Does it seem like Sherlock and Watson were just in Cape
May? As often as they visit, you would think there are no more
mysteries to solve. But alas, it is not the case.
This March Sherlock returns and finds himself hunting
down a culprit who attacked the President of the United States,
Benjamin Harrison (remember, we’re living in the past down here! You
might know that President Harrison used Congress Hall as his summer
White House during his presidency.).
If you’ve done Sherlock before then you’re probably planning on
returning for this next installment. If you haven’t experienced this
delightful event before, make plans today. The Sherlock Holmes murder
mystery weekend is one of the most enjoyable events of the year … one
you won’t want to miss.
I can’t imagine a more romantic place to spend
Valentines Day than Cape May. I’m sure you’ll be surprised when I
suggest that The Queen Victoria is the perfect place to stay for your
romantic weekend. Seriously though, this is the best place in the world
to come for Valentines Day.
You should pay attention here, because I’m really an
expert in this area. You may not be aware that I’m a romantic guy, but
it’s true. I actually proposed to Anna Marie on Valentines day back in
1987. If I had known about The Queen Victoria back then (and lived a
little closer … we lived in Michigan then) I would have dropped on my
knee and asked my fair maiden for her hand right here.
So here is a free bonus tip for all of you seriously involved, but not
yet committed couples. Get engaged at The Queen Victoria this
Valentines Day. It will make every Valentines for the rest of your life
a special celebration event.
27th Cape May Jazz Festival
Lots of you come down every year for the spring Jazz
Festival. It’s always lots of fun, and this year’s event (weekend of
April 20th) looks to be another great time. If you are into Jazz, plan
on coming to Cape May in April. You are sure to enjoy it!
The 27th Cape May Jazz Festival pays “Tribute to
Wes Montgomery” whose ingenuity and extreme dedication plus his
soft, swinging sound set the pace for jazz as an art form in the 1960s
(yeah, I swiped this quote off of their website).
Cape May Spring Festival
The annual Cape May Spring Festival is the perfect way
to say goodbye to winter. We take the best events from our famous
Victorian Week (in October), schedule them in our prettiest blooming
season, add a touch of nice weather and we end up with a fantastic
event.
There are literally too many events packed into this
weekend to list them here. If you’ve never been to Cape May for the
Spring Festival, plan on doing it this year. It is a treat you won’t
forget.
Inn Deep
Admit it … you have a secret desire to run a bed and
breakfast. Don’t we all? Well, if you’re getting serious about this
dream then you need to consider attending this year’s “Inn
Deep” workshop for aspiring innkeepers.
Every March (almost) we bring in experts from all
aspects of innkeeping to show you what it really is like to be an
innkeeper. You’ll also get lots of tips and advice from those of us
already doing it that will save you TONS of time and money when you get
started. You don’t want to get into innkeeping without first attending
this workshop.
Cape May Music Festival Starts May 20!
Whether you like classical music or classic music of
various styles, you’ll love the Cape May Music Festival. This year is
the 18th annual rendition of this event, and it promises to be better
than ever.
Cape May is a pretty leisurely place, so unlike many
music festivals, which are packed into a single marathon weekend, we
stretch ours out for nearly a month. Every week we have different
artists performing in different venues, all impressively. Whether you
prefer chamber ensembles, symphonies, jazz, folk music or brass bands,
there is something for you this year at the Cape May Music Festival.
Upcoming Events
<
Mad Batter “An American Feast” Feb
18
Cape May Wine School Feb 18 – Southern
Italian Varieties
Cape May Wine School Feb 25 – Pinot Noir
Mad Batter “Dinner on the Orient
Express” Mar 3
Cape May Wine School Mar 18 – Zinfandels (not
white!)
Mad Batter “British Beer Tasting
Dinner” Apr 13
Cape May Jazz Festival Apr 20 – 22
Cape May Wine School Apr 22 – Western South
American wines
Spring Festival April 27 – May 6
Spring Fest Chocolate Fantasy Buffet Apr 28
Spring Fest Secret Garden Tour Apr 28-29
Spring Fest Home & Garden Show Apr 28-29
Spring Fest Dine-Around Dinner May 3
Spring Fest Murder Mystery Dinners May 4-5
Spring Fest Secret Garden Tour May 5-6
Spring Fest Antiques & Collectibles Show
May 5
Cape May Wine School May 6 – Cruise the
Islands
As we start making our way through the
new year there are so many possibilities to ponder and plans to make. The
top of my list is where to go on vacation (and let me tell you, its hard
to pick a vacation spot when you live in Cape May … we’re kind of
spoiled).
MANY of you have made your plans to return to Cape May and already booked
your reservations for the coming year. In fact, we have twice as many
reservations for the coming year as we did at this same point last year!
There are still plenty of rooms available for most seasons, but the
phones are ringing contantly here and the best rooms are going quickly.
If your vacation or getaway plans include a trip to The Queen Victoria
you may want to consider calling us soon. As a “non-planner”
myself, I can relate to waiting until later to book my vacation, which
may still be months away. You don’t want to do that in this case though.
Call us today to get the room you want on the dates you want!
One last look at
Christmas 2006
With the holiday season behind us, we’re all starting to
look ahead again to the promises of the new year. I wanted to take one
more look back at the 2006 Christmas season before we move on, though.
The 2006 Christmas season was by all accounts truly memorable. The
tours, the lights, the festivities and the holiday cheer all exceeded
previous Christmas seasons. I want to thank all of you who came to
share the season with us. I’m sure you’ll agree it was truly something
special.
If you haven’t been to The Queen Victoria in December before, you
should really consider it in 2007. I can hardly wait to see Cape May at
Christmas this year!
Featured
“Room of the Month”
As promised, we’re continuing our “Featured Room of
the Month” with this month’s entry. Everybody loves to peak into
all the rooms, so we’re just making it easy for you. This month we’re
featuring one of our very best values … the Prince Leopold room.
OK, so the name Leopold might not inspire the same kind of
romantic images that some of our other room names do, but don’t be
misled. This room is one of our largest, nicest rooms; one of only
three in the entire inn that feature a king sized bed. With a two head
shower, dual climate controls, and a large sitting area with a sofa
(actually a sleeper, so it can accommodate extra people), the Prince
Leopold is one of our most comfortable rooms. It has a very luxuriant
feel to it that you’ll appreciate as soon as you step into the room.
Next time you book a reservation at The Queen Victoria, consider the
Prince Leopold room. You’ll be happy you did.
Most of our Fall and Winter guests plan their trips to The
Queen Victoria for a weekend. This makes sense, of course, when you are
out of vacation or limited in when you can get away. If you can be more
flexible, however, you might want to think about coming mid-week. We’ve
also added a new special to entice you into staying an extra night on
those weekends.
We’ve always offered week-night discounts ($40/night
discount), but this year we’ve come up with a few specials that are
really becoming popular. We’ve tried to come up with some fun,
interesting and money saving ways to enjoy The Queen Victoria. Be sure
to check out our new seasonal specials today (you’ll be glad you did):
10) There is no snow anywhere, so you can’t go on a skiing
vacation
9) Hot Tea instead of Iced Tea every afternoon
8) Lower rates, Special Packages and week-night discounts
7) Birthday Celebrations
6) Anniversary Celebration
5) Baby on the way, you need a “Babymoon”
4) Have the whole beach to yourself (just you and the seagulls)
3) No waits for restaurants
2) Cuddle by the fireplace in your room
1) Quiet, relaxing, romantic getaway
There really is no bad time time to come to The Queen
Victoria. Every season has its charms. Many of you have realized that
Winter is your favorite time to come stay with us. Others have
discovered that once a year is just not enough, and add a winter stay
to they vacation plans. You can choose your own reason to come down,
but you probably do deserve to treat yourself this winter.
Spring is one of the prettiest times of the year to visit
Cape May. Each day brings a new surprise of color and beauty as
successive groups of flowers reach for the sky and show off their
finery. It also gives me an excuse to get out and take pictures.
Nobody knows what Punxatawney Phil will see when he pops
out of his hole this year, but I’m confident that Spring will be here
before we know it.
Favorite Guest
Photos
I’ve decided to start yet another continuing series topic
for my email newsletters. This is the first installment of
“Favorite Guest Photos”. These are photos that you have
submitted to us to publish on our website (yes, they are still on their
way … just a little more patience, please). Anyway, I’ve decided to
start publishing one of them in each newsletter to encourage you all to
keep sending photos. The pictures selected for the newsletter will be
those that feature our guests having fun at The Queen Victoria.
I’m sure you’ll agree that Matt & Meredith look like
they are thoroughly enjoying themselves on our Prince Albert Hall roof
deck. This is one of my favorite spots at the inn, and having a glass
of wine in the late afternoon is one of my favorite things to do. We
should all have as much fun every afternoon as Matt & Meredith
obviously are.
If you’ve got great photos of yourself having a great time at The Queen
Victoria, send it to me. We’ll post it on our website, and it might
just end up in my next email.
Doug & Anna
Marie’s Restaurant Pick Of The Month … Lucky Bones
Ok, so it has a funny name, and arguably a strange image,
but if you’re looking for a fun, reasonably priced restaurant with
goodfood, Lucky Bones is the place for you to go in Cape May.
Lucky Bones was opened in 2006 by the same family that own
the Washington Inn and quickly became one of Cape May’s most popular
restaurants. Lucky Bones is the successor of the Pelican Club which
many of you knew and loved. There isn’t much similarity between the two
restaurants, but Lucky Bones does have the “Cuban Rubbed
Pork” dish on the menu that was so popular at the Pelican Club.
Last time we were there I had the baby-back ribs and Anna Marie enjoyed
the fish & chips. We really enjoyed both and we left full and
happy. I really like the way they price their wines too … $20 for any
bottle on the menu. Next time I’m probably going to go for one of the
brick-oven pizzas, which looked wonderful. If you’re looking for a
casual, family style restaurant you can’t do better in Cape May than
Lucky Bones.
