Goldeneye Jamaica

Ahh this thread is a blast from the past... I indeed did spend my honeymoon at Goldeneye in 2006. It was quite a nice experience... However, Goldeneye is substantially different today than it was 8 yrs ago so anything I have to add is really not relevant... The max capcacity of the propert has tripled i believe and it's no longer all inclusive (unless you purchase the add-on)...but I'll try to drop some thoughts that might be helpful....

The property is located in Port Antonio, which unless you travel private, is not terribly convenient to neither of the international airports. I believe it was a 2+ hr transit from Montego Bay. I do believe that the road has improved in the interim but it's still not an easy transport. One nice thing is that this part of Jamaica is fairly quiet (if you like such a thing). I don't believe that there are many mega resorts nearby which was nice. I think it's probably about an hour to Ocho Rios, where we went for the afternoon. It is kind of set in a jungle like setting so if things like insects bother you it might not be ideal...

The beach is a nice protected half moon. very calm easy for swimming. Zero waves. A lagoon separates the resort into two sides. Along the beach area a pool was built as well as a number of villas. the Lagoon is a nice place to Kayak, stand up paddle board, or even swim. I do believe that they built a bridge to cross the lagoon but when I was there the option was boat or swim... James Bond beach is nice, mostly used by locals, and a short boat ride away...

We did chose to jet ski one day and go on a bit of hike. Definitely feel like we got a more authentic Jamaican experience. We hiked out to a water fall whic was nice... this part of Jamaica feels much different than the other areas I've been; which is both good and bad... on that tour we really did a good upfront view of the poverty that is so prevalent....

I'll add some thoughts from my honeymoon that are absolutely probably irrevelant today. We found the service quite good; not at the Aman level but above Four Seasons. For instance once they learned that my wife really enjoyed sweets, every night at dinner they tried to provide something special for her. Lots of candles to mark the path to our villa as well... It was very warm and very genuine service.. REally outdoor showers, set in a jungle atmosphere.. It was quite a small resort when we were there- only the 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and Fleming Villas. So I think the max resort capacity was only 18 people. There was a period of 2 nights where we were the only people. They actually kept the Fleming Villa open so we could visit it and also use the media room.. The last two nights the Fleming Villa was occuppied by a certain Italian NYC restauranteer.....

Would I go back... I've discussed this with my wife and we've both decided no... primarily because it was our honeymoon and such a magical experience.. and because the resort has changed so much that it can't possibly deliver the same experience... maybe one day we'll give it a try but there are so many other places to go in the world that we're just not in a hurry to go back...

FDW