Ocean Club
The Ocean Club has recently added the adjective "One and Only" to its name. We never doubted that in the first place.
In 1939, Swedish industrialist Axel Wenner-Gren first anchored his yacht off the pristine shores of what today is called Paradise Island (not many know that he is largeley – in a way – responsible that Ian Flemming settled on Jamaica, but that is an other story).
At that time locals called this sliver of land five miles long and only a mile wide Hog Island. Wenner-Gren christened it Shangri-La. In 1962 Huntington Hartford II, heir to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company fortune, bought the island and petitioned the Bahamaian government to rename the island Paradise. He built the original Ocean Club, a luxurious 52-room hotel with an 18-hole golf course.
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HISTORY IN BRIEF
1939:When Swedish industrialist Axel Wenner-Gren first anchored his yacht off the pristine shores of what today is called Paradise Island in 1939, he was enthralled by the unspoiled beauty of the place. At that time locals called this sliver of land five miles long and only a mile wide Hog Island. For more than two decades, he nurtured his private paradise, building a magnificent estate with intricately landscaped gardens inspired by those at the Chateau de Versailles. Wenner-Gren christened it Shangri-La.
1962: Wenner-Gren sold his estate to Huntington Hartford II, heir to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company fortune. Envisioning an exclusive resort destination, Hartford petitioned the Bahamaian government to rename the island Paradise. He built the original Ocean Club, a luxurious 52-room hotel with an 18-hole golf course.
The guest list at the glittering "Bal du Paradis" opening celebration in 1962 included William Randolph Hearst, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Benny Goodman, Burl Ives and a host of dukes, earls and ambassadors. A legend was born. Hartford invested nearly $10 million in Ocean Club, gracing the property with terraced gardens, fountains, bronze and marble statuary imported from Europe, and a magnificent 12th-century Augustian cloister, shipped piece-by-piece from France.
1994: The renowned estate was sold to Kerzner International.
2002: The resort was renamed One & Only Ocean Club.
William Randolph Hearst, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Benny Goodman, Burl Ives and a host of dukes, earls and ambassadors...endless list of celebrities
James Bond film, Casino Royale, (2006) the first book in Ian Fleming’s Bond series,with several scenes shot at Ocean Club.
Heinrich Morio
On an island called Paradise lies an enchanted place, graced by white sand beaches and warm turquoise waters. Once a private estate, One&Only Ocean Club rests between miles of pristine beach and exquisite gardens inspired by the romantic grandeur of Versailles.
Swim with the dolphins or discover an underwater world teeming with Technicolor fish on a snorkelling or SCUBA adventure. Charter a powerboat for deep-sea fishing or hand feed the stingrays at Stingray City.