By Alexander Britell
From Jamaica’s Half Moon to a grotto in the Exumas, globetrotting spy James Bond always seems to find himself in the Caribbean, the perfect jet-set location for the globetrotting 007.
But it’s also because the Caribbean is where the idea for Bond was born.
Ian Fleming, the legendary author behind the Bond series, built his dream home, Goldeneye, in Oracabessa, not far from Ocho Rios, in Jamaica.
Ian Fleming at his corner desk at Goldeneye, Jamaica
Indeed, it was at this bucolic estate that he first had the idea for Bond and wrote all 14 of his novels at the same desk at Goldeneye.
In 1976, another British legend, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, purchased the property from the Fleming estate, turning it from Fleming’s original villa into the luxury resort it is today.
But in recent years, the 52-acre Goldeneye has become something more: a place you can actually buy a home.
It began with 21 villas on offer, scattered across the lush grounds, a number that has unsurprisingly dwindled to three.
The surge in demand is not a surprise to Coldwell Banker Jamaica Realty’s Sandy Tatham, who is marketing the new Goldeneye properties.
The original Fleming Villa.
“I think it’s the interest in this end of the island — we’re within 7 minutes of an international airport, and I think it’s the variety of terrain Goldeneye offers — it’s got cliffs, it’s got white sand beach, it’s got lagoon, it’s got tropical rainforest,” she tells Caribbean Journal. “And then there’s the whole historical side of Ian Fleming, and all driven by a visionary like Chris Blackwell, who has brought his own unique flavor to bear on it.”
But now a new wave of development is happening at Goldeneye, with a total of 10 new “lagoon cottages,” set to build out in 2018, with a starting price of $2.5 million.
More importantly, that will be joined by the “East of Fleming” villas, which will be a collection of four large villas built on the original Fleming property, where Fleming built his original villa — villas that will be built in the style of the original Fleming house.
“They’re a little more exclusive, a little more private,” Tatham says.
The East of Fleming villas will be priced in the $5 million range.
It’s a chance to live on the original Fleming property, to live as Fleming did in one of the most beautiful places in Jamaica.
And who knows? You may dream up the next great spy novel. Or at least enjoy some martinis on the lagoon (shaken, of course).
