Debt and obligations under capital lease (Details)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 EUR (€)	Mar. 31, 2014 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Mar. 21, 2014 Orient-Express Hotels Ltd USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Charleston Center LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Charleston Center LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Charleston Center LLC London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary	Mar. 21, 2014 Tranche One term loan Orient-Express Hotels Ltd USD ($)	Mar. 21, 2014 Tranche One term loan Orient-Express Hotels Ltd London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)	Mar. 21, 2014 Tranche Two term loan Orient-Express Hotels Ltd USD ($)	Mar. 21, 2014 Tranche Two term loan Orient-Express Hotels Ltd EUR (€)	Mar. 21, 2014 Tranche Two term loan Orient-Express Hotels Ltd European Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR)	Mar. 21, 2014 Revolving credit facility	Mar. 21, 2014 Revolving credit facility Orient-Express Hotels Ltd London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)	Mar. 31, 2014 Corporate Debt Refinancing [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							$ 551,955,000				$ 345,000,000		$ 206,955,000	€ 150,000,000
Description of variable interest rate basis										LIBOR		LIBOR			EURIBOR		LIBOR
Basis spread on variable interest rate										3.50%		3.00%			3.25%		2.75%
Derivative, Floor Interest Rate							1.00%
Debt Instrument, Term							7 years
Secured term loan, annual mandatory amortization, percentage of principal amount							1.00%
Extended period of maturity								1 year
Working capital facilities - maximum borrowing capacity	107,265,000		3,021,000				105,000,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	5,513,000			4,000,000
Guaranteed debt of subsidiary	551,725,000		384,818,000
Deferred financing costs	12,679,000		11,080,000
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(14,506,000)	0																(14,506,000)
Write off of Deferred Debt Issuance Cost																		(8,926,000)
Swap Termination Costs																		3,985,000
Payments of Debt Extinguishment Costs																		1,330,000
Debt of consolidated VIE					95,700,000	96,150,000		95,700,000	96,150,000
Working capital facilities - remaining borrowing capacity	$ 101,752,000		$ 2,883,000
Revolving Credit Facility, Term																5 years
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage																	0.40%