soaked balconies.

 

Then there’s the Belmond Encanto in Santa Barbara.  Perched high in the Santa Barbara hills with breath-taking views of the American Riviera, it’s been the original Hollywood Hideaway for 101 years.  It’s the type of place where you recline poolside, breathing in the ocean air while you sip a class of crisp local wine – the perfect blend of low-key relaxation and old-school glamour. 

 

From a villa set among cashew and coconut groves on the Andaman Sea to a river cruise along Myanmar’s most fabled river to Mandalay or a lodge built in the shadows of the lost city of Machu Picchu; Stein Travel in partnership with Belmond can bring you to one-of-a-kind destinations right across the globe.