| Newsletter | February 2019 |
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The Event Season Arrives!
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With the passing of President's Day weekend and Valentine's Day, both the same weekend this year, Cape May officially launches into the "Event Season". Honestly, there are more events than you can shake a stick at in Cape May between now and the start of Summer. There is no bad time of the year to visit Cape May, or The Queen Victoria, but late Winter and Spring are truly wonderful times to make your way to Cape May. I'll be telling you about all of the compelling Cape May upcoming events of the season, along with a few exclusive Queen Victoria events, in the next several articles, so get comfortable, read on, and start imagining yourself happily enjoying one or more of them! |
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We're always happy to assist you find the best possible room for the dates you want to visit, or the best dates for the room you want to stay in. Call us at (609) 884-8702 to get started, or click the link below to reserve your room. |
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Room of The Month Prince Albert |
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Welcome to our "Sisters"/"Girlfriends" room. With its two queen sized beds, the Prince Albert room is uniquely configured within The Queen Victoria. As you can imagine, it is very popular with Sisters, Mom's/Daughters and Girlfriends traveling together, thus the nick name. It is also quite popular for families. As you can see from the photos, The Prince Albert room is large. It is located on the second floor of the Queen Victoria building, in the front of the house. In the second photo you can see the bay window, which is part of the turret you see on the right front corner of the building when looking at it from the outside. Prince Albert is also a very bright room due to the abundance of windows. Those same windows make it an ideal room to enjoy ocean breezes in during the warmer weather found in the Spring and Fall. The bathroom is spacious and bright and features a large step-in shower. |
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Of course Prince Albert has all of the same basic amenities that all of our rooms have, including a large flat panel TV with DVD on the wall opposite the beds, a room safe, mini refrigerator, iron/board, and individually controlled climate control. Prince Albert is an incredibly popular room, and it is certainly one you should plan well ahead for if you are hoping to reserve it. |
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Discount Packages Have you taken advantage of our fantastic discount packages yet this year? If not, what better time than one of the many Special Events coming up in the next several weeks. There is still plenty of time to take advantage of either one of these great special deals. Don't wait, though, because they won't last forever. Winter Escape The Winter Escape package is available for reservations between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2020, and includes a Large Standard room for any 2 nights for $350 (plus tax). The package also features some "value added" elements, including a complimentary cheese platter and a free wine tasting at the Natali Vineyards. This is the only deep discount package we offer at The Queen Victoria which includes weekends, and virtually all guests who book it take advantage of that. Though the package includes Large Standard rooms, you can upgrade to larger, more expensive rooms and enjoy similar savings. 234 The 234 package is a 2 night weeknight discount package offered Sunday through Thursday, starting November 1st and running all the way through the end of April. Specifically, it includes 2 nights in a Standard room for $234 ($117/night). Similar savings are available for our larger rooms as well, at a slightly higher price. Reservations for this package can also be expanded to as many as 5 nights at the same discounted rate. This really is a great deal, which I'm sure every Cape May lover (and Queen Victoria lover) will find hard to resist. |
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Upcoming Events & Activities |
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Monthly Birthday Celebrations - March 14, 2020
- April 25, 2020
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Lots of our guests have made the fun decision to celebrate their birthdays at The Queen Victoria so far this winter. Both our January & February birthday weekends were well attended, and our parties were loads of fun. We're not through with the fun yet, however, as we still have birthday weekends planned for March & April. We'll be transforming afternoon tea into a birthday celebration with balloons, cake, party favors for everyone, and of course we'll sing "Happy Birthday". We don't discriminate against those not celebrating a birthday, but we do try to make all of our birthday celebrants for that month feel special. If you or the one you love has a birthday coming up in the next couple of months, and you just can't figure out what the perfect gift is (besides a gift certificate to The Queen Victoria, of course), you might just consider booking a reservation for the appropriate month and celebrate in style at The Queen Victoria. |
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12th Annual "Big Cheesy" Weekend March 6-7, 2020 One Saturday each March we pull out all the stops and transform afternoon tea into an unforgettable Cheese Tasting Party. As you can see, our table is barely able to hold all of the different cheese platters that we prepare and serve, usually about 16 cheeses. We always try to find a fun variety, perhaps somewhat exotic, selection of cheeses to create a tasting adventure. We also serve premium breads, olives, olive oils, hearts of palm and roasted red peppers to make the event even tastier. For those guests that are serious about their cheese, we provide a tasting/scoring chart to use as they make their way through all the cheeses. Most people just taste all the different cheeses, trying to figure out which is their favorite. This event is free for all guests spending the weekend at The Queen Victoria. Over the many years that we've been hosting this event, it has become one of the most popular weekends of the year. We encourage our guests to bring a bottle of wine if they are so inclined, to enjoy with their cheese. Our buffet table generally ends up having a pretty healthy supply of wines. We encourage you to bring a favorite wine, but make it a wine you're willing to share, as it becomes a pretty communal affair with regards to the wine. |
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Sherlock Holmes Mystery Weekend March 13-15, 2020 Yes, everybody's favorite sleuth is returning to Cape May this March to solve the latest mystery which will befall our city this winter, "Sherlock Holmes and Hark! How the Bells" (a new mystery by Emily Pruna). "John Watson and Sherlock Holmes are having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit when there is a killer on the loose. Someone knows too much and the killer, simply known as “Jack Frost,” is leaving people cold in the streets and the night silent. Holmes must determine which person with a secret is willing to kill for it. Time is running out as the cold shadow of Jack Frost grows closer. |
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It sounds like Holmes and Watson (and You!) are bound to be busy this March, solving this latest mystery. The Game's Afoot
Friday Evening: 8:30pm, Coffee and Dessert Reception
The Rose Room at the Inn of Cape May
Join the great detective and his faithful assistant Dr. John Watson for the evening. It is here that the mystery unfolds, and as Holmes says, "the game's afoot." A cash bar will be available. Registration begins at 7pm; seating begins at 8pm. Search for Clues Tour
Saturday Afternoon: 1pm - 3pm, A self-guided tour of Bed and Breakfast Inns You'll get to explore several B&Bs in search of clues that will help you to solve the mystery before you. While you sleuth you'll be able to rub elbows with Sherlock, Watson and the whole cast of characters, discussing the case, if you wish. The Game Continues Saturday Afternoon: 3:30-4:30pm, The Rose Room at the Inn of Cape May
Why is Holmes drawn to this case? What are the larger ramifications of the case? Compare your findings to those of the famous detective. How are you faring in your search? Have you matched wits with Mr. Holmes or are you on track to become this year's clueless wonder? Holmes Unlocks The Mystery!
Sunday Afternoon: 12:30pm, The Rose Room at the Inn of Cape May
Be seated at 12 noon and enjoy a hearty lunch before Holmes and Watson reveal the solution. Is there a villian among us still? How well did you fare in your search? Once the mystery is solved, the winners will be announced and prizes awarded, including the "Clueless Wonder" for the worst solution submitted. It is all in fun! |
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Chocolate Lover's Weekend May 8-9, 2020 Nov 20-21, 2020 We held our first Chocolate Lover's Weekend of the year a couple of weeks ago, and it was fantastic (if I may say so myself). It was our 6th go around with this event, and I think we've really perfected it. We even managed to come up with a great solution for melting the "Caramel Sea Salt" chips, which in our initial attempt for the event last November was really tasty, but a little clumpy. We simply added the Caramel Sea Salt chips to some dark chocolate chips, and melted it together. It was a perfect, and very tasty solution. There aren't too many things in the universe, or at least on the planet, that are as universally adored as chocolate. I'm not sure it would be entirely accurate to say that all mothers love chocolate, but I'm betting most do. It would certainly explain the success of our previous Monther's Day events. If you missed all of our previous Chocolate Lover's Weekends, or attended one, and can't wait to do so again, now is the time to start planning your May 8-9 weekend visit to The Queen Victoria. |
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As you can see in the top photo, we'll be serving lots of specialty chocolates (on the left, behind the cheese cubes), LOTS of chocolate baked goods (to the right), and goodies that are fun to drizzle with chocolate (no dipping in a public setting!). To the right you can see the 6 pots of melted chocolates that we'll have on the buffet. Once again, we'll be offering some wonderful flavored melted chocolates, including Dark Chocolate, Espresso Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Orange Dark Chocolate, Cherry Dark Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate. Believe it or not, they taste even better than they sound! FREE! (for all reserved guests) |
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Singer Songwriter Cape May (13th Annual) March 27-28 2020 |
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It is hard to believe that we've been enjoying this treasure of an event for 13 years now. It has certainly become a tradition that we look forward to every March. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing Singer Songwriter Cape May (SS Cape May), let me tell you a little about it. |
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Each year talented musicians from all over the country flock to Cape May to perform their music and entertain the residents and visitors to Cape May. Their primary goal is to be "discovered" by one of the many agents and talent scouts that will be in attendance, but the wonderful news for you is that there will be dozens of musicians performing about 150 different concerts in venues all over town ... FREE OF CHARGE. There will be two headline acts with an admission charge, but even that is nominal. Perhaps the best thing of all is that we'll once again have the very talented singer/songwriter Avi Wisnia performing a house concert for us at The Queen Victoria on Saturday afternoon during tea time. We'll be serving lite fare and we welcome you to bring any wine you might wish to enjoy with it. The icing on the cake for this entertainment extravaganza is that you can still take advantage of our "Winter Escape" discount package! Call us today at (609) 884-8702 or click on the button below to reserve your room now. |
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Exit Zero Jazz Festival April 17-19, 2020 Yes, the Exit Zero Jazz Festival is returning again this April and it looks to be as outstanding as ever. If you've been following this festival, then you've seen them bring some amazing acts to Cape May, both in April and November. It looks like the lineup is now complete, and it is impressive, including the legendary 3-time Grammy award winner Sergio Mendes, and the adventurous Jazz innovator Madeleine Peyroux (pictured at center), both of whom will be headliners. In addition to the headliners, there are several outstanding acts such as Gabrielle Cavassa (pictured at bottom), whose video performances completely captivated me as I was researching the artists scheduled thus far. This list has grown a LOT (additions italicized) since last month's newsletter: - Sergio Mendes
- Madeleine Peyroux
- Joey Alexander Trio
- Joey Defrancesco's Philadelphia Reunion Band (Kevin Eubanks, Lil John Roberts & Orin Evans)
- Eddie Palmieri Jazz Sextet
- Matthew Whitaker
- Laurin Talese
- Liv Warfield
- Gabrielle Cavassa
- Chelsea Reed and the Fairweather Five
- Bill Frisell Trio
- Huntertones
- Daud El-Bakara
- Conjunto Philadelphia
- Keyon Harrold
- Phillybloco
- Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East
- Brian Betz-Denis Diblasio Quartet
- High and Mighty Brass Band
- Selwyn Birchwood
- Big Boy Brass Band
- Jon Thompson Trio
- Carol Riddick & Gerald Veasley "I Got Life, the Music of Nina Simone"
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Cape May Spring Celebration April 24 through May 17 2020 |
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Talk about the event that keeps on giving! The Cape May Spring Celebration, formerly called the "Spring Festival", and before that the "Spring Victorian Week", has become one of Cape May's biggest, and longest events. Imagine, 3 fun filled weeks of enjoyment in Cape May! Who could ask for anything more than that. Below you'll find a list of all of the things going on during the Spring Celebration. I want to call your attention to a couple of them, however. The "Sip Into Spring Festival" is a great way to celebrate spring’s rebirth with exciting outdoor gardening and nature demonstrations, live music, food, wine, beer, Bloody Marys and mimosas, crafts and collectibles, and more! The "Spring Celebration Garden Tour" is your invitation to step past the frontage and explore the private plants and blooms of some of the Cape May area’s most dedicated gardeners. You'll get to see their private landscape designs, and take home ideas for your own gardens. Smell and see what’s blooming and flourishing in several different seashore locations that are impacted by sun, shade, ocean breezes, sand and salt, but each uniquely situated. - Armed Forces Day (May 16)
- Brunch & Bingo at the Beach (May 17)
- Cape Mayhem Trolley Tour
- Cape May Wine Trail (April 25 & May 16)
- Cape May's Wild Side Trolley Tour
- Carroll Gallery Exhibit: "MAC's 50th Anniversary"
- Chocolate Lovers Feast at the Washington Inn (May 2)
- Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tour
- Ghosts of the Lighthouse Trolley Tour
- Historic Haunts Combo Tour
- Historic Haunts House Tour
- Jazz Brunch at the Estate for Mother's Day (May 10)
- Lighthouse Full Moon Climb (May 7)
- Murder Mystery Dinners (May 2, 9, 16)
- Physick Estate Scavenger Hunt
- Sip Into Spring Festival (May 9)
- Sip Into Spring Crafts & Collectibles Show (May 9)
- Spring Celebration Garden Tour (May 30)
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Cape May Music Festival May 24 through June 12 2020 |
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The Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) is celebrating 31 years of bringing beautiful music to Cape May. Once again, MAC will be presenting a series of Classical, Chamber, Jazz, and other classic (and classy!) musical concerts to Cape May. Unlike most music festivals, which pack all of their music into a frenzied weekend, the Cape May Music Festival takes a more leisurely approach, presenting a couple of concerts a week for several weeks. Over the course of several weeks, 13 different concerts will be held, most of them Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. As always, Anna Marie and I will be pleased to present our guests who wish to attend with complimentary tickets to most of the concerts, with a few exceptions *. |
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Pictured above is Paula Johns, a frequent performer at the Cape May Music Festival. Paula is a Jazz singer of amazing talent, who Anna Marie and I have loved for a long time. She'll be performing at the Willow Creek Winery on Tuesday, May 26th at 8 p.m., the concert we are sponsoring once again this year. If you love great music, and you're looking for a great excuse to enjoy a Spring time visit to Cape May, I believe this is perfect for you. Give us a call or book your room online using the button below. Be sure to request complimentary tickets! * complimentary tickets are not available for Bach's Lunches, Champagne Jazz Brunch, Musical Desserts, or Paula Johns at Willow Creek Winery Learn More |
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Cape May Restaurant Week May 31 through June 7 2020 |
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Anna Marie and I love Restaurant Week. We look forward to it every year. In fact, my mouth is watering right now, just thinking about it and writing this article. Cape May Restaurant Week is a wonderful chance for you to enjoy a great meal at one of our incredible restaurants for a really reasonable price. Each June many of our finest restaurants participate in the program, each featuring a 3-course fixed-price menu (Sapore Italiano has always offered 4 courses) for $38. Each menu allows you to choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Portions and ingredients will be on par with what the restaurant usually serves. Beverages, tax, and gratuity are not included (except where noted). Though the dates of this year's event have been posted on their site, CapeMay.com has not yet posted any participating restaurants. I'm sure that will be changing soon, as the date approaches. It is never too early for you to start planning your getaway to Cape May, however! |
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More New Stuff! Regent's Park New Bathroom |
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As I started writing this newsletter this morning, we were just finishing the final cleanup, with some last minute paint touch-ups, of the Regent's Park bathroom renovation that we've been working on the last month or so. Anna Marie and I are both thrilled with the final product, which is a HUGE upgrade from the already nice bathroom the room has had for the past 10 years or so. As you can see from the photos, the new bathroom has a rich, elegant look. The new 2 sink granite vanity counter, embellished with the same beautiful mahogany trim which accents the entire room is especially nice. The new counter now has a lot more "set down" space than the previous pedestal sink, as you can imagine. It also provides for improved bathroom sharing (couples who brush together, stay together!). It is the first and only 2 sink vanity in The Queen Victoria. The second photo shows the elegantly upgraded shelving unit to the left of the vanity, with its beautifully contrasting painted walls and mahogany shelves & mounting strips. The makeup mirror is a new addition to the room, which is a nice practical upgrade we'll be rolling out to all of our guest rooms (that don't already have one) in the next few months. The final photo shows our new 2-head, 2-person step-in shower, which is configured similarly to the prior one, but with a new, updated look. Those of you who have stayed in the room before might notice, if you look closely, that there is now a curb that runs across the entire front of the shower, rather than the partial curb with roll-in access that we had before. Gone are the days of water potentially running out of the shower and into the room. We also updated the lighting in the room, making it much brighter. In fact, I had to turn off the vanity lights for this photo, as they were too bright to photograph. |
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Favorite Photo
Our Beautiful Cape May Beach |
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This isn't a sight that you'll see on Cape May's beaches for another few months, but I ran across this photo this morning and couldn't resist sharing it with you. When I think of the Cape May Beach, this is the scene that comes to mind. I love the panalopy of bright beach umbrellas, the sun shining on the dark blue water, reflecting in an impossibly bright explosion of sparkles, and waves rolling in and out of the beach. This photo was taken late in the afternoon, which is always my favorite time of the day on our beautiful beach. View Photo Gallery >> |
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Featured Gift Shop Item
The Queen Victoria Coffee |
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We get several compliments about our coffee just about every morning at breakfast. We're thrilled that our custom blend of Peruvian, Sumatra and Costa Rican beans is so popular. As I work the room, keeping everybody's cup full, guests often ask if they can take me home with them. I'm pretty sure it is the coffee pot in my hand that is prompting the question. It turns out that you CAN take our exclusive, custom blended, locally roasted coffee home with you! It is only available in our gift shop, however. Even though "Love the Cook" blends and roasts it for us, they can't sell you any of it. If you love our coffee, or have somebody at home that you need to buy a gift for that loves coffee, I suggest you pick some up during your next visit. It comes either ground to your taste or whole bean, "regular" or decaf. $11.95 |
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Fun Things to Do in Cape May
Visit Cape May Brewery! |
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Do you enjoy a good beer? How about a welcoming, charming place to enjoy it? If you've answered yes, even if you didn't say it out loud, than I strongly suggest you include a visit to the Cape May Brewing Co in your itinerary for your next visit to The Queen Victoria. When Cape May Brewing Co. opened its doors 9 years ago, they were a very modest enterprise. The years since then have been a story of success, growth, and change. The one thing that hasn't changed is their commitment to brewing high quality, interesting beers for their customers and friends (the former often become the latter). |
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The cooler months (that would be now, of course) are an ideal time to visit Cape May Brewing Co. During your Winter or Spring visit to The Queen Victoria, you probably won't have to choose between spending time on the beach or taking an excursion up the road to the brewery. It is also a wonderful activity rain or shine. Cape May Brewing Co is just a short drive north from Cape May, about 15 minutes away from the inn. |
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Restaurant Pick of the Month
The Flight Deck Diner |
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I've been looking forward to telling you about this little gem of a restaurant that Anna Marie and I discovered a short while ago. I had heard of it over the years, but didn't think much of it, having never seen it. A few weeks ago we had some guests that somehow found it and told us how much they enjoyed it. I'd heard that before from some locals, so we decided to give it a try. We're really glad we did. Our first visit to the Flight Deck was late in the morning on Sunday a few weeks ago. We were surprised how full the parking lot was, and were thrilled to get a table right away, as the place was packed. We went back again last Sunday, in the early afternoon, and discovered that it is always busy on Sundays. We opted for the counter, as no tables were |
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available. When I asked the hostess if this was the "after church" crowd, she said yes, but there were a lot of pilots flying in for lunch that day. What? People are flying in from out of town/state to have lunch at this little diner? Amazing! The Flight Deck is actually a pretty modest place, and "diner" is a perfect description for it. It is not huge, nor is it at all fancy. There are probably 9 or 10 tables for 4 in the place, along with a counter with seats for about 10 people. They are only open for breakfast and lunch, and breakfast is available all day. From our vantage point at the counter last Sunday afternoon, it looked like more people were ordering breakfast than lunch at 1:00 in the afternoon. It all looked good, but I just can't eat breakfast for lunch (there are 2 types of people in this world, those that love breakfast all day long and those that can't even contemplate it). They have a nice menu for both meals, again nothing fancy, but everything sounds good. In fact, everything we've tried there HAS been good. And relatively inexpensive! On our first visit I couldn't resist the Reuben. I'm a sucker for a great Reuben. Their's was great; maybe it was the homemade Russian dressing. Anna Marie had a salad off of the Specials menu, which had all kinds of goodies, and which she loved. On our second visit, Anna Marie went with yet another salad special, and I went with the "Blue Angel" burger with blue cheese and bacon, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Did I mention that the entire place has an aviation theme? Most of the menu items names relate to aviation in some manner, and there are pictures and models of airplanes all over the place. Maybe it has something to do with being located at the airport. One of the joys, beyond the food, is the ability to watch private planes takeoff and land. Many of the tables afford you a view of at least some of the runway. While you're planning your day in Cape May in the coming months, keep the Flight Deck Diner in mind. If you happen to be following my suggestion of a visit to Cape May Brewing Co, then be sure to have lunch at the Flight Deck. It is literally around the corner from the tasting room. I think you can do take-out too, which you could take into the brewery. |
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Great Reasons to Visit The Queen Victoria
Upcoming Queen Victoria & Cape May Events |
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"Big Cheesy" Cheese Tasting Party Mar 7, 2020 Sherlock Holmes Mystery Weekend March 13-15, 2020 Queen Victoria March Birthdays Party Mar 14, 2020 Singer Songwriter Cape May (Avi Wisnia concert at The Queen Victoria) Mar 28, 2020 Exit Zero Jazz Festival Apr 17-19, 2020 |
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| Cape May Spring Celebration (formerly "Festival") Apr 24 through May 17 2020 Queen Victoria April Birthdays Party Apr 25, 2020 Queen Victoria Chocolate Lover's Weekend May 8-9, 2020 Cape May Music Festival May 24 through June 12 2020 Cape May Restaurant Week May 31 through June 7 |
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Make your reservations today for a fun, romantic getaway at The Queen Victoria Bed and Breakfast. We are looking forward to helping you plan your next visit! Sincerely,
Doug & Anna Marie McMain, Owners/Innkeepers
The Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast
www.queenvictoria.com
(609) 884-8702 |
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