Luxury Scottish Highlands train unveils stunning new suites
The new grand suites are due to launch on the train in May 2024.
Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN
It’s already one of the most luxurious locomotives around, and The Royal Scotsman Belmond is about to get even more glamorous with the launch of two beautiful new suites.
Designed by Paris-based interior designer Tristan Auer, the suites have been devised in the style of a grand country house, complete with classic nods to Scottish culture. They’re due to be introduced on famous train in May 2024.
The elegant interior includes handcrafted wall-coverings and upholstery that reflect the rich colors of the landscape of the Scottish Highlands, as well as dark wooden wall paneling embellished with elaborate marquetry.
Grand suites
In the lounge area, guest will find an armchair and sofa decked out in a bespoke tartan design that incorporates three of the train’s most iconic journeys, as well as a check block made up of 37 threads. That’s one for every year the train, which has been running since 1985, has toured the Highlands.
“The bespoke tweeds and tartans that we created for Royal Scotsman are all woven in rural mills in Scotland and reflect the country’s untouched beauty as well as the astonishing history of the train,” says Araminta Birse-Stewart, founder and creative director of Araminta Campbell, the Scottish brand behind the unique chairs.
“Every detail is painstakingly curated to inspire travelers to embrace the magic of the Highlands.”
Meanwhile, the lavish en suite bathrooms stand out with ancient Scot stones motifs and Celtic symbolism.
Luxury train ride
Travelers who book the two-night Highland Journey in a Grand Suite, at a cost of around $7,212 per person for an all-inclusive stay, will benefit from private transfers to and from their hotel or airport, as well as one treatment per person in the famous train’s moving spa — the only one of its kind in Europe.
The train’s on board bar also happens to be stocked with more than 50 types of whisky, while the journey itself includes visits to distilleries, excursions to castles and wild swimming and foraging.
The unveiling of the Royal Scotsman, A Belmond Train, Scotland’s new grand suites comes after the launch of the Orient Express La Dolce Vita, created by the Accor Hotels group, an 11-car train featuring a bar car with live music and games, 12 deluxe wood-lined cabins and 18 master suites.
Meanwhile, Belmond is also due to launch eight new suites on its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train later this summer.
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