From Oracabessa with Love
Fancy staying in the beachfront bungalow where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels? GoldenEye – the resort of your dreams – could be yours. You only live once. (Or twice.)
It’s the place where Sting wrote Every Breath You Take, in the aftermath of a relationship split. Where British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden planted a tree in the garden after his stay, starting a tradition that the likes of Michael Caine, Kate Moss and Quincy Jones have continued to this day. And, most famously, it’s the birthplace of a certain British superspy, whose career spanned 14 original novels and 25 movies to date. We’re talking, of course, about James Bond, whose creator Ian Fleming conjured him up amid a breathtaking Caribbean resort named GoldenEye. And – great news – it’s once again open for visitors to comprehensively dust off those post-pandemic blues.
Nestling amid the lush, tropical gardens, private beaches and secret coves and lagoons of the north-east coast of Jamaica, a 1.5 hour drive from Montego Bay International Airport, and set across 52 acres of land, the exquisite luxury resort is comprised of 42 private villas, cottages and beach huts, with attendant water-sports, snorkelling and a private spa.
The Bond connection began after Fleming, then a British Naval Intelligence officer, was sent by the Royal Navy Intelligence to investigate the presence of Nazi ships in Jamaica. The operation was called ‘GoldenEye’. Fleming had been so taken by the tropical wasteland, a former donkey racetrack in the port town of Oracabessa Bay, that after the war, in 1946, he snapped up the land and built his dream villa here, naming the area after the wartime operation, and drawing further inspiration from a novel by Carson McCullers called ‘Reflections at Golden Eye’.
His first Bond novel, Casino Royale was written in his beachfront bungalow (today named, appropriately, ‘Fleming Villa’) and these days owned – along with the rest of GoldenEye – by Island Records head honcho Chris Blackwell, who has built upon the authentic exotic paradise. Here, guests can choose between two types of one or two bed cabins – a garden view or sea view – replete with outdoor showers, fully equipped kitchen and garden lounges.
The Fleming Villa itself has three rooms, with a veranda, bath, outdoor shower and king-size bed, plus a private beach, swimming pool, screening room and bar. There’s a butler, a chef, and a maid on hand too. Meanwhile, you’ll find a pair of cottages named Sweet Spot and Pool House in the garden grounds.
Cuisine-wise, GoldenEye offers a choice of two restaurants and four bars; from a barbecue at the Bamboo Bar, to sundowners at the Shabeen or dinner at the open-air, treehouse style Gazebo, tucking on grilled lobster or a rack of lamb. While the Field Spa offers massage, salt scrubs, and herbal wraps or facials, among other relaxing delights. A trip to the Caribbean wouldn’t be complete without water sports either: take your pick from snorkelling, high seas fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding or a glass-bottomed Catamaran boat trip.
"Would these books have come about if I hadn't lived in this wonderful and inspiring place in Jamaica?” Ian Fleming once mused. “I don't think so." You can kind of see his point.