EVEN though the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace has recently been shown at the Little Theatre in Hamilton and opens today at the Southside Cinema, spy buffs can experience the real thing by heading to the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on Pitts Bay Road.

While most Bermudians and residents know that the "Grande Dame" hotel, which opened in 1885, has a very interesting past full of intrigue and colourful characters, some may not know that the property was an important spy centre that involved the man some consider to be the inspiration for Agent 007.

Also known as the "Pink Palace", the hotel played an integral in World War Two as a covert agent for the Allied Forces fighting against tyranny and oppression on the war's many fronts.

As the saying goes, knowledge and information is power and that's exactly the role that the Hamilton Princess fulfilled – the denial of information and knowledge to the "enemy".

Charged with "defensive" censorship, 880 "examiners" read commercial and personal mail, packages and pouches that were sent across the Atlantic to and from Europe and Nazi Germany in order to delete any potentially harmful information. The operation was essentially the filter through which all correspondence in the Western hemisphere was inspected.

To the average person during World War Two, censorship during times of war was a routine activity. It didn't generate much interest. And that's exactly how British Intelligence authorities wanted it to look because behind the walls of 13 rooms within the hotel, top secret sleuthing, a la James Bond, was taking place. Even the majority of the "examiners" didn't know what went on behind closed doors.

Under the leadership of British Intelligence officer William Stephenson, a Canadian some say was one of the real-life inspirations for the literary and movie superspy James Bond, the co-ordination of the secret "offensive" censorship took place in the 1940s.

According to an article entitled The Princess Spies written by CIA officer Thomas F. Troy, who died earlier this year, espionage experts used technologically-advanced techniques to break into letters and packages in order to produce and plant "forgeries useful in propaganda and blackmail operations".

The group of experts could obtain the contents of any package leaving no trace of their tampering. Using innovative techniques for the time they could even extract a letter from an envelope without cutting, steaming or replacing it with a forged replica.

Their work proved to be so useful to the combined efforts of the war that Sir William called the censorship initiative "a political weapon of very special importance . . . credit to all concerned".

The hotel has many other fascinating connections to the legacy of James Bond and to victory of the Allied Forces in World War two but you will have to take a trip down to the Pitts Bay Road property to find out. But fear not history and spy buffs! The Fairmont Hamilton Princess is hosting a guided tour of the hotel and its colourful history on Sunday, December 21.

"We find that people are intrigued by what they learn during the tour and last year we had more than 200 people take part," said hotel manager Allan Trew.

"Our guests are sometimes aware of the hotel's connection with Mark Twain or even that the hotel is named after England's Princess Louise, but they are fascinated to discover the pivotal role that Bermuda – and this hotel in particular – played as a spy centre during World War Two." The tour, lasting 30 to 45 minutes, begins from the hotel lobby at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. Admission is free.

For those inclined to linger, a special afternoon tea buffet is available following the tour for $25 plus gratuity.

While reservations for the tours are not required, people are encouraged to call the concierge at 298-5779 if they plan to stay for tea.