Is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express worth it?
By Aspen Travel Advisors · Last verified · Counts drawn live from the Virtuoso-sourced atlas
Yes, if you are buying an evening rather than a bed. One night on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a long, dressed-up dinner in restored 1920s carriages, a piano bar and a small cabin. Historic Cabins have bunks and a washbasin, with shared toilets and no shower. Suites and Grand Suites add private bathrooms. Travelers expecting hotel comfort or a full night's sleep are the ones disappointed.
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You'll hear back within 24 hours.The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, run by Belmond, is a set of restored vintage sleeping cars, dining cars and a bar car, most of them dating from the 1920s and 1930s. The classic trip is one night: you board in Paris, or in London with a separate morning on Belmond's British Pullman and a coach transfer through the Channel Tunnel, and you arrive in Venice the following afternoon. Belmond also runs occasional departures to and from cities such as Vienna, Prague and Budapest, and a longer annual journey between Paris and Istanbul. Our atlas holds 11 itineraries on this train.
What you are paying for is the evening. Afternoon in a wood-panelled compartment, a multi-course dinner in a dining car where everyone has dressed for it, then the bar car and its piano until late. The cabin is the weak link at the entry level: Historic Cabins are compact, the beds are upper and lower berths, and the toilets are at the end of the carriage with no shower anywhere for those guests. Suites and Grand Suites fix the bathroom problem and widen the room, at a steep step up in price. If you treat it as one extraordinary night between two good hotels, it is usually worth it. If you treat it as transport or as a hotel on wheels, it rarely is.
The three cabin types, side by side
| Cabin | Beds | Bathroom | Shower | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic Cabin | Upper and lower berth, made up at night from a daytime sofa | Washbasin in cabin; toilets shared at the end of the carriage | None | Couples who are comfortable in close quarters and treat it as one night |
| Suite | Twin or double, larger than a Historic Cabin, with a separate seating arrangement | Private en-suite toilet | Yes, in the suite | Most first-timers who can stretch the budget |
| Grand Suite | Double bed, the most space on the train | Private en-suite bathroom | Yes, in the suite | An anniversary or milestone, where the privacy is the point |
The cabin decides how the night feels more than anything else on board. Historic Cabins are the original compartments: a banquette sofa by day, converted by your steward into bunks while you are at dinner. Suites were created later by combining space in the old carriages, and Grand Suites are the largest accommodation on the train, each decorated around a city on the network.
Large luggage travels in a separate baggage car and is not reachable during the journey, so pack one small overnight bag with your evening clothes, sleepwear and the next day's outfit. Space in a Historic Cabin is tight even for that.
What the night actually looks like
The rhythm is the same on most one-night departures, and it is worth knowing in advance because there is less free time than people expect.
- Boarding: your cabin steward shows you in, and the compartment is set up as a sitting room for the afternoon.
- Afternoon: tea or a light meal, the countryside out of the window, and time to change. Dress-up starts early.
- Dinner: several courses in one of the three restored dining cars, one of them known for its Lalique glass panels. Seating times are assigned, and tables are close together.
- Late evening: the bar car, with a pianist, gets crowded after dinner. This is the part people remember.
- Night: your steward has made up the beds. The train moves, stops and shunts through the night, and older carriages are not quiet.
- Morning: breakfast is brought to the cabin, followed by a later meal in the dining car before arrival in Venice in the afternoon.
Who it disappoints, and who it does not
The complaints are consistent, and almost all of them come from mismatched expectations rather than from the train failing at what it is.
- Light sleepers. Vintage bogies, curves and night-time stops mean a broken night for many guests, whatever the cabin.
- Anyone who needs a morning shower and has booked a Historic Cabin. You will arrive in Venice having washed at a basin.
- Tall travelers or anyone uneasy with ladders. The upper berth in a Historic Cabin is narrow and reached by a short ladder.
- Travelers with limited mobility. Corridors are narrow, steps into carriages are steep, and the carriages are historic rather than adapted.
- People who dislike dressing up. Evening wear is expected and most guests go to black tie, so jeans-and-sneakers travelers feel out of place, and Belmond does not permit them on board.
- Value-per-hour shoppers. Measured against a five-star hotel night plus a first-class daytime train, the numbers never work. It is priced as an occasion.
- It suits: couples marking something, rail enthusiasts, people who enjoy the ceremony of dressing for dinner, and anyone who will build a Venice stay around the arrival rather than rushing on.
Where to stay when you step off in Venice
Properties in the Veneto from the supplier feed, smallest first, since an intimate hotel suits the end of this trip better than a large one. Each links to its own page, where the benefits currently on file for it are listed in full.
| Property | Where | Rooms | Benefits listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vista Verona | Verona, Italy | 16 | 9 |
| Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel | Venice, Italy | 17 | 5 |
| Aman Venice | Venice, Italy | 24 | 4 |
| Violino d'Oro | Venice, Italy | 32 | 4 |
| Rosapetra Spa Resort | Cortina D'ampezzo, Italy | 34 | 9 |
| Ancora Cortina | Cortina D'ampezzo, Italy | 38 | 4 |
| Villa Cordevigo | Verona, Italy | 39 | 5 |
| Ca' Sagredo Hotel | Venice, Italy | 42 | 4 |
| Nolinski Venezia - Evok Collection | Venice, Italy | 43 | 5 |
| Airelles Palladio, Venice | Venezia, Italy | 45 | 7 |
| Orient Express Venezia | Venice, Italy | 47 | 4 |
| Sina Centurion Palace | Venice, Italy | 50 | 11 |
Showing 12 of 24 matching properties in the atlas.
Frequently asked
Is a Suite worth the upgrade over a Historic Cabin?
For most first-timers, yes. The private toilet and shower change the morning completely, and the extra room makes changing for dinner easy. If budget is the constraint, a Historic Cabin is fine for one night as long as you go in knowing there is no shower and the beds are bunks. A Grand Suite is worth it only when privacy and space are the reason for the trip.
Should I start in London or Paris?
Paris is the simpler, purer version: you board the sleeping train directly. London adds a morning on the British Pullman to the coast and a coach transfer through the Channel Tunnel before you join the main train in France, which makes for a long first day but gives you two vintage trains instead of one.
Is this the same as the La Dolce Vita Orient Express?
No. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is operated by Belmond. La Dolce Vita Orient Express is a separate, newer train under Accor's Orient Express brand, running routes within Italy with newly designed interiors. They share a name and a heritage, not an operator, and the experience on board is different.