goldeneye. On the property of the same name in the Jamaican town of Oracabessa between the Blue Mountains and Jamaica’s north coast, Ian Fleming wrote his first Bond novel 70 years ago: “Casino Royale” was published on April 13, 1953. As an intelligence officer in the British Navy, Fleming had in July 1943 spent four days in Jamaica and decided that “if I survived the war, he would come back to Jamaica, buy a piece of land, build a house and live in it,” Fleming said. On the “Goldeneye” property, named for a World War II mission that Fleming helped design, he built a modest three-bedroom home. Here he wrote a Bond book within six weeks every winter until his death in 1964.
After his death, music producer Chris Blackwell purchased the property at the request of his mother, Blanche, who had been Fleming’s mistress. She is said to have been the role model for the “Bond Girls” Honey Rider – played by Ursula Andress in the first Bond film “007 hunts Dr. No” from 1962 – and Pussy Galore.
Blackwell received celebrity friends at Goldeneye. Sting wrote the song “Every Breath You Take” here, Apple founder Steve Jobs celebrated his 29th birthday in Goldeneye, as Blackwell writes in his 2022 memoir “The Islander”. He also reveals that he wanted to open a Bond hotel there on July 7, 2007 – matching agent number 007. A bar called “Shaken, Not Stirred” (shaken, not stirred) with Bond girls as waitresses was planned. But then he decided to build something of his own. Today, the property is a luxury resort with multiple cabins and villas, with nightly rates starting at $578. Celebrities like Beyoncé and Elon Musk have stayed there.
