A hotel worker who began as a waitress and rose through the ranks to become head of the Marriott Castle Harbour’s classic Windsor Room restaurant broke barriers as the first woman in the island’s hospitality industry to take on the management role.

Flavia Lambe’s gracious service and unflagging eye for detail won her a following at the classic resort across decades of the island’s tourism heydays.

She also got commendations from management across the Marriott’s worldwide chain.

Edwin Fuller, the president and managing director of the day at Marriott Lodging International, wrote to Ms Lambe with personal thanks at the 40-year mark of her employment.

As a single mother raising four children, Ms Lambe put in long hours on the job, starting in 1959 as what was then termed a bus girl.

She lived at Knapton Hill, which put the Castle Harbour — now Rosewood Tucker’s Point — within easy distance.

Her hard work paid off. By 1968, she was dining room captain, and for two years before rising to maître d'hôtel in 1977, she was second in command behind the previous head, Ciro Milo.

Ms Lambe grew up around Harris’s Bay in Smith’s. Her mother, Pearl, worked in hotels, including Castle Harbour, and jobs at the Tucker’s Town resort became a family affair.

The role of maître d'hôtel in its iconic restaurant with a commanding water view put Ms Lambe in charge of a team of more than 40 people.

As the hotel prepared to wrap up the Marriott brand in 1999, Ms Lambe looked back on a bygone era for tourism, when the island drew international celebrities and Castle Harbour boasted a top place in a world-class entertainment circuit.

She told the Mid-Ocean News: “We saw the elite here — the Walt Disneys and Lucille Balls with their security, the Kennedys, Ronald Reagan's daughter Maureen, Prince Charles.

“There was amazing entertainment at the hotel, a lot of good bands and dancing, and the water ballets were performed here. You won't see that kind of thing now.”

She called it “an elegant and beautiful time”.

Ms Lambe retired after 41 years. Always on the move, her top reputation from the hotel got her instantly hired at Coral Cleaners on Victoria Street, in Hamilton, and she worked for the company deep into her 80s.

Her religious epiphany in 2001 made her a key figure at the Marsden First United Methodist Church in Smith’s, and Ms Lambe put her hospitality skills to new use in its soup kitchen ministry, serving up meals to the needy of the community every Friday night.

Marcelle Tickle, one of her daughters — who worked for a spell as a cashier at Castle Harbour — said: “The fact that she started working as a bus girl and ended up in charge of that incredible dining room, in those days, is amazing.”

She added: “She also worked hard to keep the household functioning and the bills paid.”

Martin Tickle, Ms Lambe’s son-in-law, said: “She went above and beyond her call of duty in service and serving her customers. She ran a very tight ship at the Castle Harbour that got her commended for her efficiency. Everybody loved her.

“She would come to every individual customer and befriend them. She was never indifferent. She would make sure that anything other than perfect was addressed and resolved immediately.”

He called her “excellent, efficient, sincere, warm and welcoming”.

“She gave expert service to all her guests. That was it. She made everyone feel important — because they are.”

• Flavia Hyacinth Everlee Lambe, longstanding front of house at Castle Harbour Hotel’s iconic Windsor Room, was born on September 17, 1934. She died on January 5, 2026, aged 91