NEW YORK, United States, Friday December 9, 2016 – Conde Nast Traveller has chosen the 20 Best Hotels in the World for its 2017 Gold List, and the Caribbean has secured a place with GoldenEye in Jamaica, the luxury resort built around the former home of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Goldeneye was in good company amid such famous properties as Anassa in Cyprus and Six Senses in Oman, but succeeded in attracting a very favourable review from the prestigious travel publication.
Here’s what Conde Nast had to say about the winning Jamaican hotel:
“An easy drive along the north coast from Jamaica’s Montego Bay, this is the most glamorous of Chris Blackwell’s merry trio of hotels (the founder of Island Records, who made Bob Marley a global superstar, also owns Strawberry Hill and The Caves).
“The centrepiece here is, of course, the five-bedroom villa which was once home to Ian Fleming, and where he wrote his James Bond novels. But put the literary legacy and Marley music connections aside, what makes this hotel continue to shine is its clever combination of spacious clapboard villas and funky, feel-good Jamaican spirit.
“It’s a tough choice deciding between the step-onto-the-sand beach villas and those facing the lagoon near the tiny, lemongrass-scented spa. The look is similar – polished wooden floors, white walls and high ceilings, outdoor showers – but the lagoon-side cottages are more private and come equipped with kayaks.
“Watersports are the thing at Goldeneye, with stand-up paddle boarding, glass-bottom-boat rides around the bay and morning fishing trips. Or simply laze on the beach and play backgammon at the open-air Bizot bar, where the driftwood shelves are lined with bottles of Blackwell rum.
“At night, cross the torch-lit wooden bridge to The Gazebo for delicious suppers of curried shrimp with coconut rice. Six years after opening, this gorgeous, laid-back hideaway still has serious groove.”
Goldeneye is located at Oracabessa, Jamaica. Rates quoted by Conde Nast Traveller are one-bedroom ocean-front villas from about £850 (£1 = about US$1.20) and beach huts from about £350.
Europe dominated the rest of the list with two hotels each in Italy and France and one in Sweden. Africa was not far behind with two winning properties in South Africa and one in Tanzania.
The United States emerged as the country with the most desirable hotels on the list, with Amangiri in Utah, Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado, and The Carlyle in New York.
Further information on Conde Nast Traveller’s 2017 Gold List, featuring “the world’s most exceptional hotels and classic destinations,” is detailed in the January/February edition of the magazine.
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