Newsletter Archive | January 2011

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, it is that most romantic of days and you are probably starting to scramble to come up with something special to give the love of your life. It’s hard though, isn’t it, to come up with something original and special that is sure to please? Maybe not!

So you’ve done the flowers and chocolates before. Sure they were appreciated, but flowers die and chocolates make you fat. Dead and fat, how romantic is that? You need to get a little more creative. Let’s go outside the box a little and you’ll come up with a winner.

What could possibly be more romantic than a weekend at The Queen Victoria in charming and romantic Cape May? Seriously, this is a gift that your loved one will really love. Better yet, not only will he/she get to enjoy it, but you will too. Really, it doesn’t get any better than that. You get full credit for a wonderful gift, prove yourself to be loving and generous, and you get to enjoy it too. Talk about a win-win situation.

Oh yeah, if you still want to be traditional, we can have the flowers and chocolates waiting in the room for you. Our flowers never die and our chocolate won’t make you fat … I promise! (it never rains or snows in Cape May either)

The Big Cheesy Returns March 5

Are you a cheese lover? I never knew I was until our first “Big Cheesy” event 2 years ago. That day I learned a lot about different cheeses and discovered how much I enjoyed them. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!

Anna Marie and I will be filling the Queen Victoria dining room table with a wide assortment of cheeses from our friends at Seaside Cheese (I know lots of you love it there). There will be about 16 cheeses for us to taste and each one will have a write up about its origin, how it is made and any other fun tidbits of information. We’ll also have breads from one of our local bakeries along with an assortment of specialty olive oils.

We’re planning on doing this Saturday at around 1:00, so you can actually make a lunch out of it if you want to. Now I know that for some people it is impossible to eat cheese without having a glass of wine in your hand, so we’re welcoming everyone to bring their own wine and make an afternoon of it. The wine tends to become communal, so bring something you feel comfortable sharing.

Sherlock Returns! March 18-19

My favorite sleuth is returning to Cape May this March and I can hardly wait to see what mystery awaits him. The title of this year’s mystery is “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of The Surreptitious Ghoul!”. Sounds spooky, doesn’t it?

Join Holmes and Watson as they explore the Gothic Habitants of Underground London Society, or G.H.O.U.L.S. for short. Mystics, mediums, murder and mayhem abound in this bleak world. Our duo will need your help as they peer deep into the darkness and face the fears that lie within. As the Raven states, “Nevermore,” will Holmes reply, “The games afoot?” Join Holmes and Watson for another “edge of the seat” thriller.

This is one of those FUN winter events I was talking about. Every March hundreds of people descend upon Cape May to assist Sherlock in solving some new mystery written just for us. This is a light weight, fun event that includes a 2 act play performed over 2 nights, a great scavenger hunt type “search for clues” tour and a lot of good times.

Having problems making sense of the clues? No problem … just ask Sherlock or Watson, or any of the cast of characters also searching for clues. They’ll be in character and they’re always fun to engage.

There are prizes for the best costume, for those of you who really want to get involved, prizes for the best mystery solution, and even a “most clueless” prize for the, well, most clueless participants. It is fun and easy and a great way to spend the last weekend of winter!

Give us a call today to reserve your room and we’ll help you get tickets to the event.

4th Annual Singer Song Writer Cape May March 25-26

This is probably the hippest (is “Hip” still a hip word?) event that Cape May has each year. The event is really designed for up and coming musicians and song writers to explore the business and get tips on how to move their careers forward. It is also a showcase for them to be “discovered” by the music industry. It is this last part that makes it so cool for most of our guests.

Friday and Saturday nights there will be over 150 performances, from solo artists to full size bands in 15 different venues all over Cape May. There are a couple of headline acts for which there is a cover charge, but the vast majority of the performances are free to whoever walks in the door.

This really is a great event that Anna Marie and I look forward to every year. If you’re looking to catch the latest sounds and maybe glimpse some of tomorrows big stars, call us and make a reservation for that weekend. You’ll be glad you did.

Cape May Jazz Festival, April 8,9, 10

What? … Still more events. I’m telling you, Cape May is the place to be ALL YEAR LONG!

The Cape May Jazz Festival is a long standing tradition in Cape May and a wonderful reason to visit The Queen Victoria for a spring weekend. This year’s spring festival is a little earlier than usual. In fact, they rescheduled it.

OK, so the festival schedule was just published a few minutes ago (literally), and you’re getting it real time here. I’m not a huge Jazz fan (though I do like Jazz), but even I recognize several names in the line-up. Kevin Ubanks, who was the band leader for Jay Leno on the “Tonight” show for 18 years, leads the cast on Friday with 2 performances, along with Lauren Hooker, Gregory Porter, Winston Byrd and the Leon Jordan, Jr. Quintet.

Saturday’s shows feature John Beasley, Pancho Sanchez, the Andrew Boyd, Jr. Blues Band, Kim Clarke and Warren Wolf.

Sunday it is all about the Jam Sessions, which are probably the most interesting shows of the weekend. They are the perfect way to spend a few hours in town before heading home for the weekend.

The venues are always small and intimate and the acts are great. If you love music, especially jazz in any of its forms, then you should really make your way down here and check it out. Give us a call!

Channeling Weekend with Craig McManus Returns May 6-7

Wow, within about 10 minutes of announcing our February Channeling weekend the event was sold out. OK, so I’m exaggerating a little bit, but it did fill up quickly. We limited participation to only 10 couples to provide a really high quality experience, which explains why we booked it up so fast.

Unfortunately, many of you missed the boat and have been begging (in one case seriously begging) to be included. Well, I’ve got great news. Due to the amazing demand, we’ve decided to offer an additional weekend.

If you want to connect with some departed loved ones, this is your chance. Craig is the real deal, just ask anybody who participated in our event last April. Call us quickly, though, as I’m pretty sure this will fill up quickly too.

Become a Facebook Fan of The Queen Victoria

If you view The Queen Victoria as your 2nd home (and I certainly think you should) then you need to become a fan of YOUR place. Seriously!

Every week I’m checking in on Facebook a few times with our fans and keeping them up to date on the happenings in Cape May and The Queen Victoria. More importantly, though, I’m also communicating some really great last-minute and not so last-minute specials that only our Facebook fans are privy to. This is worth doing. It really is.

OK, this is really simple. Click on the picture above or the text link below and you’ll land on our Fan page. When you get there, click on the “Like” button to the right of our name. Even I could do that! We’re thinking up lots of new ways for our very valued and frequent guests to benefit from their relationship with us. Our Facebook fans are going to be the first ones to have that opportunity.

Become a Facebook Fan now!

Upcoming Events

·  Valentines Day Weekend Feb 11-12

·  President’s Day Weekend Feb 18-20

·  Channeling Weekend Feb 25-26

·  Big Cheesy Weekend Mar 4-5

·  Looking Glass Mystery #2 Mar 11-12

·  Sherlock Holmes Mystery Weekend Mar 18-19

·  Singer/Song Writer Cape May Mar 25-26

·  Cape May Jazz Festival Apr 8,9,10

·  Spring Festival April 29 – May 8

·  Craig McManus Channeling Weekend May 6-7

·  Cape May Music Festival May 26 – Jun 16

I Love This Photo.

Featured “Room of the Month” … Queen Victoria

I guess you could say that this is our signature room. It is the marquis photo on the rooms page on our website and is certainly one of the most popular rooms in the Inn. Let me tell you about it.

First of all, the Queen Victoria is Dramatic. It definitely has all the Victorian flair and elegance that comes to mind when you’re thinking “Victorian”. Like the rest of the inn, however, it is not over-stuffed in the true tradition of the era. The Queen Victoria room is a 1st floor room in the Queen Victoria building, making it seriously redundant (the Queen Victoria room in the Queen Victoria building of The Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast!).

It has a king sized bed, a beautiful (and again dramatic) armoire, a couple of beautiful high-back Victorian chairs in the bay window seating area and comfy and beautiful sofa on the other side of the room. The private bathroom features a large 2 person, two head walk-in shower that you’ll want to replicate in your own home.

This really is a beautiful room and I would highly recommend it for your next visit to The Queen Victoria. You’ll have to plan ahead, though, as it is always one of the first rooms to be reserved for any given time period.

Murder Mystery Weekend Mar 11-12 … “The Problem of Remington’s Mummy “

Many of you may know that the 1922 Carter expedition to Egypt discovered King Tut’s tomb and gave rise to rumors of deadly curses but there was a much more intriguing find in 1927. This was Remington’s expedition to the Valley of the Offended Nostrils. While looking for the tomb of the Pharaoh Ahmbaktup he actually uncovered the mummy of his Medical Advisor, Rootentooten, who was, in fact, buried with a timeless curse.

This mummy has been the focus of considerable controversy and is now at the center of a murder investigation. Guests to Remington’s Mummy should be prepared for a nonstop weekend adventure of investigation and if you find the thought of shuffling footsteps outside your door at night too disturbing to contemplate . . . perhaps you should opt for a safer way to spend the weekend.

Shuffle board, maybe. Or watching old episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

This package includes 2 nights in a Standard, Large Standard or Premium room (1st come, 1st serve), all event activities, an event souvenir, a wine & cheese reception on Friday night and a 4 course dinner Saturday night at the Mad Batter. This is an AMAZING value!

The Convention Hall NEWS

GONE! As you can see, Cape May’s convention hall is officially history. While the old hall wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, I guess it looked better than the “missing tooth” we have now in our waterfront. I’m sure that McGlade’s on the pier wouldn’t mind the additional visibility, though.

The good news is that construction is due to begin soon and the new convention hall is scheduled to be complete by Spring of 2012. It sounds like a long time from now, but I’m guessing the year is going to fly by, like they all seem to be doing these days.

Favorite Guest Photos … Wine Blending Party

I’m not normally so vain as to post pictures of myself in our newsletters (OK, so maybe I am, but I’ve never done it before), but this time I couldn’t resist. This was such a fun event and I wanted to share some of the experience with you.

This was a particularly fun part of the event, when they took us down to the barrel room and let us taste wine right out of the barrel.

Remember as a kid when you would put your thumb over the end of the straw and draw coke up from your cup? Well this was like that, but LOTS more fun!

For future reference, including me in your pictures does not necessarily mean I will publish them (but I’ll definitely publish pictures of my lovely wife Anna Marie).

Cape May Stage 2011 Season

Anna Marie and I are very excited about the 2011 season at Cape May Stage. This year’s schedule of plays looks a lot more like those of season’s past, filled with fun comedies and interesting entertainment.

This year’s season kicks off with the return of the most popular production ever presented at Cape May Stage … “Say Goodnight Gracie”.

Here is the promotional write up from CM Stage:

Adapted from the reminiscences of George Burns, this multimedia tour-de-force presentation traces the comedian-raconteur’s life from his childhood on the Lower East Side to his early career in vaudeville to his momentous meeting and subsequent personal and professional relationships with wife Gracie Allen. “Say Goodnight Gracie” is a hit Broadway play that invites you to spend a hilarious, heart-warming evening in the uplifting company of the world’s favorite and funniest centenarian, George Burns. Due to enormous demand, this production, starring Joel Rooks, returns to the Stage after selling out every night in the summer of 2009. In a seamless performance, Rooks inhabits the character of Burns; so much so that audiences will feel they’ve spent the evening with the man himself.

Doug & Anna Marie’s Restaurant Pick Of The Month … Freda’s Cafe

It’s back! Freda’s Monday night Buy One, Get One winter special has returned. LOTS of you have taken advantage of this amazing special at this amazing restaurant. Now you can do it again.

If you’ve never been to Freda’s during one of your stays at The Queen Victoria then you need to do so the next time you visit. Period. It isn’t the fanciest or most expensive restaurant in Cape May, but it has some of the best food to be found in town, or really anywhere.

Freda’s Cafe is a small, unpretentious neighborhood bistro style restaurant just a few steps from The Queen Victoria. They are open Friday through Monday during the winter and 7 days a week throughout the rest of the year. They are truly famous for their crab cakes, which I feel comfortable declaring the “best in the world” (I know that you’ll probably disagree with me if you’re from Maryland, but you’ll still like them). Beyond the crab cakes, everything is wonderful.

Here are just a few of the taste tempting, mouth watering items on their menu:

• Baked Brie Lisa in a puff pastry served with fruit (App)
• Warm Goat Cheese Rolled in Pecans (App)
• Black & White Sesame Crusted Ahi (entree)
• Fillet Mignon au poivre & Valfraise Cheese (entree)
• Stuffed Chicken Breast en Croute (entree)
• Shrimp & Scallops Pesto (Entree, Anna Marie’s favorite)

If you’re planning a trip to Cape May this winter/spring, make sure you plan on a visit to Freda’s. You’ll definitely thank us for the suggestion.