Belmond in 2027: Orient-Express to Monte Carlo, new suites and a Seine charter

Belmond has published its plans for 2027, and they work well as a calendar for the year ahead. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express will stop in Monte Carlo for the first time. Grand Hotel Timeo reopens with new garden suites and a private villa, Hotel Cipriani unveils freshly redesigned rooms and Reid’s Palace adds a new suite. Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons reopens, and Marguerite, A Belmond Boat, makes its Paris debut. Copacabana Palace in Rio comes first, revealing its renovated Pool Wing in November 2026.

The main new journey leaves Paris on 10 May 2027 and travels to Venice by way of the Côte d’Azur, stopping in Monte Carlo for the first time. Belmond describes the route as an annual addition, so this first departure starts a fixture that will return each year. With it, the train’s network grows to 15 European cities. For travellers who would like to spend longer in Italy, the Villeggiatura by Train series continues in 2027. It pairs Italian itineraries with stays at Splendido in Portofino, Villa San Michele in Florence, Hotel Cipriani in Venice and Caruso on the Amalfi Coast.

Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina opens on 25 March 2027 with six redesigned garden Suites and Villa Timeo, a 21-room private residence that has its own ‘secret’ Clementina Bar. Laura Gonzalez led the design. Rooms can be booked one at a time or as a full buyout, which suits a family milestone or a group of friends who want a house of their own. Guests also have access to the Michelin-starred Otto Geleng restaurant and the Dior spa that opened at the hotel in 2026.

In Venice, the multi-year renovation of Hotel Cipriani by Peter Marino continues, with 14 redesigned guest rooms to be unveiled in 2027. They join work already finished: the redesigned lobby, 25 suites and junior suites, Dior Spa Hotel Cipriani and the reimagined Michelin-starred Oro restaurant. Chef Vania Ghedini runs the kitchen at Oro, with culinary direction by Massimo Bottura. Anyone who has stayed at the Cipriani in recent years will find a hotel that has been updated a section at a time, and these rooms are the latest part of that work.

Copacabana Palace reveals its Pool Wing in November 2026 after 19 months of work. The wing returns as an all-suite address with private balconies. It also has the Wellness Club, home to Latin America’s first Dior Spa, the Italian restaurant LUMIO, a new Copa Bar and a boutique dedicated to Brazilian craftsmanship. This makes the wing the first of these openings that can be booked, and it gives a stay in Rio over the southern summer something new.

The Atlantic properties add quieter changes. At Reid’s Palace in Madeira, the Jade Suite opens in 2027. Nini Andrade Silva designed it, and it sits on the fifth floor with views over the Atlantic and Funchal Bay. The hotel is also expanding its wellness programme with Maré Spa treatments, yoga, pilates and sound healing. In Mallorca, La Residencia is adding Cala Residencia to its wellness offering: a secluded cove that guests reach on a guided hike.

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons reopens in 2027 after renovation, with new culinary concepts across the estate. Arnaud Donckele leads them as Culinary Director, so a famous dining address returns under a new culinary leader. In Paris, Marguerite, A Belmond Boat, arrives for the 2027 festive season as a private charter for up to eight guests. The three-day, two-night itinerary on the Seine includes festive menus by Dominique Crenn, access to Parisian attractions and LVMH maisons, and a dedicated Guest Experience Manager.

For planning, the dates that matter are clear. The Monte Carlo journey runs on a single day, 10 May 2027, and Timeo opens on 25 March 2027. Both are worth building a spring trip around, and the Villeggiatura stays make it easy to add time in Italy before or after the train. Marguerite takes no more than eight guests, which suits one family or a small group celebrating the end of the year together. Belmond has not yet given exact reopening dates for Le Manoir, the Cipriani rooms or the Jade Suite, so travellers interested in those should check with the hotels directly.

Source: Belmond