Segment information - Revenue by segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue	[1]	$ 549,824	$ 551,385	$ 585,715
Hotel
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		475,374	472,531	498,061
Hotel | Segment: Hotels - part-owned/ managed
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		4,400	5,232	5,983
Hotel | Europe
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		199,251	200,059	212,744
Hotel | North America
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		145,868	148,103	142,586
Hotel | Rest of world
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		130,255	124,369	142,731
Trains and cruises
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		59,287	65,471	74,265
Trains and cruises | Segment: Trains - part-owned/ managed
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		10,763	8,151	7,406
Trains and cruises | Part owned trains and hotels
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Revenue		$ 15,163	$ 13,383	$ 13,389

[1] Includes revenue from related parties of $15,458,000, $13,123,000 and $12,988,000, respectively