GOLDENEYE: The Home of Ian Fleming | Luxury Resort Review
Goldeneye is the holy grail for James Bond fans. A friend of Ian Fleming once wrote about Goldeneye, 'This really is Flemingland. It is the place where he wrote and wrote about. His ghost is stronger here than anywhere else'.
Ian Fleming wrote all 14 of his James Bond novels here at Goldeneye, Jamaica. The original desk and chair is still housed in the villa that Fleming himself designed.
This would be his sanctuary for two months of winter, whilst still working as Travel Editor for The Times.
Goldeneye was a name Fleming gave to an operation he worked on with Mi6 during World War 2. It was a mission for the defence of Gibraltar should the Spanish ever enter the war.
Now Goldeneye is a luxury resort with beach huts and beach villas. If you wanted to rent the Fleming Villa you can for $2500 a night. (Prices will fluctuate during seasons and construction sales). Currently the beach huts offset from the Fleming Villa is going half price due to the construction they are doing to the resort.
This construction is very unobtrusive, we barely noticed it and won't detract from any enjoyment or relaxation you might export from a luxury holiday.
CAN I SEE THE FLEMING VILLA?
You can, they have free tours on the Tuesdays and the Saturdays I believe. Although only if the villa is vacant on those days. (It was vacant for the time we were there, but a little gentle persuasion and a lot of shameless begging will get you an inch further down the private road).
What James Bond locations are nearby?
This is where you'll need to do some research before arrival. As kind and as generous as the staff were, I found their knowledge of James Bond locations wanting.
I will defer you to this book, On the Tracks of 007 which chronicles all the James Bond locations in Jamaica. If you include No Time to Die there is now 3 James Bond films that have been shot on location in Jamaica. Dr No, Live and Let Die and the aforementioned No Time to Die.
Dr No.
I had the good fortune on seeing Laughing Waters, which is a waterfall that posed as Crab Key in Dr No. It's now a private beach made famous for the scene where Ursula Andress comes out the water and Sean Connery serenades her with 'Underneath the Mango Tree'.
You won't be able to get to it unless you kiss some arse with the owners, or you find a tour guide like we did. His name is Tony and he runs Sunshine Water Sport and you can find a link to his website here.
He'll also take you on a tour past Reynolds Pier which acted as the lair for Dr No. You'll recognise it at the end of the film as Bond and Honey Ryder leap from the pier into the water to escape the explosions.
Live and Let Die
Unfortunately I didn't get to go to Falmouth to see the crocodile farm. This is where Bond makes his escape by jumping over crocodiles before ensuing on a boat chase which was filmed in Louisiana.
Let me tell you I had a nightmare even trying to contact the right farm. I was given so much misinformation both by staff and by locals. The farm (I later discovered) is currently under renovation and although they say they're open, they're not. They've fallen behind on development and are NOT open at the time of writing. (DEC 2019).
However, they are responding on their Facebook page which you can find here. Be mindful however, this is being run by a third party and might not have all the correct information to hand. Get a definite yes from them before embarking on a road trip to Falmouth as it's a 2 hour car ride from Goldeneye. At least.
No Time to Die
It's tough to give you any definite locations as the film isn't out yet. However, we have learnt from the staff that filming was done around Goldeneye and on location in Kingston and Port Antonio.
A ship which is currently moored at Button Beach (a beach found on the resort) I'm told was used for filming. This boat is called The Blue Angel and can be reached by a kayak which is free to use from the resort.
For any more information about Goldeneye I'm happy to field your questions. You can contact me through my blog here.
