Late last summer I spent umpteen hours on the interwebs, hunting for a Caribbean locale for our family Christmas trip. It would be our first time escaping to the beach for the holidays and I was determined to find something truly ideal… relaxing, great looking, easy enough to get to, and family friendly. I really had my heart set on a resort rather than a rental (so I wouldn’t have to cook or clean one single thing) but did not want an over-the-top fancy resort nor a gigantic, soulless, chain hotel type resort and I had no specific island or area in mind so I looked at oodles and oodles of websites and read multiple articles from Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes and their ilk. We ultimately landed on the Playa Grande Beach Club in the Dominican Republic, which had actually been on our bucket list for quite a while as it was created and designed by the ever lovely Celerie Kemble and her talented team at Kemble Interiors and, as such, happens to have some our lighting and decor peppered about the property. It absolutely fit the bill for our extended family holiday getaway. I really can’t imagine a better looking island retreat. I would go back in a heartbeat and I highly recommended it. However, I fear I have digressed from my original subject so let me try to get back on track.
While scrolling through every travel blog and Caribbean resort website under the sun (and being completely aghast by some of the price tags…holy moly…am I the only one that didn’t know it cost 5 million dollars to go to St Barths at Christmas time??) on my ipad last August, I came upon a particularly enticing option in Jamaica called GoldenEye. There was no availability from Christmas through New Year’s so not a choice for our family trip but that just made it all the more alluring…we all know how that works, right? Anyhoo, the figment had wormed its way into my brain and lingered. Happily (and sort of shockingly), Billy was aware of my fixation and decided to treat me to a quick Jamaican jaunt for my June birthday. What a lovely man. And what a lovely 4 day getaway we had.
GoldenEye did not disappoint. As you might have guessed from the name, the resort sits on what was Ian Fleming’s vacation property where he wrote many of his legendary James Bond novels. In the 70’s, it was bought by Chris Blackwell, of Island Records fame, who eventually expanded the acreage and created the resort. It is sprawling and splendid, with 3 pools to choose from, 4 bar/restaurant options, 2 beaches and a particularly enchanting lagoon. The tropical vegetation was particularly lush, fascinating, and inspiring and aspects of will be, for sure, popping up in some future Stray Dog fixtures. So keep your eyes peeled for some tropical treats in twenty six!
We lolleed about in the sun, kayaked, paddle boarded, read books, played cards, slurped down rum punches, and ignored emails. The staff was as lovely and laid back as the property and I had, hands down, the best massage of my life in the serenest of spas.
It was a birthday for the books... Thank you, Billy! 
