So you’ve already been to the stores shopping for
Christmas. You can’t get your hands on a “WII” (ask your
kids, they’ll know what it is), you’ve already purchased
every conceivable piece of jewelry (though your wife
might have another opinion on that), your husband has
every color sweater imaginable, and you couldn’t find a
parking space in the mall last time you went. You’re
losing hope and the holiday spirit. Don’t despair! I
have the perfect christmas gift idea for
you.
A Queen Victoria Gift
Certificate!
Queen Victoria gift certificates really are the
perfect gift. First of all, you know it is sure to fit.
You also can rest assured that it will be a welcomed and
treasured gift. In fact, it will probably win the “best
gift” award. Now I know that Christmas is all about the
spirit of giving, but keep in mind that if you buy a
Queen Victoria gift certificate for your husband or
wife, then you get to use it too. It is kind of like
treating yourself and getting extra credit for being
thoughtful. How many times in life do you run across an
opportunity like that?
Perhaps the best thing
about purchasing one of our gift certificates is how
easy it is. You don’t have to go find it, you don’t
worry about the size, you don’t have to think about
where to hide it, and it takes about 5 minutes to do the
whole thing.
Dozens of people call The Queen Victoria their home
for the holidays every year. Maybe you should become one
of them!
Remember how comfortable you were
during your last visit. You felt right at home, right?
Well, imagine what Christmas must be like! Imagine
strolling the streets looking at all the lights on the
beautiful Victorian homes on Christmas Eve after your
wonderful dinner at Fredas (they open the restaurant
just for us!). Picture yourself strolling down the
stairs on Christmas morning to be greeted with one of
our sumptuous breakfasts (and an endless cup of coffee).
Tea on Christmas day turns into a reception that
proceeds our banquet at Congress Hall.
Are you up in the air about where you’ll be for
Christmas this year? Maybe your kids are at their in-
laws this year. Perhaps you’ve just become empty
nesters. Maybe your family lives elsewhere and you just
can’t make it there. Maybe you just want to escape and
have a romantic Christmas in Cape May.
Whatever
the reason, you’ll have a home in Cape May at The Queen
Victoria. Call us today to reserve your perfect
Christmas getaway.
Thinking of New Year’s Eve? How about that wonderful
week between Christmas and New Years? If you’ve got a
few days of vacation to use up, or just want to catch a
little last minute Christmas Joy, I might suggest one
last 2007 visit to Cape May.
That whole week between Christmas and New Years is
very popular in Cape May. All the shops are still
bustling, we’ve got loads of tours in town this year,
many of our wonderful restaurants will be open, and Cape
May is always a popular New Year’s Eve destination.
We’ve still got openings for that “vacation”
week, and a couple of openings for New Year’s Eve
itself. Don’t wait long to call, though! We’ll
definitely be full for that week, and our rooms are
going quickly.
Back by Popular Demand … Seasonal
Specials
Wow! Last year we introduced a few new specials for
the cooler months and judging from your response, you
really liked them. So this year we’re bringing them
back. Yes, all of our seasonal specials are back: “Gift
of Romance”, “Two for Two”, “Gourmet Getaway”, and
“Winter Weekend MADness”.
The Gourmet Getway, Two for Two, and Winter Weekend MADness run through April, while the Gift of
Romance runs into June (but is not available in Jan, Feb
& Mar). All except the “Winter Weekend MADness are weeknight specials, including Sunday
evening.
Yes, Valentines Day falls into the “Celebration
Season”. I know you haven’t even gotten Christmas and
New Years under control yet, but you just can’t wish
Valentines away. Seriously guys, your lady expects you
to treat her special on Valentines Day, and flowers just
aren’t good enough anymore. She certainly deserves
better.
Luckily for you, I can make it easy for you. This
year you actually have two weekends to celebrate
Valentines Day. With the 14th falling on Thursday, you
have the option of coming to The Queen Victoria to
celebrate either the weekend before or the weekend
after. Which one are you going to choose? President’s
Day is the weekend following, so that is a great option.
On the other hand, why wait?
Either way, we’ll
have a beautiful red rose waiting for you at check-in
(so you can do The Queen Victoria AND the flower
thing).
Upcoming Events
Lamplighter tours Dec 21,27,28, 29
New Years Eve!
Cape May Wine School “From the barrel” Jan 13
Martin Luther King Weekend Jan 18-19
“Pre” Valentines Day Feb 8-9
Valentines Day Feb 14
President’s Day Weekend Feb 15-16
Cape May Wine School “Winter Reds” Feb 17
Cape May Wine School “South African wines” Feb 24
Sherlock Holmes March Mystery Weekend Mar 7-8
Cape May Wine School “Left Coast Wines” Mar 30
Each month I focus on the upcoming season in my newsletter.
I know you’re all dying for me to give you reasons to come
down for a visit to The Queen Victoria, and I don’t want to
disappoint you. As the Christmas season winds its way down,
though, I was at a bit of a loss as to what season to promote
next. After all, “Winter in Cape May” doesn’t have the ring to
it that I was hoping for. Then it struck me! I can create my
own season. So here we go …
From this point forward,
the months between December and April will officially be
referred to as the “Celebration Season“, at least at
The Queen Victoria.
What this means is that if you have
a special occasion coming up in the next few months, you now
have the perfect place to celebrate it. It doesn’t matter what
it is, really. We’re equally great for Birthdays,
Anniversaries, Honeymoons, Engagements, and virtually
everything else. Really, we’re kind of “one size fits all”
when it comes to celebrations. If you’ve got a special
celebration coming up, give us a call. You know you’ll have a
great time in Cape May at The Queen Victoria!
Have you seen The Queen Victoria
Billboards?
We were pretty surprised the other day to receive a
tube of poster sized images of The Queen Victoria that
had a sort of long “billboard” shape from the State of
New Jersey, Dept of Tourism. Sure, we send lots of tax
dollars into the State, but we don’t really ever expect
them to send us anything. This time they surprised us.
Unbeknownst to us, the department selected The Queen
Victoria to be featured in three different billboard
locations as part of their “Great Destinations”
advertising campaign. If you live in or near Newark,
Pittsburgh or Baltimore, perhaps you’ve seen one of
these billboards. It is unlikely that we’ll ever get a
chance to see them, so if you do, take a picture and
send it to us.
Featured “Room of the Month” …
Mayfair
This room is where it all started for Anna Marie and
me. No, this isn’t where we spent our honeymoon (though,
it would have been a great choice!). This is the first
room we ever stayed in at The Queen Victoria. This is
the room we were in when we decided we wanted to buy
this slice of heaven on earth.
Mayfair is a very comfortable room on the second
floor of the Prince Albert Hall building. It is a good
sized room with a nice sitting area with a beautiful
victorian sofa. It is a quiet room with lovely afternoon
sunlight and it is always warm and cozy, even on the
coldest Cape May celebration weekend.
I highly
recommend this room for your next stay. Don’t worry, we
won’t expect you to buy the place!
The “Stay and Play” package is still going strong. As
part of our ongoing support for great theatre in Cape
May, we’ve purchased 20 season tickets to the Cape May
Stage. That means we have 160 tickets to give to our
favorite guests. Of course, our favorite guests are
those who stay for several nights!
If you book a 4 night weekend stay or a 3 night
weekday stay, we’ll be pleased to share our tickets to
the Cape May Stage with you. These tickets have a $28
face value, so this is definitely a great deal. Be sure
to ask about the tickets when you reserve your
room!
Cape May Stage always presents something
special for the holiday season, and this year is no
exception. In fact, this year they are featuring their
most popular show ever again for your enjoyment. This
season’s last show, Cape May Stage’s hysterically funny
original production “Every Christmas Story Ever Told”,
started on Dec. 5 and runs until Dec. 30. I’m looking
forward to finally seeing this show, which by all
accounts is a fun, zany and thouroughly entertaining
experience.
Lots of you have seen our mall in its “construction
phase” this Fall. I’ve heard a lot of you lamenting the
loss of the beautiful trees and how sad it all looks
now, during the Christmas shopping season. Some of you
have heard a shopkeeper or two complain about the
project. If so, you may be thinking that the wonderful
shopping district you know and love in Cape May is
doomed.
Nothing could be farther from the truth!
The trees are all gone now, but they will soon be
replaced by 20 foot saplings that are specifically
chosen to thrive in Cape May’s climate. The concrete in
the center is all broken up right now, but it will soon
be replaced by a beautiful tumbled brick that will be
far more charming than the old pebbled concrete ever
was. Have I told you about the fountains? There will be
a fountain in every block, which will greatly enhance
the charm and ambiance of our little “mall”.
So
don’t lament the old mall. You may have loved it, but
you’ll be overwhelmed by its replacement. I
promise!
Favorite Guest Photos
In keeping with the Celebration theme, I’m presenting
a beautiful photo of a great couple that joins us each
year for their anniversary. Not only does David bring
his lovely bride Ellen to The Queen Victoria for their
anniversary each year, he “surpises” her with a bouquet
of roses, one for each year of their marriage.
You may have noticed that the foilage in the
background of this shot (and the short sleeves) would
indicate that David & Ellen are going against the
grain of our “Celebration Season”. They had the audacity
to have gotten married in September. OK, I’ll admit that
it is perfectly acceptable to celebrate your special
occasions at The Queen Victoria in other seasons. We’re
not asking that you turn your life upside down, after
all. I’m just suggesting that you should try to start
arranging all your future celebrations so that they fall
into our wonderfully romantic Celebration
Season.
Doug & Anna Marie’s Restaurant
Pick Of The Month … Lucky Bones
In the cooler months Anna Marie and I love to sneak
over to Lucky Bones for a casual, fun evening of food
and drink. Lucky Bones is one of our newer restaurants,
opened up in 2006 by the Craig family ,who brought you
the Washington Inn, Pelican Club (this restaurant
actually repaced the Pelican Club), Cape May Winery, and
the Love the Cook store in our mall. It quickly became
one of Cape May’s most popular restaurants, especially
among locals.
So why should you go to Lucky Bones? The food, of
course. We usually eat on the lighter side at Lucky
Bones, but their menu features everything from brick
oven pizza to a nice entree. My favorite dish is
currently the “Filet Tip Sandwich”, though once in a
while I’ll go for the ribs (when I’m really hungry).
Anna Marie loves the “Chicken BLT”, which is truly
wonderful.
You’ll be glad to know that they’ve
got a fun bar too, and a reasonably priced wine list. If
you’re in Cape May this Celebration Season, give Lucky
Bones a try.
Make your reservations today for a romantic getaway at The
Queen Victoria Bed and Breakfast. We are looking forward to
helping you plan your next visit!
