Sylvia Daley turned in Wall Street for the Waldorf. This is the innkeeper’s story behind Quintessentials Bed and Breakfast and Spa in East Marion, Long Island. So how does a Jamaican native, who at 18 moved to New York City to attend New York University, later secure an international high finance career, including employment as a stock broker, become an innkeeper and spa director, as well as an esthetician and massage therapist—not to mention a Reiki master? The answer lies in the quintessential qualities of both inn and proprietor.
While still on Wall Street, two years before the Italianate Victorian, complete with gingerbread trim, hand-carved corbels and wraparound porch, opened as a business in 1992, Sylvia bought the house for herself as a weekend getaway. After a complete renovation, her private abode in the North Fork section of Long Island, synonymous with wineries, became too good to keep private.
Outstanding reviews (the New York Times named the North Fork bed and breakfast and spa “the best of the best on Long Island) have been the norm ever since. Encounter Sylvia’s delightfully eclectic blend of personality (she also speaks several languages and has resided abroad) at Quintessentials. One showstopper is the grand piano in the living room. Antiques and yard-sale finds sprinkled everywhere also capture the traveler’s muse.
Catch the exhilarating vibes of Caribbean flavor and European style starting in any of the five guestrooms decorated in Jamaican tones and named for Jamaican parishes. Guestrooms boast fireplaces and private, furnished sundecks; some with two-person claw-foot soaking tubs, some with Jacuzzis. 
Couples can heighten the romance by relaxing at the Victorian gazebo, or in the two-person hammock, or in the outdoor meditation garden. From above, enjoy the panoramic views of Long Island Sound and the picturesque Victorian houses, farms and vineyards.
|
Catch the exhilarating vibes of Caribbean flavor and European style starting in any of the five guestrooms decorated in Jamaican tones and named for Jamaican parishes. Guestrooms boast fireplaces and private, furnished sundecks; some with two-person claw-foot soaking tubs, some with Jacuzzis. Posturpedic beds piled high with down comforters and pillows welcome sojourners. The amenity list reads like a nonstop inventory. Just a few items to awaken the travel bug within: complimentary beach passes and beach towels (the beach is within walking distance), monogrammed terry or cotton waffle-weave robes, hand-made slippers, fluffy towels.
With romantic travelers in mind, Sylvia further explains, “The CDs left in the rooms play one hundred romantic songs. We have romantic movies that we have for their (the guests) flat-screen televisions. The whole idea is to give this cocoon of romance, but not just in one area—food, ambiance of the house, grounds, rooms.”
For example, couples can heighten the romance by relaxing at the Victorian gazebo, or in the two-person hammock, or in the outdoor meditation garden. Indoors, the widows walk, a six-sided room that crowns the house, will surely coax love-laden words. From above, enjoy the panoramic views of Long Island Sound and the picturesque Victorian houses, farms and vineyards.
Furthermore, couples who celebrate an anniversary, honeymoon or engagement can request such touches as a bottle of champagne, deluxe floral arrangement or fresh-flower petals scattered on route to the bed.
Detailing the romance package, she says, “We are a full-service spa, so we have these couples’ spa-related activities, and, in addition to that, we have the horse-carriage ride.”
The niche at Quintessentials, Sylvia states is that the B & B doesn’t just offer spa services—it is a full-service spa—North Fork’s premier bed and breakfast and spa. A favorite among the couples’ massage therapy roster is a combination of a chocolate body scrub and champagne.
“People get their romance gift basket to leave with. The basket gives them ideas of how to do a couples’ massage; it gives them the chocolate oils and lotions and soaps so they carry that theme, the love theme, the romance theme after they leave Quintessentials.”
Couples will not only fall in love with each other at Quintessentials, but also with the Jamaican, Mediterranean and European dishes served at breakfast and during afternoon tea. One signature item on the late morning’s menu is the calaloo (or fresh spinach) and salted codfish. The New York Times called Quintessentials’s corned beef hash “the quintessential corned beef hash, the best in North Fork.” Sylvia names the secret ingredients as: caramelized onions, Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers, and “all the herbs and spices in your garden.” She adds, “And making friends with the butcher, so you get the leanest corned beef.”
The home, built in the 1840s as a sea captain’s house, is listed with the Long Island Society for the Preservation of Antiquities as well as on other impressive registers. The 1830 barn has been photographed in numerous books as a consummate example of North Fork barns.
“The most important thing about Quintessentials is that we are about caring and pampering. Every letter we get back, every review, every note in the guestbook, all emphasize caring and pampering; this is our signature, that we care about our guests,” Sylvia explains.
Couples note: reserve early for Valentine’s Day, which is a ten-day extravaganza (guests can book anything from a one-day to a complete ten-day stay). “Every year, we practically have to fight off the people who want to come for our Valentine’s week. You’re just spoiled rotten, Valentine’s wise,” Sylvia concludes.
Spoiled rotten: that’s the essential ingredient guests can expect 365 days a year at Quintessentials.
