The Neita's Nest .com sign went up 2 years ago and we are celebrating with reflections on how it all began...
I wish I could say that Neita’s Nest was “a dream come true”. But I can’t. I never dreamed of owning a Bed and Breakfast. I never dreamed of managing my own hotel. I never even imagined I would own my own business.
Always seeing myself as being strong support for someone else’s, in my professional capacity I would internalize the targets of my managers and exceed my own goals to make theirs happen.
In my volunteerism, I would be enthused about the dream of the organization’s president and would put my entire weight behind her to make it happen. If I saw a committee losing its luster, I would lead from behind to breathe new life into their project, and let them shine.
Always seeing myself as being strong support for someone else’s, in my professional capacity I would internalize the targets of my managers and exceed my own goals to make theirs happen.
In my volunteerism, I would be enthused about the dream of the organization’s president and would put my entire weight behind her to make it happen. If I saw a committee losing its luster, I would lead from behind to breathe new life into their project, and let them shine.
And yet, I never saw myself as an entrepreneur; could never imagine a business that I would even want to own. Instead, I would admire friends who have found their calling and who passionately pursue their dreams.
It was the “Mother of Invention” who helped me find my entrepreneurial spirit. A second redundancy experience, and this time just 13 years short of retirement age, made me declare that whatever I do at this stage of my life I must be happy doing it. I envisioned myself sliding gracefully into retirement.
For career guidance, there was an opportunity to be seized in a parting gift from that last employer. It was a psychometric test and consultation with psychologist and ideator, Dr. Leachim Semaj of The JobBank. I embraced the opportunity and seized it with full grasp. That process led me to choose ‘Innkeeper’ as my new career. It was a no-brainer. After all, I love to entertain and my home has adequate bedroom and entertainment spaces. After a congratulatory call to my friend, designer Sandra Kennedy, on opening her Hanover home Hartley House for bed and breakfast services, I was sure this was for me too.
Neita’s Nest was conceived.
It was the “Mother of Invention” who helped me find my entrepreneurial spirit. A second redundancy experience, and this time just 13 years short of retirement age, made me declare that whatever I do at this stage of my life I must be happy doing it. I envisioned myself sliding gracefully into retirement.
For career guidance, there was an opportunity to be seized in a parting gift from that last employer. It was a psychometric test and consultation with psychologist and ideator, Dr. Leachim Semaj of The JobBank. I embraced the opportunity and seized it with full grasp. That process led me to choose ‘Innkeeper’ as my new career. It was a no-brainer. After all, I love to entertain and my home has adequate bedroom and entertainment spaces. After a congratulatory call to my friend, designer Sandra Kennedy, on opening her Hanover home Hartley House for bed and breakfast services, I was sure this was for me too.
Neita’s Nest was conceived.
It was the right fit. The learning and experience from every job I had ever done, every course I had taken, every project I had volunteered on, had come to bear on this new business venture. Whether it was the foreign languages I studied, project management, sales and marketing management, journalism and public relations, or a penchant for the fine arts and interior design, they have all been integral in the start up and operations phases.
When I think back also, our cross country travels with our parents as we adventured around our island, or the opportunities we enjoyed while our Dad, Hartley, was Deputy Director of Tourism, not to mention the many friends and visiting dignitaries whom we helped him entertain at the drop of a hat; name it! They have all been brought to this table. Did I leave out my grandmother, Rose, who never tolerated slow and slouchy? Or my grandfather, Sydney, whose mantra was, “A job worth doing is worth doing well”?
As serendipity would have it, while writing the website text, my friend Alton and I had a chance chat on some historical highlights about our neighbourhood, and my home in particular. It was once the Captain’s Quarters for the British Army, and Bridgemount Heights where we are located, was one of three redoubts established in the area to defend the Stony Hill Barracks, situated a few miles north of Neita’s Nest.
When I think back also, our cross country travels with our parents as we adventured around our island, or the opportunities we enjoyed while our Dad, Hartley, was Deputy Director of Tourism, not to mention the many friends and visiting dignitaries whom we helped him entertain at the drop of a hat; name it! They have all been brought to this table. Did I leave out my grandmother, Rose, who never tolerated slow and slouchy? Or my grandfather, Sydney, whose mantra was, “A job worth doing is worth doing well”?
As serendipity would have it, while writing the website text, my friend Alton and I had a chance chat on some historical highlights about our neighbourhood, and my home in particular. It was once the Captain’s Quarters for the British Army, and Bridgemount Heights where we are located, was one of three redoubts established in the area to defend the Stony Hill Barracks, situated a few miles north of Neita’s Nest.
Three canons, testimony to this little-known piece of history, remain mounted in the gardens of our nearest neighbour. He has kindly offered visits by special arrangement for our guests.
Neita’s Nest is indeed an Historic Bed and Breakfast.
Jamaica, with her vast and lucrative sugar plantations in the 18th century, was the jewel in the British crown and the envy of Europe. Bridgemount was a part of the Manor Park Estate, and coffee, bananas and sugar were grown here. The British, wary of possible invasion by the French who were seen sailing menacingly in the Eastern Caribbean waters, fortified Kingston at many points. Bridgemount was one such.
That story had me visiting the National Library, the University of the West Indies and the new Jamaica Defense Force Museum for further research. I even made contact with the author of the book The Fortifications of Jamaica, Professor David Buisseret, who kindly sent me a published copy of his presentation at the 2008 Elsa Goveia Memorial Lecture on that topic. The booklet is proudly a part of our library here at Neita’s Nest, and the story, which had been handed down through generations is now told on our website.
The research experience was as comforting as it was exciting. My father, a published author and renowned communications consultant had passed away only the year before. East Street in downtown Kingston is home to the 177 year old Gleaner Company.
It is also the home of the Institute of Jamaica and the National Library, repository for the wealth of Jamaica’s history. These institutions were Hartley’s regular jaunts as he researched and wrote his daily column, “This Day in Our Past”, and weekly articles which warmed the hearts of so many Jamaicans at home and abroad. I felt Daddy walking with me as I ventured along East Street and through the halls of these libraries.
Our website has received many a kudo and truly captures the look and feel of Neita’s Nest while complementing the essence and style of our home. In searching for a website designer, the sites developed by Alteroo Consulting Group were appealing because each one reflected the type of business it represented. That was what I wanted to capture for ours. They took my script, and voila, our website was born. I am particularly happy to have Spanish, French and German translations on the Home Page. These were done by dear friends, conference translators and interpreters, Daphne Adams and Annie Rose Kitchin.
With the website up, I set about designing business cards with the expertise of Bunny Levy and Associates. Next was furnishing the first two rooms. My friend, Norman McDonald, designed the furniture in keeping with a determination to be practical. Family and friends were extremely generous with suggestions and feedback on the finer details. Yes! The website came before the guest rooms.
Neita’s Nest was conceived and believed, before it was achieved.
The rest is now documented in website blogs and I invite you to read them It has been fun moving up the social media learning curve, attending webinars, blogging, twitting, linking, and just stepping into a whole new realm of communication.
Through strategic positioning, Neita’s Nest is marketed as comfortable, affordable lifestyle accommodation. From the feedback received, our offering meets and exceeds expectations. Our rates are considerably lower than most so we tend to offer added value rather than specials; a welcome drink for sure, whether it be a hot or cold beverage; scented candles from Starfish Oils perhaps, to complement a late night pot of tea, or a taste of local fruit in season.
Complimentary mini tours of the city or an invitation to join the family in worship at the historic St. Andrew Parish Church are some of the opportunities that we find bring special delight to our visitors.
Sometimes, our value-added offering comes in the form of assisting in the planning of your vacation schedule. We recommend places to stay and things to do, customizing your itinerary to match your unique interests as you travel across our beautiful island. Often times, our special treat is to invite you to join us on a visit to a family member or a friend’s place, or to have interesting company join you here for dinner; therein lie opportunities to forge new friendships. Other times, it’s a day on the beach, a trip to the movies, a drive to the country, a visit to Devon House for its infamous ice cream, or a relaxing afternoon on the grounds of the Royal Hope Botanical Gardens to be serenaded by the Jamaica Military Band. These are some of our favourite things. You can read more about them on our Neita’s Nest Recommendations page.
Sometimes, our value-added offering comes in the form of assisting in the planning of your vacation schedule. We recommend places to stay and things to do, customizing your itinerary to match your unique interests as you travel across our beautiful island. Often times, our special treat is to invite you to join us on a visit to a family member or a friend’s place, or to have interesting company join you here for dinner; therein lie opportunities to forge new friendships. Other times, it’s a day on the beach, a trip to the movies, a drive to the country, a visit to Devon House for its infamous ice cream, or a relaxing afternoon on the grounds of the Royal Hope Botanical Gardens to be serenaded by the Jamaica Military Band. These are some of our favourite things. You can read more about them on our Neita’s Nest Recommendations page.
And, by the way, it would be remiss of me not to mention that Devon House, one of our favourite places to visit, is noted in the National Geographic book, Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe as “a masterpiece of Caribbean Victorian architecture, and home to the island’s most celebrated ice cream stand”. That we always knew. What was just announced in that same article is that Devon House is the fourth best place in the world to eat ice cream! I need to check out those other ice cream bars.
You see, I love to travel and would love to have done more. Instead, I focused on making my home comfortable for my family and inviting to my friends. Now, I live my life vicariously through the travels of our visitors. They tell me about their homeland while I share on the city and country I love so much. When it comes to the personal interactions with my guests, this is where I get my kick.
You see, I love to travel and would love to have done more. Instead, I focused on making my home comfortable for my family and inviting to my friends. Now, I live my life vicariously through the travels of our visitors. They tell me about their homeland while I share on the city and country I love so much. When it comes to the personal interactions with my guests, this is where I get my kick.
In our short two years of opening our home, we have had the pleasure of hosting guests from twenty-two countries around the world, including 7 Caribbean nations and 11 states in the USA. Conversations over breakfast or dinner run the gamut of the history, politics, sociology, arts and culture of their country and mine, while our library is chock-full of books on similar topics and more. Olive Senior’s Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage is the most referenced here.
Lighter conversations at the table will encompass the meal itself, which is more frequently than not Jamaican, or at least with a Jamaican twist. So, our sausages are jerked, our pancakes drizzled with logwood honey and our French Toast, let’s say it is a contradiction, as it is topped with tropical delights. Our jams and chutneys are from Linstead Market Jamaica. Their tinned ackee is the best on the supermarket shelves, and we always stock up with theirs when our crop is over. You too can stock up at their award-winning shop at the Norman Manley International Airport.
Having been in the financial sector for twenty-six of my working years, perhaps there are persons who feel that I have reinvented myself. Nothing is further from the fact. I was born to serve.
Entertaining brings me such joy. The smell of fresh linen napkins sets the tone every time. I love staying at hotels and, over the years, have adopted many of their best practices in running my home. At another level, and to be explored in another forum, is the knowing that there is something in sharing a home-cooked meal that is akin to expressing love.
So, how do I love sharing my home in B&B style? Let me count the ways.
I am neither desk-bound nor home-bound in this retirement stage of my life. With Neita’s Nest I keep moving. When I am not physically up and down at the supermarket, the hardware store or the airport, I am busy planning the meals and tours, stewing fruit, making breads and optimizing our space or décor features.
I am neither desk-bound nor home-bound in this retirement stage of my life. With Neita’s Nest I keep moving. When I am not physically up and down at the supermarket, the hardware store or the airport, I am busy planning the meals and tours, stewing fruit, making breads and optimizing our space or décor features.
From a business perspective, the most rewarding experience of running Neita’s Nest is doing strategic planning for my own business and watching the results unfold.
The most pleasing part is that I get to work from home, a prayer and wish that I threw out to the universe some 10 years ago.
The most heart-warming and satisfying moments come in the positive feedback from our guests, whether verbally or on our Neita’s Nest Trip Advisor page, and of course from having repeat guests.
The most pleasing part is that I get to work from home, a prayer and wish that I threw out to the universe some 10 years ago.
The most heart-warming and satisfying moments come in the positive feedback from our guests, whether verbally or on our Neita’s Nest Trip Advisor page, and of course from having repeat guests.
The most beautiful and enjoyable is that I can drink my coffee to the sunrise, raise my glass to the full moon and sit in wonderment, praise and forever thankfulness for an ever-changing view of the beautiful, verdant mountains – all from the verandah at Neita’s Nest.
This is too beautiful not to share!
This is too beautiful not to share!
You are welcome to be our guest at Neita’s Nest.
First contributed for Mecca to Jamaica by Author - Sheri Hunter, a 2011 guest of Neita's Nest.
First contributed for Mecca to Jamaica by Author - Sheri Hunter, a 2011 guest of Neita's Nest.
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