In the beginning of No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s James Bond relaxes in Jamaica, sipping rum and enjoying his retirement. Now, no further plot spoilers here—but, for 007 aficionados, the scene is something of a historical easter egg.
The author of the James Bond series, Ian Fleming, had a lifelong fascination with the tropical island. In 1946, he purchased 15 acres overlooking Oracabessa Bay. He named his estate Goldeneye, after a wartime operation he worked.
Over the next two decades, he wrote all of his spy novels there—and found inspiration for many of them in the lush surroundings: “Dr. No,” “Live and Let Die,” “The Man With the Golden Gun” and “Octopussy” were all partly set in Jamaica.
In the 1970s, Fleming sold the property to Bob Marley, who soon after sold it to Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Blackwell then turned Goldeneye into a five-star resort.
This wasn’t the end of Fleming and Goldeneye, however—he and Blackwell were great family friends and, as a result, Fleming frequently visited the property even after its sale.
“I purchased GoldenEye in 1976, but I came here many times in the fifties when Fleming lived here, because it was my uncle who found the property for him,” Blackwell tells Vogue. “My mother and him were also good friends and we would all enjoy leisurely lunches in his sunken garden, which still remains for guests.” (In fact, the liquor Craig is drinking in No Time to Die? It’s Blackwell Rum, a label founded by Chris in 2008.)
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GoldenEye, which now sits at 52 acres, is where an illustrious history meets an idyllic setting. In addition to Fleming’s original home, the property is now dotted with cottages that border the teal lagoon and curving Low Cay Beach, which looks like it could be a Windows 2000 screensaver.
Beyond its shores is a coral reef and the Oracabessa Fish Sanctuary, a true snorkeler’s delight. After your day at the beach is done, grab a piña colada at Bizot’s Bar, named after the Paris-based Radio Nova founder and frequent guest Jean-Francois Bizot.
Goldeneye’s interiors, by Barbara Hulanicki (famously known for her swinging sixties haunt Bibi’s in London), feature custom Jamaican furniture, airy white linens and African-artisan upholstery.
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Its impressive list of celebrity clientele is apparent from the moment you walk in: the driveway is lined by trees donated by the likes of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Jude Law, Willie Nelson, and Martha Stewart. A mere few weeks ago, Hailey and Justin Bieber were rumored to be staying at the hotel.
Why do the well-heeled keep returning again and again? Possibly because they too felt the same creative draw as Fleming himself: “One of the things he said was he didn't think he could have written the books if he wasn't in a location like this, because of the feeling it gave to him,” Blackwell says.