Newsletter Archive | May 2009

This picture of our peony tree doesn’t even look real!

I’ve been waiting about 4 months to show you this room
again. We started planning our winter renovations back in
December, which is when we decided to upgrade Hampton Court.
It took months to get the job done, and then I missed a month
of newsletter. I’m so excited about sharing it with you now!

Hampton Court has always been a great suite, but now it is
truly something special. We started our renovations by adding
a beautiful corner fireplace to make this an especially cozy
room for the winter. As many of you know, we love Bradbury
& Bradbury wallpapers, so we picked an elegant and rich
combination of papers to decorate with. Once we had picked the
paper, though, we realized that we needed to install some
crown moldings to finish the look. To make it nice and comfy,
we added a plush leather loveseat and large flat-screen TV.

I hope you’ll agree that the result is truly
magnificent. Not only does the new decor look great, it makes
the wonderful Victorian furniture that was always pretty look
truly spectacular. I know that Hampton Court is destined to be
one of our most popular rooms now, so if you want to stay here
next visit, be sure to book it early!

Trying to keep up with the latest internet fad, we’ve
launched a “Fan Page” on Facebook. It seems like everybody I
know is using Facebook these days, so I thought we would give
it a try. If you don’t know what facebook is, it is basically
an internet networking site that allows friends to connect and
keep in touch. Just yesterday an old college friend found my
page and we reconnected. It was great. Today I was touching
base with him and I noticed that Clint Eastwood had become his
“friend” on Facebook … really!

Anyway, not only do I have a page, I’ve created a Fan Page
for The Queen Victoria. Big deal, right? Actually, I think it
is going to be a great thing for you. We’re going to use our
Fan Page to post announcements of specials and last minute
openings so that you, our truly dedicated guests, can take
advantage of 1 night openings, and some really great deals
without us having to bug you with emails. You’ll just have to
check out our page once in a while.

Anna Marie and I are excited and pleased to announce that
The “Fifth Annual” Cape May designer show house is opening its
doors next month. We’ve always been big fans of the show
houses in the past and this year is no exception. In fact, the
location of the house this year, just a short walk from the
inn, makes it even more exciting for us.

I did a walk-through of the house a few weeks ago before
any of the designers had gone in. Most of the carpentry had
been done and you could see that some interesting changes had
been made to the house (I had also walked through the
“clearance sale” of the house’s contents prior to the start of
the project). Anyway, I really think that the house is going
to be fantastic this year and I’m really looking forward to
seeing it. I think that you’ll want to see it too during your
next visit to Cape May.

They say “No News is Good News”, which could translate to
mean that either all news is always bad (a distinct
possibility if you’re referring to the general media) or if
you haven’t heard anything then things are probably OK.
Hopefully the latter is true, because I haven’t heard a thing
about the convention center.

The project is still on, which is the good news, but
nothing seems to be going on. If you know somebody in Trenton
involved in permits for beachside projects, give them a call
and complain.

Lot’s of you send in photos of yourself and I can’t
possibly use them all in our newsletters, so sometimes it is
hard to choose. So how did I arrive at John & Diana? Well,
first of all, John & Diana have been coming to The Queen
Victoria for years (longer than I’ve been here). Secondly,
they’re illustrating a few things that we love … 1) a happy
moment at The Queen Victoria 2) Breakfast in the House of
Royals courtyard (look for new umbrellas on the tables this
year) 3) Beach Chairs! we’re excited to have put them out
again last week.

So even if you haven’t seen any of your photos in our
newsletter or on our website, don’t give up on me. Keep
sending the photos. I’m getting ready to post a whole bunch
more photos to the site soon. It just occurred to me that I
can also post photos to our FACEBOOK fan page. Perfect! I just
love it when one topic ties back into another
one.

Are you one of the many people who come to Cape May
primarily for the fine dining? It wouldn’t be such a surprise.
After all, it is pretty easy to argue that Cape May is the
fine dining capital of New Jersey. Anyway, the folks at Cape
May Magazine and the Cape May Chamber thought it would be a
great idea to make our fine dining more affordable. Who can
argue with that?

This May 31 through June 7th our restaurants will be
offering a special fixed price, 3-course menu at fabulous
prices. The list of participating restaurants is impressive,
and includes some of my absolute favorites.

There are
two levels of dining being offered, $22.09 and $35.09 (I guess
the “.09” is in honor of 2009). All participating restaurants
will offer a three course meal, including appetizer, entrée
and dessert, from a menu that shows at least three choices for
each course every night they are open during Restaurant Week.
Beverage, tax and gratuities are not included.

I think
this event is destined to become an annual affair. What a
great time to come to Cape May!

I don’t think Anna Marie and I have ever featured Gecko’s
as our restaurant pick of the month. For the life of me, I
can’t figure out why.

Gecko’s truly is one of our
favorite restaurants. We probably eat here once a week during
the season. Really, the place is great. Not only is it great
food, but it also has a very charming “dining room” outside on
their deck. Gecko’s is tucked away just off of Carpenter
Street, near Perry (where Congress Hall is).

If you love FRESH food,
you’re really going to love Gecko’s. Everything is made right
there, even the salsa. Gecko’s serves “Southwestern Cuisine”,
which translates to Mexican +++. The “+++” is for the really
interesting and different items on the menu that are way
beyond what you would expect from your local Chi- Chi’s (are
they still around?) or Taco Bell. Seriously, how does
Mesquite Grilled Salmon sound? How about Duck en
Mole Verde de Pepita? I’m getting hungry just thinking
about it (in fact, I just decided I’m going there tonight!)

Actually, the chef is from New Mexico, which might
explain the differences. Anyway, if you have an adventurous
bone in your body, make sure to check Gecko’s out on your next
visit to Cape May. Anna Marie recommends the Grilled Chicken
Fajitas (awesome). I’ve been pretty adventurous over the
years, but I’ve kind of settled on the Grilled Chicken New
Mexican Burrito, which sounds pretty boring, but is wonderful.
Don’t forget to bring your own wine or
beer!