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This storied property was once the home of grocery-store heir Huntington Hartford II. More recently, it appeared in the 2006 James Bond remake of Casino Royale, and just like the movie’s leading man, it manages to merge elegance with sex appeal. That combination has also made the 106-room hotel extremely popular with high-maintenance New Yorkers who want to escape for a few days of serenity without losing the heat. In fact, last winter it was reportedly the hardest hotel in the Caribbean to book. Perhaps surprisingly, the mastermind behind the Ocean Club is the same man who created Atlantis, the mass tourist attraction that sits on the other side of the island but feels miles away. South African Sol Kerzner made one of his fortunes building the gargantuan gambling oasis Sun City, and his Atlantis also manages to pack in a seemingly unending stream of gamblers and families with its casino and water amusements. The Ocean Club, however. is where Sol is finishing an Ocean Club Residence for himself. In addition to the eighteen-hole golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf, the 35-acre property includes a restaurant overseen by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as well as a pretty white sand beach, six tennis courts, three pools and a spa. The main building has a wonderful great room where guests can sit surrounded by books and game tables with a view down the lawn to the sea. When I was last there, a family with three teenagers whiled away an afternoon playing gin as golfers and couples wandered in and out to get drinks from the bar. Couples and families can exist in their own spheres, because the beach is so large and one pool by the gardens is reserved for adults and children over the age of fourteen. The kids’ club runs activities throughout the day, from Ping-Pong and checkers to nature hunts. A small boutique by the Crescent wing offers beachwear designed exclusively for One & Only by such luminaries as Melissa Odabash and Liz Hurley. The best rooms are in the Crescent wing and Garden cottages. Those in the Hartford wing are considerably smaller. Also, in the past, the Courtyard Terrace restaurant just below them could be noisy, but the hotel only serves dinner there Thursday through Saturday. The three beachfront three- and four-bedroom villas are among the hardest accommodations to reserve but are a great option for families. Many celebrities, including Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford, have chosen to get married at the Ocean Club. The Versailles terraced gardens and 12th-century cloister, imported from France by Hartford, make an unforgettable—and very photogenic—setting. The hotel has also instituted one of the most guest-sensitive amenities of recent years: loaner laptops in all suites. We can only hope other hotels will recognize that if guests are treated with such generous and savvy gestures, they will generate the kind of waiting-list-only popularity that the Ocean Club often enjoys. It sells out months in advance; so if you want to go this winter, book now. Double rooms in high season from $765.