Information concerning financial reporting for segments and operations in different geographical areas (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011 segment option Y tranch	Sep. 30, 2010
Information concerning financial reporting for segments and operations in different geographical areas
Number of reportable segments			3
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	$ 183,858	$ 179,732	$ 464,738	$ 438,641
Depreciation and amortization	11,968	11,685	34,989	34,268
Impairment	64,787	30,511	64,787	30,511
Gain on disposal	(18)		502
Segment EBITDA	(24,450)	2,589	13,338	30,909
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax:
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax	2,229	1,117	3,225	2,423
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	14,136	9,143	43,677	43,276
Hotels and restaurants
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	153,861	132,933	398,133	336,587
Depreciation and amortization	10,855	10,734	31,928	31,629
Segment EBITDA	43,297	35,745	94,765	74,974
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax:
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax	2,229	1,117	3,225	2,423
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	13,633	8,032	40,172	38,329
Owned hotels | Europe
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	89,045	72,449	180,409	140,076
Depreciation and amortization	4,782	4,631	14,118	13,842
Segment EBITDA	36,739	28,141	58,698	37,652
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	2,138	551	13,936	17,537
Owned hotels | North America
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	24,391	23,256	84,836	79,810
Depreciation and amortization	2,595	2,952	7,813	8,816
Segment EBITDA	1,517	805	12,513	11,616
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	4,180	3,822	10,764	9,880
Owned hotels | Rest of World
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	36,583	33,607	118,850	104,399
Depreciation and amortization	3,287	2,957	9,424	8,414
Segment EBITDA	5,560	6,175	22,024	23,572
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	6,275	3,524	13,428	10,729
Hotel management/part ownership interests
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	1,324	1,209	4,082	2,982
Segment EBITDA	1,313	1,001	3,623	1,875
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax:
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax	280	(133)	293	(761)
Restaurants
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	2,518	2,412	9,956	9,320
Depreciation and amortization	191	194	573	557
Segment EBITDA	(1,832)	(377)	(2,093)	259
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	1,040	135	2,044	183
Tourist trains and cruises
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	26,122	21,777	57,539	45,924
Depreciation and amortization	1,113	951	3,061	2,639
Segment EBITDA	8,951	6,863	14,237	11,982
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax:
Earnings/(losses) from unconsolidated companies, net of tax	1,949	1,250	2,932	3,184
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	483	1,021	2,997	3,018
Real estate and property development
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	3,875	25,022	9,066	56,130
Segment EBITDA	(1,572)	(1,884)	(4,680)	(4,663)
Capital expenditure:
Capital expenditure	20	90	508	1,929
Central overheads
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Segment EBITDA	(10,321)	(7,624)	(26,699)	(20,873)
Europe
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	113,277	92,814	232,950	182,135
North America
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	30,784	50,690	103,858	145,260
Rest of World
Financial information by business segment and geographic area
Revenue	$ 39,797	$ 36,228	$ 127,930	$ 111,246