Days shy of her 104th birthday, Onesta Devonish was the toast of the Mother’s Day luncheon at Radisson Aquatica Resort yesterday as she celebrated with family and friends.
Devonish was the oldest mother in attendance and was presented with a cake compliments of the resort’s management while the other guests sang Happy Birthday.
Devonish’s daughter, who declined to give her name, said she was a mother among all mothers.
Devonish, of Lightfoot Lane, St Michael, marks her birthday on Wednesday.
General manager of Radisson Aquatica, Gerry Lewis, said the theme for this year’s luncheon was Radisson Loves Mothers and they put together a competitive package for all in attendance.
“Understanding the economic climate, things are difficult so it becomes difficult to entertain, so for each table of four one mother ate free. That was accepted and it came over very well,” he added.
They closed reservations on Wednesday after booking more than 250 guests, and Lewis said they had to turn down at least 80 more requests since then.
At Savannah Hotel, the main restaurant Rachel’s was fully booked for buffet lunch. Food and beverage manager Horace Franklin said they were sold out and closed bookings from Wednesday. They had to offer a similar buffet luncheon at sister restaurant Drifters.
He said they catered to over 500 diners through the day as they also offered a Mother’s Day breakfast.
Franklin said at least 40 per cent of their guests were repeat customers, including from The New Testament Church of God who booked every year.
Operations manager at Brown Sugar Gwen Cummins said this year they served 347 guests to a buffet lunch and also had to turn away a large number of people who booked too late. She said they enhanced their traditional Sunday buffet with some special items.
On the outside of the restaurant, a group of mothers and their daughters who are also mothers were taking pictures in the garden.
The members of the Way To Calvary Seventh-day Adventist Church said every year they did a Mother’s Day lunch and Brown Sugar was this year’s choice.
The group of 16 mothers said they left the children at home and came out for a treat.
At Ocean Two Resort there was a buffet lunch at the Taste Restaurant. Assistant restaurant manager Victoria Seale said the hotel, which was only opened three years ago, had good patronage. They catered to almost 100 people for lunch and almost 100 for breakfast.
Hilton Barbados opened up the Needham’s Point Ballroom to several hundred guests for its buffet lunch. Mother and daughter Sylvia Bennett and Stellene Alleyne who were having lunch said they usually did something at Hilton every year and they chose Mother’s Day this year.
A special treat for the children was a jumping castle and face painting.
