Bond might be changing, but its Jamaican birthplace remains blissfully unaltered

Telegraph

18-03-2025

On my first evening at GoldenEye, Ian Fleming's former estate turned hotel, there was a power-cut. I was getting ready in the bathroom of my taffy-pink beach hut for the weekly rum happy hour at Shabeen bar when suddenly… kaput. The only light available to me fell in golden stripes via the louvred windows. I shoved on my flip-flops in the near-dark, making it to the drinks as the sun cast fluorescent orange lines across the heather sky and candyfloss clouds.
Reggae carried on the breeze while the barmen shook cocktails to the beat. Young and old couples, sun-kissed from the day's good weather, sat at candlelit tables; a group of friends, here for a wedding, multiplied as the evening went on.
It struck me that the entire scene might be akin to what it was like to be a guest of Fleming's at the original GoldenEye, which, when it was built in 1946, consisted of a single, modernist house. It still exists, and is now the premium villa on site, with a few added luxuries (outdoor showers and bathtubs, plus three additional separate bedrooms). The sunken garden, pool and Fleming's writing desk remain.
Fleming hosted everyone from Prime Ministers to photographers, actors and artists, who quickly became known as Jamaica's north-coast jet set. Days were spent swimming, snorkelling, playing canasta and sinking rounds of Vespers (still on the menu today) – though Fleming never missed a morning writing Bond, which was entirely conceived and written here in Oracabessa.
Today's GoldenEye features a total of 51 beach huts, villas and lagoon-side cottages. It was bought, in 1976, by Bob Marley at the recommendation of one of his producers, Chris Blackwell. Marley changed his mind and immediately sold it on to Blackwell, whose own history was intertwined with the property.
His mother, Blanche, was a neighbour of GoldenEye and used to look after it when Fleming wasn't there. She loved to swim on the reef there and later became Fleming's muse, the inspiration for both Pussy Galore and Honeychile Rider. Chris Blackwell even worked as a production assistant and location scout for the first Bond film, Dr No. Film stills of Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder coming out of the sea, in that culture-defining white bikini, hang on the walls of the Gazebo restaurant.
Blackwell, who was later credited with bringing Bob Marley to Britain and the US, and went on to manage the likes of Cat Stevens, Grace Jones and U2 under Island Records, propelled GoldenEye into what it is today: something more than just a hotel, with deep cultural cachet. He writes, in his introduction to Jamaica Vibes, Assouline's coffee table tome: 'The idea of hotels became as interesting to me as the music. The idea of making something happen, finding new ways to meet people and put people together, was fascinating.'
Indeed, it remains a hive of activity – not only honeymooning couples and weekending Kingstonians, but a slice, still, of creative paradise, favoured by stylists, fashion editors and the A-list, many of whom have planted trees around the estate. You might spy names such as Plemons, Dunst, Moss, Carter and Crawford on unassuming little plaques.
One Sunday afternoon at Button Beach – my favourite spot owing to the sea trampoline, non-stop tunes and jerk drum – I spotted a British supermodel at a nearby table with a Jamaican music producer. A brand was also shooting its new campaign during my stay. When they weren't working, the crew and a different model hung out in the blue-tinged Bizot bar or at the weekly beach curry night. Days after I got home, I spotted the model on the cover of American Vogue.
With all this going on, I expected to see Blackwell. He has a house on the lagoon, and is known to swing by the hotel's many sociable happenings. But 'Mr B', as he is known among staff, was not around. I was disappointed but not entirely surprised – he is an octogenarian after all, and late last year it was announced that the two other hotels that make up his Island Outposts hotel collection, Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains and The Caves in Negril, are up for sale.
Could he be winding down? Not entirely, according to Marika Kessler, his wife and Chief Executive of Island Outposts, with whom I spoke after my stay.
'You know, Chris is 88. This is his legacy. And all the properties he's found in Jamaica, they're all iconic to this country,' she told me over the phone from GoldenEye, their dogs causing mischief in the background.
'The properties are so precious… They have a soul. [Selling them] is like finding a nanny for your newborn.' I sense that it may take a while for the sale of the other two hotels to go through – that the new owners will have to fit with Blackwell's vision.
For now, though, it's all about GoldenEye: 'There's so much of [it] that we would love to share with the world. We have looked at development plans […] for the land beyond GoldenEye, which is all waterfront property.' It certainly will be shared with more of the world now, thanks to new daily flights (in high season) via American Airlines from Miami to Ian Fleming International Airport, 10 minutes from the hotel.
Prior to the pandemic, Pantrepant, the couple's other home, an 18th-century farm in Cockpit County (whose ingredients you'll see on restaurant and spa menus), was available for guests to stay at upon invitation. Kessler hints that something like this may be back on the table, but remains tight-lipped about details. She does, however, share that there are plans for a recording studio on site, bringing Blackwell's musical legacy, in her words, 'full circle'.
Next year will also mark 80 years since Fleming built the original house. The anniversary comes at a time when Bond's future is unknown. Last month, custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson announced they had given creative control of the franchise to Amazon-MGM Studios. The news has been met with resistance by everyone from former 007s to William Boyd, who suggested Amazon might make a theme park dedicated to our favourite spy.
GoldenEye, thankfully, will remain protected from all the fervour. Save for some subtle nods to Bond – including a dedicated corner of the lobby with books and old photographs of Fleming and his friends – any references are understated. Even the entrance on the main road is an unmarked gate.
One morning, near the end of my stay, I took a bright orange kayak out in the milky green lagoon in the hope of spotting turtles on my way to the spa. In true Crusoe-esque fashion, you moor on a platform before being led to your treatment room.
It was quiet and still, save for my paddle cutting through the glassy water and the odd 'good morning' from guests stretching or reading on their lagoon-side terraces. I didn't see any turtles – or any more supermodels – but I did see Blackwell. He was having coffee with friends on the balcony of his house, occasionally getting up, if I was not mistaken, to change a record.
Fleming once said his simple desire for GoldenEye was 'to be able to work there and look at the flowers and fish, and somehow to give pleasure, whether innocent or illicit, to people in their millions.' With his literary legacy he certainly accomplished the latter; the property itself remains just for the lucky few.
Jade Conroy travelled as a guest of GoldenEye, which offers beach huts from £514 and one-bedroom Lagoon Cottages from £876.