Eleven years ago, Sylvia Daley left a successful career in the world of international high finance to open Quintessentials, a bed and breakfast in East Marion.
A native of Jamaica, Daley moved to New York at age 18 to attend New York University. She went on to work for the United Nations in economic development and later on Wall Street as an investment banker. Daley speaks several languages and has lived abroad.
While living in Manhattan, Daley got a summer rental in East Hampton but did not find the area fulfilling. When a friend introduced her to the North Fork, she fell in love with its beauty and calm.
Fourteen years ago, she bought the Victorian that would become Quintessentials. Three years later, she said farewell to her job and her Manhattan apartment. "I'd had it with the impersonal nature of city life and the intensity of the job I did."
When she started as an innkeeper, Daley found most North Fork B&Bs to be at a "mom-and-pop" level. "I think I brought a European level of sophistication," she said. She used fine linens and served afternoon tea. Nowadays, she said, the B&B industry "has risen to a higher level."
"There is no cookie-cutter B&B," Daley said. Quintessentials offers an unusual blend of Caribbean flavor and European style. The rooms are named for the parishes of Jamaica, and Jamaican, Mediterranean and European dishes are served at breakfast and afternoon tea.
Daley foresees tremendous growth for B&Bs on the North Fork. She has seen more people moving away from hotels toward "that nice cozy feeling" that B&Bs provide. Given interest in the wineries, Daley said, the region should continue to develop but hold onto "that bucolic feeling" that sets it apart.
