Need to know
Rooms
Forty-nine, including 26 Beach Huts, eight one-bedroom cottages, five two-bedroom cottages and the Fleming villa, which sleeps up to 10.
Check–Out
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More details
Rates include all non-motorised watersports, a flask of Blackwell Rum, 15 minutes added to any spa treatment booked within 24 hours of arrival and nightly turndown.
Also
The Oracabessa Foundation have helped to keep the resort gloriously green by planting hundreds of trees, funded by donations. If you want to contribute to the Foundation's community and environmental programmes you can at www.oracabessafoundation.org.
At the hotel
Spa, watersports centre, tennis court, glass-bottom boat, mountain bikes to borrow, lagoon, gardens, library, CD library, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: flatscreen TV with Apple TV, Sonos sound system, minibar (stocked with Red Stripe, naturally), iPod dock, Bodum coffee press and kettle, Frette linens and Blue Mountain Aromatics bath products.
Our favourite rooms
All of the hotel's cottages and suites are light and bright, but we like the One-Bedroom Beach Villas for their straight-to-sand access, garden-shaded outdoor showers, vast verandas, full kitchens and Smeg fridges stocked with local treats. Lagoon Suite 8 is particularly private behind the beach, and has a balcony that juts out over the lagoon. Villa 21 is a beachfront two-bedroom set on a prime spot of sand, close to Bizot Bar. The Fleming Villa, once home to the author himself, is the picture of luxury. The spacious house has its own pool, private beach, series of satellite cottages and dedicated staff. One-Bedroom Beach Huts 23, 27, 36 and 44 stand out for their outdoor showers.
Poolside
The main fresh water infinity pool lies at the far end of the beach, in front of Bizot Bar. There is a smaller salt-water pool by the ocean, where the hotel hosts torch-lit dinners to celebrate the full moon, and a freshwater pool by the Beach Huts, in between Snorkelers Cove and Shabeen. The massive salt-and-fresh water lagoon may be the most unique swimming spot of the bunch.
Spa
Walk, swim or kayak right up to FieldSpa, GoldenEye’s open-air spa cottage by the lagoon. The spa offers massages, salt scrubs and wraps, along with a fitness programme of guided runs and self-guided open-water swims.
Packing tips
Download Shazam before you go: GoldenEye’s owner, Island Records music mogul Chris Blackwell, ensures that each room has an extensive selection of reggae and island music. Bring yoga pants for sunset salutations overlooking the water.
Children
Baby cots and rollaway beds ($75 a person a night) can be added to One- and Two-Bedroom Beach and Lagoon Villas. The hotel can arrange a nanny for $10 an hour with a day's notice. The restaurant has a children’s menu.
Best for
Outdoorsy kids over five will get the most from the activities on offer.
Recommended rooms
One- and Two-Bedroom Beach and Lagoon Villas each sleep up to two children. Beach Cottages have queen-size sofa beds that can sleep two small children. Each Cottage has a full kitchen, too.
Activities
Beach babes will love the fishing lessons, sails and kayak trips. Kids ages six and over can ride jet skis. On land, the staff have dozens of ideas for child-friendly activities, and will happily arrange star-gazing, nature walks and scavenger hunts for young explorers. Crafty little ones can learn to carve a coconut monkey using shells they find on the beach. After dinner, older children should check out the DVD library for an extensive selection of James Bond movies.
Swimming pool
Lifeguards watch the pool from 9am until 5pm each day. There’s also a shallow end for little ones.
Meals
High chairs are available in both restaurants, and the children’s menu will appeal to tiny diners. The kitchen can also heat bottles, and pack special lunches.
Babysitting
With a day’s notice, Goldeneye can arrange for a local babysitter ($10 an hour).
Sustainability efforts
GoldenEye was built to minimise energy usage and take advantage of natural light and wind. The restaurant uses organic ingredients, and the staff is working to restore the local coral beds and fish populations.