Goldeneye charms in Jamaica. Photo: Island Outpost

Tropics of conversation: Goldeneye Hotel & Resort, Jamaica

Ian Fleming's Jamaican home is an idyllic retreat

Published: 12:00am, 4 Jun 2013

The resort's lounge is decorated with photographs and memorabilia from the original resident, author Ian Fleming. Photos: Hal Peat

The Goldeneye Hotel & Resort has a personal and relaxing charm mixed with the allure of old Jamaica, which the original owner, author Ian Fleming, created while writing his James Bond novels.

Perched on the shore’s edge in the town of Oracabessa, along Jamaica’s fabled north coast, Fleming’s old home – which was also owned by reggae musician Bob Marley in the 1970s – is now in the hands of Chris Blackwell, former record producer and founder of Island Records, and whose company, Island Outpost, buys and runs exclusive boutique hotels and villas across the island.

Having discovered this location in the early post-war years, Fleming wrote all his James Bond sagas here, at a desk that still sits in the original main house.

Arriving on a balmy summer afternoon, I enter the intimate lounge area set above the lagoon inlet, and I am instantly transported to another era. The walls and bookshelves are festooned with black-and-white photos and memorabilia from Fleming’s time as owner – a period that saw visiting luminaries ranging from Noel Coward and Sir Anthony Eden to Truman Capote.

Relax on the verandah overlooking the bay.

As my bags are whisked away, a welcoming rum punch is whisked just as rapidly into my hands while the general manager tells me about the innovations added to the hotel – an array of new villas and suites, a small manmade islet a few yards offshore, and the winding lagoon.

The property is about privacy, and this 21-hectare estate comprises 22 units – nine Beach Cottages, two Lagoon Cottages, six Lagoon Suites, Fleming’s original villa, and four villas built by Blackwell. All have modern interiors, with kitchens, verandahs or patios with views, and each structure blends into the landscape.

I explore the natural beauty at my own pace, enjoying early morning over a lazy breakfast and finishing the day on the back verandah overlooking the lagoon, watching the sunset.

During the day I am more energetic, taking advantage of the watersport facilities that offer kayaking round the lagoon and jet-skiing. I also fit in a few tennis sessions on the second day. Afterwards, I relax at FieldSpa, which uses oils, tonics and creams infused with plant life grown at Pantrepant, the resort’s 1,000-hectare organic farm, and other on-site nurseries.

The innovative features of my cottage, with a nod to Blackwell’s vast background in the music industry, include a Logitech Squeezebox sound system stocked with a catalogue of Island Records-produced music. All villas, cottages and suites are also outfitted with custom-designed furniture, bath and beauty products from local wild-grown botanicals, and Royal Hut’s fine handmade linens.

The watersports area offerskayaking around the lagoon.

At Bizot Bar, I feast on ital stew, a classic Rastafarian dish based on a bounty of local specialties prepared in soulful tradition. Perched on the western arm of Low Cay Beach, Bizot Bar is the spot to see spectacular sunsets and to indulge in light lunches, exotic cocktails and international wines. In the evening, the elegant Gazebo restaurant, set in the treetops and reached via a drawbridge, serves local dishes with an international twist. I go for the seafood and pan-seared yellow tail snapper followed by Jamaican linguini.

Word of mouth among the travel cognoscenti has propelled Goldeneye to a level it rightly deserves, but it also retains the original appeal of the hideaway that captivated its earliest visitors. Blackwell says: “I think the main thing is to try and create in Jamaica something which I guess existed right at the beginning of Negril, when it was a lot of little places and not just a few big places, and there were little restaurants, little bars and that kind of vibe.”

Goldeneye Hotel & Resort - Oracabessa, Jamaica; Tel: + 1 (876) 6229-007. www.goldeneye.com

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