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Tags: Hotel Renovations / James Bond Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Nassau Hotels / Bahamas Hotels / → All Tags

The James Bond Hotel in Nassau Is Now Under Renovation

Where: Number One Bay St, Nassau, Bahamas, N 7148

The British Colonial Hilton in Nassau, where — fun fact! — James Bond movies Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983) were filmed, is in the process of undergoing a major makeover, ostensibly to spruce up in case a new Bond needs to roll through. The makeover kicked off at the end of '08 and is supposed to be finished by June of this year, and the hotel is dropping a hot $15 million on the upgrades.

All guestrooms will be given a contemporary new design with new bedding, HD LCD televisions, marble floors, "softer" furnishings and new lighting. Up in executive floor rooms and suites, bigger TV's than in the standard rooms (37" vs 32") and Nespresso coffee machines. 120 rooms will be all done by February, and the rest will be done by May.

The hotel is also adding a new executive lounge up on the top floor, offering killer views of Nassau harbor, computer work stations, WiFi, a self-service kitchenette with all day refreshments, big TV's. You can also expect a new bar, restaurant, and lounge concept, "due to debut before the summer."

Rates start around $179 for Deluxe Rooms.

Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Jamaica Hotels / James Bond Hotels / Ian Fleming / → All Tags

Bonding, James Bonding, with The Goldeneye Resort

Where: Oracabessa, Oracabessa, Jamaica

Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.

In this episode, Hotel Maven KatieK seeks Ian Fleming's ultimate writing hideout...in her mind. Enjoy.

Even if you’re not particularly into James Bond movies or books, chances are still fairly high that you’d willingly be whisked away to one of his exotic locales and play the part of the dashing womanizer or beguiling seductress, whichever the case may be.

At least if you’re anything like me. That’s why for this daytime romp through fantasyland, I’m headed straight to the source — Goldeneye Resort in Oracabessa, Jamaica, in the gorgeous villa where Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote 17 (!) of his iconic books. Though the resort has other plush options as well, I’ll opt to stay at the Fleming-designed three-bedroom house, which hugs a cliff lofted above the beach and still includes his writing desk.

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Tags: James Bond Hotels / Boston Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

Nine Zero Hotel Zeros in on Bond Mania

Where: 90 Tremont St [map], Boston, MA, United States, 02108

Boston’s Nine Zero hotel may well have conquered the unthinkable--rolling every James Bond cliché we’ve ever heard into one hotel package. That said, this is Bond, James Bond we’re talking, so we’re gonna go ahead and swoon anyways. (Sorry, we’re simply pawns in his plan!)

On the heels of the U.S. release of the new Bond flick, “Quantum of Solace,” the Kimpton hotel wants you to “Strengthen Your ‘Bond’” while enjoying a “quantum of solace” in the hotel’s plush lodgings.

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Tags: James Bond Hotels / London Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

London Hotels Shaking (Not Stirring) It Up With James Bond Packages

While the hype here in the States hasn't been as serious as what we imagine to be happening across the pond (yet), the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, is set to debut in the UK on Friday and here in American theaters on November 14th -- the same year as the 100th anniversary of Bond author Ian Fleming's birth.

The International Herald Tribune rounded up a few hotels in London that are going all out with Bond-themed deals to celebrate both his creator and the release of the 22nd film about the suave, sexy British Bond (some of them lavish enough for JB himself).

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Tags: London Hotels / James Bond Hotels / Penthouse Suites / → All Tags

Live It Up 007-Style at the Dukes Hotel Penthouse

Where: St. James's Place, London, United Kingdom, SW1A 1NY

On our last stop at the Dukes Hotel in London, we were most interested in the masterful martinis getting mixed there, but now we're ready to take a look at the hotel as a whole. So was the Irish Independent who gave it a pretty favorable review over the weekend.

They recommend booking the penthouse room if you can. It's 700 square feet of luxury with a 7 foot bed and a view over the park from a private balcony. With a rack rate of £1,100 (it's almost too scary to convert that, but it works out at almost US$2,200), the penthouse isn't for everyone, but it's always nice to dream.

Dukes is getting press right now because it's the 100th anniversary of James Bond creator Ian Fleming's birth--and Ian Fleming was a regular at Dukes. Get it?

A fairly tenuous link, but there's a big Bond exhibition tying in at the Imperial War Museum, plus the hotel's offering a Bond About Town package which includes room, a classy wet shave for him, a "Miss Moneypenny manicure" for her, dinner, breakfast, late checkout and--of course--a martini. The base rate for Bond About Town is £450 (US$890). But that's a really good martini.