The Hotel Nantucket (32)

Daniella pulls five hundred-dollar bills out of her purse. “We’ll tip you for your excellent service.”

Zeke holds up his palms. “I’m sorry, ladies.” He takes careful steps backward into the lobby, which is deserted. I’m here, Zeke, Grace thinks. I’m here. “I have to get home now. You all have a good night, and happy birthday, Daniella.”

“It’s my fiftieth birthday,” Daniella says. “Just come up for ten minutes.”

Absolutely not, Grace thinks. She needs to get help. She widens her scope and sees the answer just on the other side of the door that leads to the Blue Bar. Grace ever so gently puts a hand on Yolanda’s back.

“Hey, Zeke!” Yolanda steps into the lobby, holding a takeout box. She’s wearing a stretchy black catsuit, a porkpie hat, and a pair of Chuck Taylors. She waves at the ladies and slips her arm through Zeke’s. “Would you mind walking me out to my car?”

Zeke exhales. “Of course. I was just leaving myself. Good night, ladies.”

“But…” Daniella says.

Zeke and Yolanda step out onto the front porch. Daniella, Alison, and Claire stare after him.

“Thank you,” Zeke whispers to Yolanda.

“You don’t have to walk me anywhere,” Yolanda says, pointing across the street to a vintage metallic-green Bronco with a white top. She smiles up at him, revealing the cute dimple. “I had the most incredible meal at the Blue Bar tonight. Have you eaten there yet?”

“Uh…”

Yolanda sighs. “I’m madly in love with the chef.”

“You are?” Zeke says.

She’s in love with Mario Subiaco? Grace thinks. Well, that explains why she spends so much time in the kitchen.

Yolanda skips down the stairs with a wave. “Have a good night, Zeke.” She drives off, and Zeke stares after her. He turns around to see the backlit figure of Daniella standing in the lobby. She crooks a finger at him, but Zeke runs for home. Good night, sweet prince! Grace thinks.

Then she follows the ladies to suite 117.

Claire passes out facedown on the bed in the second bedroom. She’s going to miss all the fun, Grace thinks. Alison declares she’s drawing herself a bath, and in a few moments the tub is filled with steaming water. She takes the box of matches from the little table next to the tub and tries to light the lemon-and-mint candle, but the match sputters and goes out. She tries a second match but it happens again. And again. She can’t get a match to stay lit. She turns on the pearly light around the mirror, and this sets a similar mood, so she steps one foot into the tub.

She shrieks. The water is ice cold. And then the light goes out.

“Daniella!” she cries.

Daniella is in the master bedroom trying to make the electronic shade go down. Every time she pushes the button to lower the shade, the shade starts to go down, but then, as if it changed its mind, it travels back up. Grace is delighted! The petals of the lilies and peonies in the Surfside Spring bouquet wither and fall to the table, and while Daniella is gasping at this, Grace whips the shade all the way up. Daniella picks up the phone to call the front desk, but there isn’t a dial tone. She flops on the bed, still in her red-soled shoes, and pulls a pillow over her face. Grace goes into the sound system, and an instant later music is blaring: Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize.” Daniella sits bolt upright in bed, and Grace laughs and laughs. She hasn’t had this much fun since girls were gals.





TravelTattler Reviews


The Hotel Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts

Dates of your stay: June 12–15

Number of people in your party: 1

Name (optional): Franny Yates

Please rate the following areas of the hotel on a scale of 1 to 10

Reception/checkin: 1

Room cleanliness: 10

Style/decor: 10

Concierge: 10

Wellness center: 10

Pools: 10

Room service/minibar: 10

Overall experience: 5.5

Please feel free to leave additional comments about your stay, singling out any staff members who made your visit memorable.

I enjoyed my three-night stay at the Hotel Nantucket; however, I’m only giving it five and a half stars overall because the night of my checkin was an unmitigated disaster, and had the hour not been so late and had every other room on the island not already been booked, I would have left immediately. The front-desk clerk and the night bellman were harried and distracted, and the front-desk clerk was, at one point, snippy with me. Then it took the night bellman thirty minutes to deliver my bags to my room when all I wanted to do was put on my pajamas and go to sleep. Furthermore, when the bellman came, he neglected to explain any features of the room. I didn’t realize until my final day, while chatting with a lovely couple at the adult pool, that everything in the minibar was complimentary.

The Blue Bar, however, was outstanding and the perfect place to eat as a party of one. I went all three evenings of my stay. My compliments to the chef!



This review, forwarded to her by Xavier, is waiting in Lizbet’s in-box when she gets to work on June 16. (She could easily check their TravelTattler reviews herself, but she’s too busy overseeing operations at the hotel, and Xavier has a five-hour jump on the day, which feels like an unfair advantage.)

The comments accompanying this survey read as follows: