You only live once in Jamaica

RELAX, man," said Ramsey, giving me the first ingredient of The Commander's secret recipe for a happy life.

"Drink water with your rum, eat a little red meat but more fish, swim, fish and keep the drinking, the cigarettes and the women in moderation. And at a long distance from your wife."

Ramsey Dacosta, now 66, used to be the houseboy for Ian Fleming (The Commander) at his Jamaican home, Goldeneye. There he wrote all 13 James Bond books, from Casino Royale in 1951, which he claimed to have written as an antidote to getting married for the first time at 43 to Anne Rothermere, the ex-wife of the former proprietor of this newspaper.

Goldeneye sits on the north shore near "the beautiful banana port of Oracabessa" - a location for Live and Let Die. Fleming bought it for Pounds 4,000 in 1954, having originally been sent to Jamaica by British naval intelligence to stop U-boat sinkings in the Caribbean. It was originally the site of a donkey-racing course.

He named it after a British Admiralty plan to defend Gibraltar and stayed for 18 winters, writing for four hours a day "fast and with application". He died in 1964, aged 56.

At the front gate a sign still reads "For Sale or Rent, the birthplace of James Bond, Superspy". The 30-acre estate remained vacant until 1976, when Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, bought it.

It is now a 400-acre, all-inclusive resort. Fleming's old garage has been converted into a bedroom suite with a giant plasma screen and bar. His bedroom still has the red bullwood desk on which he wrote with the shutters closed to keep out the sun.

The bath is outside.

The rest of the property consists of super-luxurious three-level villas with glassless windows to let in the breeze and the sound of the pounding surf. It is far removed from Jamaica's better-known, all-inclusive gulags.

Nothing much has changed since Fleming's time. It is, however, disconcerting when checking in to be told that "Domino" is waiting for you. The villas are all named after Bond heroines - with the exception of Pussy Galore.

Goldeneye is an extraordinarily stylish and secluded place. A tropical take on the civilised privacy of one of Fleming's favourite gentlemen's clubs, such as Boodles or The Turf.

Fleming entertained all the usual suspects at Goldeneye, including Sir Noel Coward, whose own Jamaican home, Firefly, is 10 minutes away. Sir Anthony Eden stayed after the Suez crisis and found it restful, although his detective had to shoot the bushrats so he could sleep.

According to Ramsey, Fleming had quite a sense of humour - he used to get a horse's carcass put in the lagoon, and when showing guests around would point to the circling fins and tell them that was their swimming area.

Jamaica has been used for many Bond movies.

Laughing Waters is where Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder) came out of the sea while Capt Swaby's Swamp Safari Camp was where Roger Moore hurdled alligators. The swamps around Falmouth were Dr No's home. The hotel Sans Souci was where Bond (who Fleming described as "a healthy, violent, non-cerebral man in his mid-thirties with few perceptible virtues except patriotism and courage") seduced Miss Tiao.

OLD Palisadoes airport is still there, as are the Queen's Club, in Kingston, and Cinnamon Hill Golf Club, where 007 got done for smoking dope. More mainstream sights include Dunn's River Falls, Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains and Bob Marley's home and grave.

But most people renting Goldeneye are happy to stay on the estate. They go game fishing or snorkel the private reef. Guests can also join Ramsey on a tour of the gardens, which are full of African tulips, yellow hibiscus, giant banyan trees and every tropical fruit and nut tree imaginable.

To sit in the sinking garden listening to Ramsey talk about the local birds and his stories of The Commander is a treat. Potted Fleming over a rum punch is far superior to Red Stripe over deafening reggae.

Under the almond tree you learn that Fleming went to Eton and Sandhurst, was a stockbroker, had a brother who was a travel writer, he had a home in Ebury Street, Belgravia, and was a great antiquarian book collector.

"Goldeneye was his creative hideaway," says Jenny Smith, who now manages the property. "Here he shut himself away from what he described as the gorgeous vacuum of a Jamaican holiday. Our guests don't."

Spending time at Goldeneye, you cannot help but appreciate the life of an acutely sensual person such as Fleming. You are alive to your surroundings and your good fortune.

As Fleming wrote: "Since the main ingredient of living is to be alive, this is surely a worthwhile prospect. You live the life of privilege, being waited on hand and foot and making the most of your lease of life."

Fleming was a stern critic of his own work. He might have cringed at the cliche but he would have surely been pleased by what everyone I met said about his home.

You only live once. Go to Goldeneye.

. Goldeneye, Oracabessa, St Mary, Jamaica (876 975 3354, www.islandoutpost.com).

BLOWING THE BONUS

Maximum spend, minimum time

THIS luxury excursion is certain to devour a whacking great chunk of your hardearned sterling. Take some high-maintenance guests along and we're talking serious spending.

Fly by private Hawker jet to Milan and stay two nights at the Bulgari Hotel.

Slap-bang in Versaceland, it couldn't be a more convenient base from which to treat yourself to a label-rich wardrobe. Then it's on to the Columbus in Monaco, where you can gamble all that cash in a casino or two.

This trip costs Pounds 13,902 per person (two travelling in April) and includes private flights on a Hawker 125, helicopter transfers and four nights BB accommodation.

Contact Jeffersons on 0870 850 8181.

Sharing the wealth around

FEELING generous? Gather 21 friends and take over all 11 villas on North Island, in the Seychelles. Think top-of the range Robinson Crusoe gourmet Creole dinner parties back-lit by an Indian Ocean sunset. With water sports and a spa, this is a dreamy holiday that will have your lucky guests owing you for life.

The price for hiring the whole island is negotiable - as a guide, seven nights costs from Pounds 8,800 per person. This includes return club-class flights via Dubai, transfers (by limousine in the UK and helicopter on the Seychelles) and full board accommodation.

www.emiratestours.co.uk, 0870 128 6000.

Heli-skiing for the biggest wallets

HELI-SKIING has always been for the best skiers with the biggest wallets, but this holiday takes it one step further. The Absinthe is a beautiful motor yacht moored off the coast of British Columbia, in Canada. It accommodates up to 12 guests on Sea to Sky's luxury heli- skiing adventures.

Within minutes of the yacht are glaciers with perfect powder snow. Every day, after the excellent food and Jacuzzi sessions of the night before, heli-skiing trips are customised for each day for each party. All-inclusive eightday packages from Pounds 6,376pp.

www.seatoskyholidays.com, 001 866 935 3228.

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