007 Hotel: The Rock Hotel

January 23, 2019 0 By 007 Travelers

THE ROCK HOTEL

Location: Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory
Address: 3 Europa Road
Bond book appearance: DoubleShot (2000), Win, Lose or Die (1989)
Visited by 007 Travelers: August 2018

007 Travelers visited this stunning landmark of Gibraltar, The Rock Hotel, which has mentioned in two 007 Books. First in 1989 when Bond villain Baram Bassadj visits the hotel in John Gardner‘s “Win, Lose or Die” (1989) and then Bond himself in Raymond Benson‘s “DoubleShot” (2000).

The Rock Hotel is in a large white Art Deco building along Europa Road overlooking the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.

The location is perfect and the views from the hotel balcony are just breathtaking, and the hotel is located on the rock of Gibraltar.

The rock of Gibraltar is amazing and of course Bond fans remember it, because of one of the best opening scenes in Bond films: “The Living Daylights” (1987) introduced Timothy Dalton as new James Bond after Roger Moore “retired” and immediately Dalton has to go through the hair raising car chase sequence in Gibraltar.

The Rock hotel was built in 1932 and is described as “one of the Mediterranean’s most famous hotels”

007 Travelers met Mr. Charles Danino who has been General Manager of the hotel since 2015 and he has brought together a little of the history of a hotel putting up a “Wall of Fame” and other imagery of Gibraltar when it was a military fortress. He has done an amazing job and done refurbishments inside the hotel, such as quick Wi-Fi and other investments.

Charles Danino

On the “Wall of Fame” you can see many celebrity guests who have visited the hotel. Also the cruise liners bring visitors to enjoy afternoon tea at the Rock hotel.

Among the guests is also Sir Sean Connery, who stayed at the Rock Hotel after his marriage ceremony with Diane Cilento in 1962. Mr. Connery has been married twice and both weddings took place in Gibraltar! Also Sir Roger Moore has visited the hotel.

Sir Sean Connery

Sir Roger Moore

WALL OF FAME:

The hotel´s imagery of Gibraltar when it was a military fortress.

THE RECEPTION / LOBBY:

THE BREAKFAST / DINNER HALL:

Corn-Fed Chicken Breast

We also discussed with Mr. Danino about the lovely rooms of the Rock hotel and the view that the hotel can offer. Also we experienced a fantastic dinner (Corn-Fed Chicken Breast) in hotel’s restaurant and a wonderful breakfast! The ingredients are always fresh, Mr. Danino told us.

007 Travelers got a sea-view room as 007 did in “DoubleShot“. Our room was beautiful and the view really stunning.

THE ROOM WHERE 007 TRAVELERS STAYED:

A living room, which was also a room of our daughter:

A view from living room:

Our room: (bedroom)

Balcony:

Luggage room:

Bathroom:

There is also a lovely pool area and the biggest swimming pool of Gibraltar. You can reach the pool area crossing the Europa Road and the pool is down there.

THE POOL AREA:

“As others spoke about him, James Bond didn’t feel his ears burning as he lay in bed in the sea-view room in the Rock Hotel in Gibraltar. He wouldn’t have been able to scratch them anyway – the bandage on his head covered them completely.

CNN was reporting that the Spanish/British crisis was over. The two governments had put aside their differences and had held a conference in Brussels to quash any further misunderstandings. The Spanish Prime Minister had, for the first time, publicly denounced Domingo Espada and his tenets. Espada’s followers had staged a protest march in Madrid, but they quickly realized that it was a lost cause. The majority of the population quickly came to the opinion that Espada was a madman. When many prominent matadors saw fit to denigrate Espada’s actions and speak out against him, the people completely turned against him. When it was reported that he had been linked to the deaths of the Rojo brothers and had kept kidnapped sex slaves on his estate, Espada was forever cast as one of the country’s most notorious villains.

There was a knock on the door. Bond switched off the television with the remote but didn’t get up. He called, ”If you have a key, come in.”

The only people who had a key to his room were a nurse… and the Taunt twins.

”We’re the candy stripe girls and it’s time to party! Heidi sang cheerfully as they entered his bedroom. Hedy was carrying a bottle of Taittinger. They were both dressed identically again, in white blouses and tight-fitting designer jeans. Heidi’s arm was in a sling.

”We´re here to make you well,” Hedy said.
Bond indicated the champagne. ”I´m not supposed to drink, you know.”
”We know that,” she answered. ”This is for us!”
”Remember that first night at dinner in Tangier? You made a suggestion about sharing,” Heidi said with a smile.
Hedy began working with the bottle. The girls laughed at Bond’s suspicious glare, poured glasses of champagne, and then sat on either side of him.
”Who’s first, Hedy? Heidi asked. ”Or do we have to flip for it?”

Raymond Benson: “DoubleShot” (2000)

“He started away from the hotel, with the sheer rock face on his right. Bassam Baradj was less than three minutes into his stride when the hair at the nape of his neck began to prickle. There were steady footsteps behind him. Not just the footsteps of idle tourists, but official footsteps.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw them: a man and a woman in jeans about ten paces from him. The man wore a leather bomber-jacket, the woman had a short canvas jacket. Then he made eye contact with the man. It was a face he knew. a face from the files. He had ordered this man this man dead on at least three occasions. The man was James Bond.
Bond saw that Baradj had made him so he acted quickly, his hand going for the Browning behind his right hip, covered by the bomber-jacket, his legs moving apart to take up the shooting stance. But he was not quick enough. By the time pistol was out, Baradj was leaped up the low rock face and clambered out of sight.
If I am to take this man, Baradj thought, then I shall do it on my own terms.
Back on the narrow road, Beatrice also had a pistol out and was speaking rapidly into a walkie-talkie, calling up the police and SAS reserves. Bond had insisted going in alone. ” I want to bring this gue back alive”, he had said.
“Careful, James!”, Beatrice called as he jumped from the road into the rocks . Boulders like sculpture, huge and rough, were strewn everywhere up the slope, but he could see no sign of Baradj.

Beatrice joined him and they fanned out, watching each other’s back. In this terrain it would be relatively simply for Baradj to outflank them and take a shot from behind. But, when the shot came, it was from the high up, and nothing thumped or ricocheted near either Bond or Beatrice.

Still spread out, they moved forward until they came to a wide-arched opening, like a man-made cave in the face of the rock. It had been barred by a large iron gate, fastened with a padlock. The padlock had been shot away, and one of the gates was half open.
“The tunnels!” Beatrice whispered and Bond nodded, “Yes, the tunnels, and we have no idea how well he knows them”.

John Gardner: “Win, Lose or Die” (1989)