THERE is a sweet, mellow sound that greets you when you first enter the Dutch Village at Sandals Whitehouse. Ingrid Simms, the housekeeper behind the voice, knows exactly how her guests like to have their rooms done and believes strongly that whatever task one is given in life, should be done to the best of his/her ability. And this she does, her voice always lifting in song.

With six years’ experience working as a room attendant at Sandals Whitehouse under her belt, Simms continues to improve on her craft, creating kissing swans and the words ‘WELCOME HOME!’ on the beds with bath towels and petals. The rooms, she styles

to perfection.

After successfully completing her certification in housekeeping from the Culloden Vocational Training Centre, Simms began training as a public area attendant at Sandals Whitehouse. With hopes of later becoming a room attendant,

she continued working with that aim in mind, and after a year in the resort public areas, she started doing turn-down services in the rooms on the three to 11:00 pm shift.

“Doing the ‘turn downs’ was a great start for me. I could get creative with how I prepared the rooms for my guests. When they got back from dinner and were ready to retire for the evening there was always a beautifully decorated room awaiting them,” Simms said. “Honeymooners, anniversary and birthday celebrants also got their special service and having them write back to say ‘thank you!’ was a gratifying feeling for me.”

Simms loved sprucing up guests’ rooms for bedtime, but, with the birth of her daughter came the desire to spend the evenings at home and after three years of doing the night shift, she asked to work during the days.

“It took me a while to hone my skill as a room attendant as I was a little slow during the first few weeks,” she said.

Determined as she was to get better, she motivated herself to improve on her efficiency and now she manages to take care of all her assigned rooms and add her extra special little touches all on time.

“I have guests who are so happy with how I prepare their rooms that the wives will discreetly ask me to show them how to make the bed the way I do it or to create the art pieces. The most popular is the ‘I love you’ and kissing swan designs. This, they always say, will give them the opportunity to go back home and set the mood in their bedrooms as well,” she said.

Ingrid is a celebrity on TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site where numerous guests write reviews on the resort and how pleased they were with her. Known for her gap-toothed smile, she was even awarded the Smile Award for Courtesy at the resort’s Annual Prestige Awards in 2010; an award given based on her genteel demeanour to both guests and colleagues. Simms even joins the resort’s weekly talent shows, smiling and singing her heart out to her guests.

“Ingrid is an excellent worker, always pleasant and receptive,” said executive housekeeper Derrick Robinson. “She smiles non-stop and even if you provide corrections she takes them gracefully and improves in short order. Her colleagues respect her as a helpful team member who has a fantastic work ethic and is willing to go a little further than that extra mile to improve the housekeeping department.”

Simms is a prayer warrior and her strong Christian upbringing keeps her grounded and always hopeful.

“Nothing can get me down for too long. I am always positive and if I ever feel sad I just send up a short prayer and sing my troubles away,” said the 32 year old.

As much as she loves housekeeping and the opportunities in her hands every day to impact on the guests’ visit, Simms dreams of transitioning into the butler department soon.

“Being a butler fascinates me and I want to be even more interactive with my guests. I would have much more opportunities to impress them at every turn and make them want to come back time and time again to vacation with us,” she said.