Life on Nantucket

ONCE HOME TO motley crews of whaling men and their families, Nantucket is New England’s own island paradise, a paragon of coastal beauty and a perfect antidote for these anxious times.

There are no bad angles on Nantucket. Every view is a postcard: cobblestone streets lined with pastel-hued hydrangeas, cedar-shingled homes with rose-dotted trellises and lush pivet gardens, pristine dunes topped by lavender-and-gold sunsets. Visitors fly in on private jets, supersize yachts dominate the harbor, an ice cream cone is $15, and even the dogs have that straight-from-the-spa look. But if you have the means, Nantucket has a rare tranquility that can restore mind, body and soul.

Ask a Nantucketer what makes their island special, and you’ll get a variety of answers: the maritime history, the natural beauty and surprisingly varied landscape, the local characters, the annual film festival, the isolation from a schedule-obsessed mainland. Nantucket has undeniable mystique. A significant percentage residents weren’t born on the island but moved there after being lured by its siren call.

Jeneane Life, owner of the Carlisle House Inn, is one such convert. Raised in Indiana, Life had never seen the ocean before summering on Nantucket as a teen. And yet, though she has lived on the island six months of every year for a decade and has visited countless times before, Life says she’ll never truly be considered an islander.

“I’m what the locals call a wash-ashore,” she laughs. “I wasn’t born here, but I fell in love with it pretty much right away.”

Poised and affable, Life excels at making other people comfortable. She glides though the inn’s common rooms, greeting newcomers, plumping a throw pillow, making sure the afternoon chocolate cookies at reception are served warm, and leaving happier guests in her wake.

Despite being owner and CEO of the Carlisle, plus two inns back in Indianapolis, Life is admirably hands-on. She strips beds, wipes down counters, inspects the berries before they’re served at breakfast, assembles cribs and makes sure the chocolate chip cookies are served warm promptly at three each day.

Life is quick to praise her staff, especially Helen Mills, the inn’s 25-year-old manager and a fellow wash-ashore who has worked for Life for the last three years. Mills trains the handful of young women who work at the inn, and who are all J-1 visa holders, mainly from Eastern European countries and Jamaica. All are busy soaking up adventures that will shape their character, exactly as Life once did.

FINDING HER CALLING

Life’s romance with the island began at 19, when she was invited through a friend’s mother to fill an opening on the staff of the Century House bed-and-breakfast. Though Life had lived in Germany and was a keen traveler, she’d never been to New England before. The owners, who lived in Cambridge, left her and four other college-age women in charge of the hotel.

“We did it all,” Life explains. “Cleaned the rooms, did the laundry, made a full hot breakfast, went shopping for the supplies, made reservations. We had no computer back then.”

It was hard work, but she discovered she enjoyed making people feel comfortable. She returned for two more summers during college, made friends and let the island’s magic get under her skin.

An eight-year stint in the corporate world followed, after which Life decided to return to hospitality. In 1996, she married, got pregnant and launched her first 10-room guest house, called the Stone Soup Inn, in her hometown of Indianapolis. It was a success, and two years later, she opened a second establishment, the seven-room Looking Glass Inn, which she designed with her mother. In 2001, Life bought a third inn, which included a spa, salon and restaurant.

Running the Indianapolis inns was rewarding, but Life missed the Nantucket summers. Occasional visits weren’t long enough. Newly divorced with two young sons, she gradually began to consider the prospect of buying an inn on the island she loved.

She engaged a real estate agent, but properties sold too quickly, so she began visiting inns while on vacation, which is how she discovered the Carlisle House Inn in 2017. Built in the mid-1700s, the property had impressive character and history, once having been home to Love Pollard, sister of Captain Pollard of the Essex, the whaling ship whose dreadful fate inspired Melville to write “Moby-Dick.” The inn also had living space for Life and her now teenage boys.

“I called the owner and said, ‘Sell me your inn!’” Life chuckles. The woman told her to call back in one year. Life did, and the sale moved forward.

The bones were solid and the inn functioned, but the décor was outdated and the bathrooms needed work. In her house in Indiana, Life worked from photos she’d taken of the inn, using painter’s tape to block off areas and physically stage how she intended to transform each room at the Carlisle. She purchased furniture in Indianapolis, loaded it into a U-Haul and drove it to Nantucket. She signed the purchase deed on May 8, decorated the space and opened three weeks later on Memorial Day weekend.

“Looking back, it was insane,” says Life. “I’d never do that again, but I was determined.”

18TH-CENTURY CHARM

While many of the newer hotels on the island feature ultra-modern décor that seems better suited to Miami than Nantucket, Life retained the Carlisle’s 18th-century character, inside and out, with some contemporary adjustments.

Life’s many experiences abroad, on-island and off, contribute to her design. The inn’s living room walls are painted a deep marine, creating a sea of negative space that offsets her eclectic collection of curios— salvaged hurricane lamps, a handcrafted box with silver seahorse handles, an assortment of polished driftwood.

Then there’s the spa-like ambience. The air smells fresh, like it’s been piped in from the ocean’s edge, remarkable in a building that’s older than the United States. Barely audible guitar music floats down from invisible speakers. The effect is both soothing and stimulating.

Mornings are muted, a relief for late risers. The upscale, self-serve continental breakfast features bowls of fresh berries, croissants and other treats. Guests can sit at tables in a window-filled room overlooking the inn’s flowery garden or eat al fresco. In the evenings, it’s easy to strike up conversations around the fire pit while toasting s’mores.

Like most of Nantucket’s hotels, the Carlisle House Inn is seasonal, open from April to early October. June, July and August are the tourist high season, but according to Life, May and September have charms all their own. She suggests visitors consider booking in September during the middle of the week, since weekends tend to be taken up with weddings.

“September is a great time to visit Nantucket. Stores and restaurants are still open, the crowds have thinned out, the weather is still good, and you have the island to yourself,” says Life.

ADVENTURES GALORE

Life knows every inch of the island and can recommend activities to suit any taste, from five-star dining to off-road adventures.

“People come here for all kinds of experiences,” Life says. “Some come for history, others for beaches, nature hikes, theater, world-class cuisine. You can get it all on this tiny strip of land.”

One of Life’s favorite excursions is to Great Point, on the northernmost tip of the island, a protected area that relatively few people visit. Life rents out two Jeeps to guests for the journey, which requires letting half the air out of the tires to drive on sand. The rewards are great: colonies of seals, a picturesque lighthouse, excellent fishing and empty beaches.

It’s one of many semi-secrets Life happily shares with her guests, many of whom return year after year.

“It’s great to have people come back,” she says warmly. “You get to know them over time; some become friends. Getting to know people is one of the best things about this business.”

Some of the guests inquire about the inn’s iconic symbol, a whale with wings. There’s one in the living room and another adorning the bright blue-and-gold quarterboard (that’s Nantucket for sign) over the entrance.

A quarterboard, Life explains with a touch of pride, is a nautical term derived from the sign on which a sailor would scrawl his name to designate his sleeping area. But why a flying whale?

“People say, ‘Oh, that’ll happen when pigs fly.’ Well, I’m the kind of person who can make pigs fly, but in this case, since it’s Nantucket, I made the pig into a whale.”

The Carlisle House Inn is open April through October and for the December Christmas stroll. For more information, call 508-228-0720 or visit http://www.carlislehouse.com.

JENEANE’S PICKS

Jeneane Life, owner of the Carlisle House Inn, shares some of her favorite island activities and eateries.

The Steamship Authority

Nantucket is closer than you think, only 26 miles from Hyannis, Cape Cod. You can choose a seasonal high-speed passenger-only ferry, the M/V Iyanough, which takes one hour, or take your time on the two-hour traditional ferry. www.steamshipauthority.com

Gail’s Tours

If it happened on Nantucket, seventh-generation native islander Gail Nickerson Johnson knows about it. This savvy tour guide picks you up in town and takes you around the island in her van, spilling all of Nantucket’s tea on this fun, informative two-hour tour. 508-257-6557.

American Seasons

Chef-Owner Neil Ferguson’s locally sourced creations are so exquisite he’ll spoil you for all other dining experiences. Try everything, but especially the Giannone chicken with celery root and the seductive honey-roast halibut with fennel and chorizo. Co-owner Cheryl Fudge’s design and personal artwork create a gorgeous ambience. Call 508-228-7111 for reservations.

Sailor’s Valentine at The Nantucket Hotel

For al fresco dining with lovely views, try Sailor’s Valentine, where hearty, fresh seafood is served with an Asian twist. Try the red curry and lime Thai mussels, the Berkshire pork belly with chipotle ginger glaze or the Glambake, a mouthwatering stew with lobster, chorizo, clams and corn. Call 508-228-4730 for reservations.

or, The Whale

Named for the alternative title of Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” this beautiful downtown Main Street bistro serves lunch, dinner and brunch. Chef Manny Rojas and his team serve up creative dishes with continental flair. Tuna tostadas with jicama and Basque cheesecake with sour cherry glaze are two standouts, but everything is scrumptious. Call 508-825-5897.

The Juice Bar

It’s an understatement to call The Juice Bar a local favorite, and long lines are the norm. Open since the late 1970s, this sweet shop sells over 40 unique flavors of the best homemade ice cream you’ll ever try, plus baked goods and drinks. www.ackjuicebar.com

BY CLAIRE VAIL