On Tuesday, November 30, Jamaica Observer Limited Senior Associate Editor Lifestyle & Social Content Novia McDonald-Whyte hosted the penultimate Lifestyle webinar of 2021. Rock Fab Living Part II, featured panellists were Angelie Spencer Home (ASH) principal Angelie Martin-Spencer; Pussbackfoot principal Aiesha Panton; Shikima Hinds Events & Concierge Limited Managing Director Shikima Hinds; Sandals South Coast Butler Manager Ryan Green; Half Moon Chairman Guy Steuart III; and Island Routes Director of Operations Max Patchen.

What was the overarching theme, you ask?

Well, how fab The Rock is, of course.

Martin-Spencer kicked things off with a tour of a recently renovated kitchen. Fun fact: In 2020 in the US, 79% of home remodelling projects were kitchen-related. Only bathroom remodelling jobs eclipsed this statistic. The kitchen is the heart of the home, and Martin-Spencer urges her clients to “Design the home from the inside out,” thinking of how they live and ensuring that the design meets their needs. The ASH principal toured webinar viewers through a stunning modern Jamaican kitchen with a black, white, polished brass, gold and marble palette. Absolutely breathtaking and ready for holiday entertaining.

Having dusted off pandemic paralysis, we are now ready to entertain and host dinner parties. But where our cooking skills have only improved since lockdown, our table decorating skills may need brushing up. Cue: Aiesha Panton, principal, Pussbackfoot, who is in the “business of cultivating joy”. Panton utilised items from the garden that represent the beauty of Jamaica to create a holiday tablescape. With a white tablecloth as her base, Panton created a striking table with gold flatware, white china, gold spray-painted Monstera and palm leaves, breadfruit leaf placemats, coconut husk candle holders, woven mats, and bamboo accents. Watching Panton dress the table was like being allowed into the inner sanctum of an artist. You somehow felt both invited and a trespasser. Panton made it apparent that anything in your garden can become a part of your holiday tablescape, “Slow down, open your eyes and see the beauty that surrounds us,” she said.

Sometimes we don’t have to depend on décor to transport us. If we are like Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, we can put our travel wish list in the capable hands of Shikima Hinds. Hinds has built a reputation of providing a “personalised destination experience in Jamaica”. She gets to know her clients and offers them the things they’ve never done and never knew they wanted to try. Each of Hinds’ packages allows her clients to become “one with the food, culture, and environment”. Though the pandemic has severely impacted travel, what hasn’t changed is the love affair with our island.

Sandals South Coast Butler Manager Ryan Green sees that love affair every day. The guests to whom he and his team tend in the overwater bungalows have a rarefied experience and the best that our island has to offer in terms of food, people, and experience. Each of Sandals’ Elite Butlers are certified by the Guild of English Butlers and undergo continuous training to ensure that they can meet and exceed the expectation of their guests. As Green enthuses, each butler at Sandals has to have pride, presence, and passion, and being a good swimmer doesn’t hurt.

Half Moon has enjoyed “68 years of staging memories” and webinar viewers could see the twinkle in Chairman Guy Steuart III’s eyes as he spoke of the storied property and its most recent addition — the Eclipse neighbourhood. Half Moon is a village comprised of luxurious rooms and villas, a spa, and 14 dining options, all “framed by the glistening Caribbean Sea to the north and the lush hillsides to the south”. A Half Moon stay is, in a word, memorable.

Island Routes Director of Operations Max Patchen wrapped things up by showcasing the rugged and adventurous beauty of the island. The “world’s leading Caribbean attraction company” has experiences in 13 locations across the Caribbean and Latin America. On The Rock, Island Routes satisfies “the whims of the most adventurous of the most laidback traveller”, allowing locals and visitors to the island to experience paradise just the way they like it.