Goldeneye All Inclusive
Information & Amenities
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.
Property Amenities
The majority of amenities, certain activities, and all 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 and certain activities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Details section for more information).
This romantic and historic resort is set on a bluff overlooking an idyllic beach separated from the mainland by a channel. The jungle-like estate includes fruit trees, giant ferns, all manner of palms, giant ferns, flowering plants, brilliantly blossomed poinciana trees, huge banyan and fig trees, and spiky-branched "cannonball" trees from Africa, whose pink-and-cream-petal seed pods drop to the ground with startling thuds. Ramsey, the gardener whose tenure dates from Ian Fleming's time and who's also an expert birdwatcher, conducts "bird-and-garden walks" on request.
Independent practitioners offer massage and other treatments (surcharges) in cottages, in the gardens, or on the beach, with advance appointments required.
Ground transportation:
Shuttle vans and private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost.
- Private beach
- Spa services on site
- Concierge services
- Bar/lounge
- Restaurant(s) in hotel
- Room service (limited hours)
- Parking (free)
- Self parking
- Business services
- Cell phone/mobile rental
- Internet access in public areas - dial-up
- Internet access in public areas - complimentary
- Front desk (limited hours)
- Porter/bellhop
- Security guard
- Safe-deposit box - front desk
- Tour assistance
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Currency exchange
- Medical assistance available
- Beauty services
- Dry cleaning service
- Supervised child care/activities
- Wedding services
Room Descriptions
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.
Room Features
- Cable/satellite TV
- Premium TV channel(s)
- DVD player
- CD player
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Separate sitting area
- Climate control
- Ceiling fan
- Air conditioning
- Internet access - dial-up
- Voice mail
- Internet access - complimentary
- Kitchen
- Bottled water in room (complimentary)
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Wake-up calls
- Housekeeping (daily)
- Turndown service
- Designer toiletries
- Makeup mirror
- Massage - available in room
- Bathrobes
- Complimentary toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Child care (in room, surcharge)
- Desk
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Window opens
- Clock radio
- In-room safe
- Television
- Smoking rooms
- Rollaway beds
- Cribs (infant beds) available
Area Attractions
Firefly (Noel Coward's home) - 13 km (8 mi)
Harmony Hall (arts-and-crafts collection) - 14.5 km (9 mi)
Prospect Plantation (working-plantation tour) - 15.25 km (9.5 mi)
Ocho Rios (shopping, dining, entertainment) - 21 km (13 mi)
Shaw Park Botanical Gardens - 23.25 km (14.5 mi)
Dunn's River Falls (guided climbs) - 25.75 km (16 mi)
Dolphin Cove (dolphin encounters) - 25.75 km (16 mi)
Fern Gully (gorge and tropical rainforest) - 25.75 km (16 mi)
White River Valley (eco-adventure park) - 30 km (18.75 mi)
Chukka Cove (adventure park) - 33.75 km (21 mi)
Cranbrook Flower Forest (nature park) - 40 km (25 mi)
Green Grotto Caves (eco-tour) - 40 km (25 mi)
Sangster/Montego Bay International Airport (MBJ): Approximate driving time to Goldeneye All Inclusive is 2.5 hours and distance is 128 km (80 mi).
Driving directions from Sangster Montego Bay International AirportDriving directions from Sangster/Montego Bay International Airport:
- Depart airport to Hwy A1 east toward Ocho Rios.
- Join Hwy A3 east at St. Ann's Bay.
- Proceed until left turn toward downtown Ocho Rios.
- Proceed through downtown and continue on Hwy A3 approximately 19.25 km (12 mi) to the village of Oracabessa.
- Proceed through the village.
- East of the village, look for a car wash on the right. On the left, approximately 100m (109 yds) past the car wash, is a stone wall and wrought-iron security gate, which is the resort's entrance. (The only sign is tiny and nearly invisible on the stone wall.)
Getting there: Shuttle vans and private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost.
Getting around: The hotel staff summons taxis on request.
Activities
The majority of recreational activities and facilities described below are included in the room rate for this resort (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Details section for more information).
At the bottom of a coral-stone stairway, a small glass-bottom boat transports guests 23m (75 feet) across a walled channel that's part of the resort's lagoon. On the channel's opposite side is a partially wooded island with a private 100m (109-yd) beach. The beach faces a calm-water bay and the open Caribbean Sea beyond. The beach is furnished with cushioned teak lounge chairs and thatched sunshades.
The resort supplies snorkeling gear, kayaks, windsurfers, and Sunfish sailboats. Instruction for all equipment is available for surcharges, as are Jet Skis, Jet Ski tours for adults, children’s Jet Ski rides (minimum age 6), deep-sea fishing, and family fishing trips. Guests may also take glass-bottom-boat tours of coral reefs. Scuba-diving lessons/excursions are available at a site 17.75 km (11 mi) away.
While the resort includes a lighted tennis court, activities here are generally less athletic. A musician/astronomer neighbor of Goldeneye, for instance, offers telescopic stargazing (surcharge), with advance booking required. Local artisans can be booked for adults' or children's lessons (surcharges) in silk-screening, drum-making, collage, and other crafts.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the resort; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Snorkeling on site
- Swimming on site
- Sailing on site
- Scuba diving nearby
- Personal watercraft on site
- Rafting nearby
- Windsurfing on site
- Yoga classes/instruction on site
- Tennis on site
- Fishing on site
- Bird watching on site
Restaurants & Bars
Meals and beverages, plus all gratuities, at the following restaurant/bar are included in the room rate for this resort. Guests may also have meals served in their cottages. (Scroll up to the All-Inclusive Details section for more information.)
Gazebo - White-wood, sea-view, open-air restaurant/bar with weathered-wood floor and mat ceiling. No-menu à la carte American/Jamaican breakfasts, with guests ordering what they wish to be prepared. No-menu à la carte lunches and dinners, with guests choosing from daily Jamaican-accented seafood, meat, and vegetarian offerings. (Guests may also request certain foods in advance.) Bar service, including martinis "shaken, not stirred," from 10 AM to 11 PM (hours subject to change).
Location
Oracabessa
Oracabessa,
Jamaica
Nearest major airport:
Ocho Rios, Jamaica (OCJ-Boscobel)
Important Information
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Rollaway beds and cribs (infant beds) may be available and should be requested at the time of booking; fees may apply.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests made via this Web site cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
- Pets not allowed
- Check-in time is 3 PM
- Check-out time is Noon
