Tropics of conversation: Goldeneye Hotel & Resort, Jamaica

The Goldeneye Hotel & Resort has a personal and relaxing charm mixed with the allure of old Jamaica, which the original owner, author Ian Fleming, created while writing his James Bond novels.

Perched on the shore’s edge in the town of Oracabessa, along Jamaica’s fabled north coast, Fleming’s old home – which was also owned by reggae musician Bob Marley in the 1970s – is now in the hands of Chris Blackwell, former record producer and founder of Island Records, and whose company, Island Outpost, buys and runs exclusive boutique hotels and villas across the island.

Having discovered this location in the early post-war years, Fleming wrote all his James Bond sagas here, at a desk that still sits in the original main house.

Arriving on a balmy summer afternoon, I enter the intimate lounge area set above the lagoon inlet, and I am instantly transported to another era. The walls and bookshelves are festooned with black-and-white photos and memorabilia from Fleming’s time as owner – a period that saw visiting luminaries ranging from Noel Coward and Sir Anthony Eden to Truman Capote.

As my bags are whisked away, a welcoming rum punch is whisked just as rapidly into my hands while the general manager tells me about the innovations added to the hotel – an array of new villas and suites, a small manmade islet a few yards offshore, and the winding lagoon.

The property is about privacy, and this 21-hectare estate comprises 22 units – nine Beach Cottages, two Lagoon Cottages, six Lagoon Suites, Fleming’s original villa, and four villas built by Blackwell. All have modern interiors, with kitchens, verandahs or patios with views, and each structure blends into the landscape.

I explore the natural beauty at my own pace, enjoying early morning over a lazy breakfast and finishing the day on the back verandah overlooking the lagoon, watching the sunset.