Stay another day

London, the birthplace of 007 creator Ian Fleming, is everything a budding Bond could hope for

our mission starts by checking into the luxurious and stately Dorchester Hotel (Park Lane, 44-20-7629-8888, www.thedorchester.com), which, as a young Naval Officer, Fleming frequently visited for romantic trysts with one of the hotel’s prominent residents, Lady Rothermere (who would later become his wife). Years later, the Dorchester would be immortalized in Fleming’s novel Goldfinger. One-time Bond actor George Lazenby was discovered by producer Cubby Broccoli in the hotel’s barbershop, and both Roger Moore and Sean Connery have been frequent guests. Spacious and elegantly furnished suites are accented by personal butler service and spectacular views of Hyde Park.

DRESS TO KILL

The Dorchester’s Mayfair location is adjacent to the genteel shopping district of Old Bond Street (www.streetsensation.co.uk), where you can dress the part by dropping in at Brioni (32 Bruton St., 44-20-7491-7700, www.brioni.it), for a finely tailored suit by the master craftsmen of Italian couture. Brioni has been Bond’s exclusive tailor since Pierce Brosnan took over the role for 1995’s GoldenEye, and continues with new 007 Daniel Craig for Casino Royale. Starting price for a made-to-order tuxedo is around $7,000 (Dh25,000).
And for a taste of classic Bond, it’s well worth paying a visit to the shop of world-renowned shirtmaker Turnbull & Asser (71 & 72 Jermyn St., 44-20-7808-3000, www.turnbullandasser.co.uk), established in 1885, the sophisticated favourite of such British elite as Winston Churchill, Prince Charles, Michael Caine and Ian Fleming. Its made-to-measure Sea Island cotton shirt has been a Bond wardrobe staple since Sean Connery was first ushered through these doors for his big-screen makeover in 1962.

DIVERSIONS ARE FOREVER

Now that you have the look, it’s time to kick-start the action. First, a trip just outside the city to Buckinghamshire and the Stoke Poges championship golf course (Park Road, 44-17-5371-7171, www.stokeparkclub.com), where you can hit the same links on which Bond nearly lost his head — literally — facing down Auric Goldfinger and his bowler hat-wielding henchman Oddjob. The swanky Stoke Park Club ballroom also served as a key location for 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies.

Next, you can relive Bond’s perilous boat chase from The World Is Not Enough — minus the bullets and explosions — by taking the same route down the Thames River in a speedboat, all courtesy of London Voyages (44-20-7928-2350, www.londonribvoyages.com).
You’ll end up zipping past such landmarks as the London Eye, the Tower of London, the Millennium Dome, and finally Bond’s HQ: the real location of Britain’s MI-6 (www.fco.gov.uk) at Vauxhall Bridge. You can’t miss the almost theatrically ominous postmodern structure, similar in design to a Mayan temple. You are permitted to photograph the massive nine-storey structure of MI-6 — which possesses a state-of-the-art “force field” that prevents electromagnetic signals from passing in or out of the building — but don’t even think of entering unless you have the proper clearance (key card and retinal scan).

LIVE AND LET DINE

After your day of derring-do, satisfy your appetite for exceptional cuisine and rare fine wines at Hush (8 Lancashire Court, Brook Street, 44- 20-7659 1500, www.strictlyhush.com) the intimate Mayfair restaurant owned by Geoffrey Moore (who also happens to be the son of Sir Roger Moore).

Then cap off your 007 evening in high style by sauntering into the posh Les Ambassadeurs Club (5 Hamilton Place, 44-20-7495-5555, www.lesambassadeurs.com), where you can display your skills at blackjack, poker and baccarat in the French-appointed gaming salons of Le Cercle Casino.

This exclusive establishment is intrinsic to the Bond legacy: Not only is this where Bond producer Harry Saltzman held his meetings with Ian Fleming to secure the film rights to the Bond novels, but James Bond made his iconic cinema introduction at the chemin de fer tables here in 1962’s Dr. No.