Assorted Bondian Travels & Collecting
qbvi
AustraliaPosts: 254MI6 Agent
It was good to read about DG keeping up with his latest Bondian anniversary traditions at the One&Only Ocean club in the Bahamas.
I was there in July this year during the Bahamian Independence Day week.
Bond in Casino Royale flew into Nassau by small plane landing in front of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. He drove in the movie past those colourful buildings in an indirect route to the One & Only Ocean Club. I flew in with the family on a commercial airline landing on New Providence Island and drove in to Paradise Island.
The O&O is a gated resort so you will not be let in unless you are a guest or have permission, such as if you have a restaurant reservation. As you drive up to the main gates and announce yourself to the security guards, you will experience a rising expectation and excitement as you near one of the Holy Grails of Bondian locations. The famous circular driveway featured in a number of scenes can be walked to experience the different angles as well as the main reception building.
Once you are in, you will be absolutely blown away not just by the sheer number of locations featured in the movie but with the whole ambience of the place. It is one of the most highly regarded series of resorts in the world. My wife and kids really took to the O&O ambience and we can't wait to get back there.
To any fans who are considering staying at the O&O, you really have to get cracking and it may already be too late ..that is if you want to stay in the rooms with the same interior design as in the movie. When we were there in July, they had already started to refurbish the rooms and the new style is very upmarket and posh with a darker colour palette more along the lines of the Mayfair Hotel in London (another Bond hotel I stayed in with a sophisticated urban ambience). Many of the O&O rooms still retain the movie decor when I was there because they were refurbishing each accomodation wing by wing to cause minimal disruption to guests.
The library/lounge room seen in the movie and bar area still retain the same decor as in the movie. The entry reception and the broom cupboard aka security room are all in the original building while some of the accomodation wings were built much later. Some of the staircases in the original wing show some signs of wear.
One of the best experiences you can enjoy is to order a drink from the bar or library area (this is the area you see in the movie when Bond gambles with Dimitrios and wins the Aston DB5) and sit on the comfortable lounges on the porch overlooking the lush green grounds with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a very relaxing experience. The drinks and nibblies menu is well bound and they have been quick to capitalise on the Bond connection with a Bond martini on the list. Unlike many places in the US, the O&O can make a decent espresso.
Of course you can also choose to recreate your own little Bondian scenes if you are in the "boys with toys mood". You can check in at reception the Bondian way, of course. The reception is actually a lot darker in reality than the well lit movie scenes.
A little word on expectations. If you visit with a fully charged black Centurion American Express card in the hope of meeting interesting blonde ladies at reception, forget it....that was movie magic. The staff are exclusively locals but you do meet interesting guests, some of which which can easily qualify as extras in a Bond movie.
The main building is laid out in a sort of cross floor plan, so on entry the reception is the left wing of the cross. Straight ahead of the main doors leads to the library/lounge/bar area in which the evening gambling scenes are featured. The right arm of the cross houses the toilet facilities, the grandfather clock and chair you see Bond walk pass when entering for the first time. The doors at the end of the right arm of the cross opens into the old accomodation wing, the breakfast and casual dining area. Just outside of the these doors on the left is the famous broom cupboard that doubles as the O&O Security Room.
The rooms are well appointed. If you stay in the rooms that retain the movie decor in cool pastel shades that are well suited to the Carribbean climate, you will feel very Bondian. If you choose to stay in the newly furbished rooms, you will still enjoy the luxury but in my opinion, the darker colour scheme is too sombre for the Carribbean climate. You will have all the mod cons in the rooms, the bathrooms, toiletries are very nice, beds, room service, entertainment flat screen TV's, etc. Wide balconies and roof overhangs provide shade and minimise direct sunlight on the sliding French doors so the aircons can work efficiently. You can have a choice of upstairs or downstairs. Difference is a toss up between upstairs balcony privacy or immediate access downstairs across the grounds to the beach. Mind you, privacy at the O&O is a state of mind because it is a small resort so its not as if you will have lots of passng traffic if you choose to stay downstairs. The ultimate is of course a stay at the ocean view villas, especially the one Bond stayed in, Room 1085. But I would recommend trying this in the off season, where you may be lucky to score an upgrade.
The grounds are exquisite, the climate and greenery is so lush that visiting here and subsequently re-reading one of Fleming's novels, especially about the Carribbean, you will mentally be transported to a time and place where the sights, sounds, smell and warmth of the Carribbean completely hypnotise you. Better still, read a Fleming then visit here so that every day you spend here you will mentally be in "Fleming land."
In the evenings you can don your Omega Seamaster, dark shirt and linen trousers and walk past the adult pool near the Versailles Gardens to the main building for cocktails, not as in the movie for an evenings gambling. The gambling was really a setup for the movie using a real female croupier from the Atlantis resort. Incidentally, the path DC takes past the pool is not the path someone staying at Villa 1085 would normally take to get to the main building. To do real gambling you would have to head across to Atlantis.
In terms of collectibles, the rooms have your requisite little toiletries, paper napkins and complimentary stationery. There is also a small gift shop where aside from resort wear, you have a range of O&O postcards, O&O logo baseball hats, books, etc. Resort directories can also be obtained similar to the type featured in the movie at reception although you may now only be able to get the recent printings.
Other little bits of trivia, they have some 200 staff, of which bit more than half are ground and garden attendants. A couple of years ago, the tropical hurricanes blowing in from the NW levelled a lot of the trees and bushes on the grounds and it cost them a fortune to clean up the mess although the building did not suffer major damage.
If you stay at O&O, you get access to the adjoining sister Atlantis Resort and facilities. But Atlantis guests do not get reciprocal privileges to the O&O. O&O guards ensure your resort privacy. Complimentary 4WDs can shuttle you across Paradise Island to the Atlantis unless you want to walk over on the beach.
In terms of facilities, they also have a tennis court, adult and children pools, kids club area with child minding facilities and meeting room facilities. The Versailles gardens adjoing the grounds are a popular wedding photography venue and so are the French cloisters.
The Dune restaurant is a really nice place to eat. They have a top New York chef there and depending upon your point of view, the food there is cheap or pricey. Cheap in the sense that a NY chef can cost you a lot more. Pricey in that it is after all, a top class restaurant. The restaurant is virtually beachside so when eating you have a glorious view of the blue green of the Carribbean. The food flavours vary from modern American, French and Asian inspired. Decor is dark, sombre with a vaguely Japanese modernist styling. Outside the Dune is a relatively large outdoor bar area and a small staircase leads down to white sandy beach.
We found the staff to be quite friendly, but Bahamians in general tend to be more reserved with foreign tourists than say Polynesian resorts.
Transmission end. Over and out for now.
Sid
I was there in July this year during the Bahamian Independence Day week.
Bond in Casino Royale flew into Nassau by small plane landing in front of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. He drove in the movie past those colourful buildings in an indirect route to the One & Only Ocean Club. I flew in with the family on a commercial airline landing on New Providence Island and drove in to Paradise Island.
The O&O is a gated resort so you will not be let in unless you are a guest or have permission, such as if you have a restaurant reservation. As you drive up to the main gates and announce yourself to the security guards, you will experience a rising expectation and excitement as you near one of the Holy Grails of Bondian locations. The famous circular driveway featured in a number of scenes can be walked to experience the different angles as well as the main reception building.
Once you are in, you will be absolutely blown away not just by the sheer number of locations featured in the movie but with the whole ambience of the place. It is one of the most highly regarded series of resorts in the world. My wife and kids really took to the O&O ambience and we can't wait to get back there.
To any fans who are considering staying at the O&O, you really have to get cracking and it may already be too late ..that is if you want to stay in the rooms with the same interior design as in the movie. When we were there in July, they had already started to refurbish the rooms and the new style is very upmarket and posh with a darker colour palette more along the lines of the Mayfair Hotel in London (another Bond hotel I stayed in with a sophisticated urban ambience). Many of the O&O rooms still retain the movie decor when I was there because they were refurbishing each accomodation wing by wing to cause minimal disruption to guests.
The library/lounge room seen in the movie and bar area still retain the same decor as in the movie. The entry reception and the broom cupboard aka security room are all in the original building while some of the accomodation wings were built much later. Some of the staircases in the original wing show some signs of wear.
One of the best experiences you can enjoy is to order a drink from the bar or library area (this is the area you see in the movie when Bond gambles with Dimitrios and wins the Aston DB5) and sit on the comfortable lounges on the porch overlooking the lush green grounds with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a very relaxing experience. The drinks and nibblies menu is well bound and they have been quick to capitalise on the Bond connection with a Bond martini on the list. Unlike many places in the US, the O&O can make a decent espresso.
Of course you can also choose to recreate your own little Bondian scenes if you are in the "boys with toys mood". You can check in at reception the Bondian way, of course. The reception is actually a lot darker in reality than the well lit movie scenes.
A little word on expectations. If you visit with a fully charged black Centurion American Express card in the hope of meeting interesting blonde ladies at reception, forget it....that was movie magic. The staff are exclusively locals but you do meet interesting guests, some of which which can easily qualify as extras in a Bond movie.
The main building is laid out in a sort of cross floor plan, so on entry the reception is the left wing of the cross. Straight ahead of the main doors leads to the library/lounge/bar area in which the evening gambling scenes are featured. The right arm of the cross houses the toilet facilities, the grandfather clock and chair you see Bond walk pass when entering for the first time. The doors at the end of the right arm of the cross opens into the old accomodation wing, the breakfast and casual dining area. Just outside of the these doors on the left is the famous broom cupboard that doubles as the O&O Security Room.
The rooms are well appointed. If you stay in the rooms that retain the movie decor in cool pastel shades that are well suited to the Carribbean climate, you will feel very Bondian. If you choose to stay in the newly furbished rooms, you will still enjoy the luxury but in my opinion, the darker colour scheme is too sombre for the Carribbean climate. You will have all the mod cons in the rooms, the bathrooms, toiletries are very nice, beds, room service, entertainment flat screen TV's, etc. Wide balconies and roof overhangs provide shade and minimise direct sunlight on the sliding French doors so the aircons can work efficiently. You can have a choice of upstairs or downstairs. Difference is a toss up between upstairs balcony privacy or immediate access downstairs across the grounds to the beach. Mind you, privacy at the O&O is a state of mind because it is a small resort so its not as if you will have lots of passng traffic if you choose to stay downstairs. The ultimate is of course a stay at the ocean view villas, especially the one Bond stayed in, Room 1085. But I would recommend trying this in the off season, where you may be lucky to score an upgrade.
The grounds are exquisite, the climate and greenery is so lush that visiting here and subsequently re-reading one of Fleming's novels, especially about the Carribbean, you will mentally be transported to a time and place where the sights, sounds, smell and warmth of the Carribbean completely hypnotise you. Better still, read a Fleming then visit here so that every day you spend here you will mentally be in "Fleming land."
In the evenings you can don your Omega Seamaster, dark shirt and linen trousers and walk past the adult pool near the Versailles Gardens to the main building for cocktails, not as in the movie for an evenings gambling. The gambling was really a setup for the movie using a real female croupier from the Atlantis resort. Incidentally, the path DC takes past the pool is not the path someone staying at Villa 1085 would normally take to get to the main building. To do real gambling you would have to head across to Atlantis.
In terms of collectibles, the rooms have your requisite little toiletries, paper napkins and complimentary stationery. There is also a small gift shop where aside from resort wear, you have a range of O&O postcards, O&O logo baseball hats, books, etc. Resort directories can also be obtained similar to the type featured in the movie at reception although you may now only be able to get the recent printings.
Other little bits of trivia, they have some 200 staff, of which bit more than half are ground and garden attendants. A couple of years ago, the tropical hurricanes blowing in from the NW levelled a lot of the trees and bushes on the grounds and it cost them a fortune to clean up the mess although the building did not suffer major damage.
If you stay at O&O, you get access to the adjoining sister Atlantis Resort and facilities. But Atlantis guests do not get reciprocal privileges to the O&O. O&O guards ensure your resort privacy. Complimentary 4WDs can shuttle you across Paradise Island to the Atlantis unless you want to walk over on the beach.
In terms of facilities, they also have a tennis court, adult and children pools, kids club area with child minding facilities and meeting room facilities. The Versailles gardens adjoing the grounds are a popular wedding photography venue and so are the French cloisters.
The Dune restaurant is a really nice place to eat. They have a top New York chef there and depending upon your point of view, the food there is cheap or pricey. Cheap in the sense that a NY chef can cost you a lot more. Pricey in that it is after all, a top class restaurant. The restaurant is virtually beachside so when eating you have a glorious view of the blue green of the Carribbean. The food flavours vary from modern American, French and Asian inspired. Decor is dark, sombre with a vaguely Japanese modernist styling. Outside the Dune is a relatively large outdoor bar area and a small staircase leads down to white sandy beach.
We found the staff to be quite friendly, but Bahamians in general tend to be more reserved with foreign tourists than say Polynesian resorts.
Transmission end. Over and out for now.
Sid
A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate
Comments
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
A dedicated section is a great idea. That's why I titled this thread as "Assorted Bondian Travels and Collecting"...there's a lot more Bondian travels & travel collecting I want to write up about but wasn't sure how much interest there was amongst AJB for this sort of thing ??? Hence the trial run with the O&O holiday.
A secret redezvous was arranged. I was travelling in from Boston on the Acela Express (a la typical Bondian train style). Alas on this trip, Solitaire was nowhere to be found...strictly business today. Blofeld was up to no good and speed was of the essense. So far reaching was Blofeld's tentacles he even had some "sonic zapper" ray that disabled communication between Ed and I.
Nevertheless, as any good agent will tell you, there was a backup plan. We had agreed to meet at Planet Hollywood at Times Square. Blofeld would never think of looking for us there! Arriving at Penn Station, I used a cab to drop off my gear at the Grand Hyatt over Grand Central (another Bondian location) before rusing back uptown.
As I waited at the Planet Hollywood bar, I cast my eyes around for the gentleman with the beard. Was Q going to show up with a disguise? Blofeld's reach had still disable my communications (all that electronic interference inside PH). Mentally, I reminded myself to ask Ed if he had a remedy for this.
Taking a sip of my drink, I spotted a gentleman entering the room. Dressed to blend into the crowd as any good spy, but conspicious with that distinguished beard and height. Calling on my years of spycraft, I approached him from an angle, tapped him on the shoulder and uttered the week's identification, "Do you have a light?". It was Q alright. He replied, "I use a lighter."
It was just too noisy inside PH so we found a small cafe around the corner to sit and talk. Ed is a great guy. We had been communicating for many years now but this is the first time we actually met. We swapped many a great collecting story and dug into a great meal also.
In a momentary laspe of concentration, a waiter, no doubt an agent of SPECTRE took this photo.
Ed gave me a gift, so beautifully wrapped by his wife. Inside was his book of drawings which he autographed with an inscription.
In return, I gave Ed a volume I had been writing on the FRWL timeline containing pictures and contextual descriptions of many vintage props, which could be considered a companion piece to Ed's fantastic book of the FRWL attache case.
Ed also equipped my with some useful gadgets for the rest of my mission. Just some of those gadgets are shown in the photo below. The GE mine and door decoder. (Also in the picture are the TWINE X ray glasses and GE Parker pen and Xenia Onatopps leather cigar case).
It may be hard for any reader to imagine but these gadgets are extremely useful in the field. There was this one time when I went back to my hotel room and the electronic door keys were zapped (probably by Blofeld because there was a queue of people who had the same problem at the front desk) that I thought of pulling out Ed's door decoder to try and disengage the lock myself. And if that didn't work, I was going to stick the GE mine on the door and run for cover. (ps don't tell Ed but I am sure he didn't make these gadgets for that particular purpose)...
TIS - "The moment you think you got it figured - you're wrong"
Formerly known as Teppo
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
www.007jamesbond.dk
http://thedangermen.com/
Well, of course I gave the countersign....otherwise Sid would have not recognized me!!!
It WAS great meeting with Sid after all the years we corresponded by emails.
I think meeting fellow Bond fans is the greatest part of this madness we all share.
By trying to collect props we've actually collected very good and lifelong friends.
I hope to one day have the opportunity to meet everyone in person.
THAT would be the greatest addition to my "collection"
Ed
TheSpyBoys.com
PS: Sid, good thing you didn't try using the GE mine..I had deactivated it....LOL
the spyboys Facebook page
I should add that this finger trap was VERY VERY useful during my holiday missions. When you get to a certain age, you don't really want to be pulling out hairs to paste across your hotel room doors , etc. Look what happened to Connery!
So Ed, I found a new way to use your prop on my trips. I put the fingertrap into my suitcases to ward off any sticky finger intruders. LOL
Look at the photo. That fingertrap is one mean looking @#%&;* thing.
I really recommend anyone taking a trip to first arrange a meeting with Ed. The quality of his work is top notch and you will be properly equipped on the rest of your trip....LOL.