Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 29, 2012	Feb. 15, 2013 Class A common shares at par value	Feb. 15, 2013 Class B common shares at par value
Entity Registrant Name	ORIENT EXPRESS HOTELS LTD
Entity Central Index Key	0001115836
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding:			103,010,639	18,044,478
Entity Public Float		$ 860,000,000
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY