Goldeneye Resort
Hotel Information: Ian Fleming wrote his 13 James Bond novels here, creating the rustic estate in 1946 after he had fallen in love with Jamaica during a World War II intelligence mission to the island. He built a barn-like home, still standing, on 15 acres. Noel Coward rented the house for two months and then built his own home, Firefly, nearby. Celebrities flocked to both properties.
In the 1990s, music, movie, and hotel entrepreneur Chris Blackwell converted the property, now 30 acres, into a small resort thick with exotic plantings donated by guests over the years. The bamboo-gated, multi-building guest "cottages" are enveloped by jungle-like greenery and accessible by stone paths illuminated after dark by giant ground-level candles. Clustered together but barely visible from one another, the cottages constitute what the resort calls its "Village."
Goldeneye All Inclusive attracts an international clientele, including celebrities, by providing seclusion and relaxation in a gorgeous natural setting.
Amenity highlights: A glass-bottom boat takes guests across a narrow channel to an island with a private 100m (109-yd) beach facing a small calm-water bay and the open Caribbean Sea. The resort supplies snorkeling gear, kayaks, windsurfers, Sunfish sailboats, and glass-bottom-boat tours. The Gazebo restaurant offers no set menu; guests can customize their dining choices.
Insider tip: Approximately 11.25 km (7 mi) east of the resort, renowned Jamaican fabric artist/tailor/drummer Ireko Baker maintains a studio, Baker's Wilderness House of Arts, in a Georgian building dating from the mid-19th century.
The majority of amenities and gratuities at this resort are included in the room rate at Goldeneye All Inclusive; guests will not be charged extra for the majority of amenities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Details section for more information).
This resort offers three private, bamboo-gated “cottages,” each comprising several buildings. Each has a private coral-stone sunbathing patio on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Patios are furnished with teak lounge chairs, picnic tables, and multicolored wooden chairs. Low coral-stone walls topped with giant candles front the patios. Furnished terraces at the front of cottage buildings also provide sea views.
Cottages have high peaked ceilings and brass-colored concrete floors with bamboo mats. Rustic decor and furnishings include platform beds with batik spreads and white netting hanging bridal-veil-style at their heads. Fresh flowers contribute color.
Bamboo-walled outdoor showers with rainforest showerheads offer privacy in garden settings (indoor bathrooms as well). Other indulgences include batik bathrobes and natural toiletries by Blue Mountain of Jamaica.
Bedrooms include air conditioners and ceiling fans. All buildings feature large louvered windows that admit sea breezes. Other amenities include radios/CD players and TVs with DVD players (complimentary DVDs and CDs available). Dial-up Internet access is complimentary through the resort's Internet Service Provider.
Kitchens include coffeemakers and refrigerators containing soft drinks, mixers, beer, and water. Bars are stocked with rums, vodka, wine, and snacks.
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