Cape May doesn't have a formal festival dedicated to the month of May, but we do have 3 different festivals (that you can read about in this newsletter) that are celebrated in the month of May in Cape May. Memorial Day, one of the most popular weekends of the year, also occurs in May too, of course. We've been taking LOTS of Memorial Day reservations in the last couple of weeks, but we still have a hand full of rooms left (call soon if you're interested, they'll be going fast!). We've even got our "Chocolate Lover's Weekend" special event on Mother's Day weekend in May! |
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All in all, I'd say that May is one of the most compelling times to visit Cape May. There are lots of events, fun things to do, and it certainly is beautiful here. What better place can you think of going to enjoy the Spring? 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 Westminster |
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Over the years, the Westminster room has become the favorite of a great many of our guests. That has never come as a surprise to me, as it is a large, bright, cheery, and comfortable room. Westminster is located on the 2nd floor of the Prince Albert building, with lots of windows facing west, so there is plenty of sunshine streaming into the room during the afternoon, as you can see in the photo. It also features one of the few king sized beds in The Queen Victoria, and a wonderful bathroom with a 2-head/2-person step in shower. We just renovated the bathroom a couple of years ago, and I really love the way it came out. The shower and floor tiles as well as the marble decorative elements give the room a wonderful "Roman" feeling, which is simply timeless. If you're a planning visit to The Queen Victoria and just can't decide which room might suit you best, the Westminster room might just be the one to try. I highly recommend it! |
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Upcoming Events & Activities |
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Chocolate Lover's Weekend May 10-11, 2019 Nov 15-16, 2019 This May 11th marks the official 1 year anniversary of our newest and very popular Chocolate Lover's Weekend event. I remember us thinking that Mother's Day weekend would be the perfect time to hold an event like this, and it turned out to be true. So as Mother's Day rolls around again in just a couple of weeks, we're getting ready to do it again. 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 inaugural event last Mother's Day. If you missed that event last year, or attended, and can't wait to do so again, now is the time to start planning your May 10-11 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, Mint Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Orange Dark Chocolate, Cherry Dark Chocolate, and Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate. Believe it or not, they taste even better than they sound! |
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Have you made your Mother's Day plans yet? We already have a couple of Mother/Daughter getaways reserved for Mother's Day weekend, and I'm expecting quite a few more. Maybe you and your mother! If you've been searching for a great way to celebrate your mother and spend some quality time with her on Mother's Day, I don't think you could do much better than a weekend at The Queen Victoria and the Chocolate Lover's Weekend. FREE! (for all reserved guests) |
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Cape May Spring Celebration April 26 through May 19, 2019 This wonderful Spring event kicked off in Cape May last weekend and is continuing well into May. Technically this year's Cape May Spring Celebration is the first ever, but this is actually a renamed event that was formerly called the Cape May Spring Festival. I'm not sure what prompted the name change, but I'm all for celebrating Spring, so it works for me. This celebration covers a long period of time, and it isn't too surprising that there is a lot to do in that time frame. Below you'll find a list of all the activities that will be taking place during the celebration. |
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- Armed Forces Day
- Brunch & Bingo at the Beach
- Cape Mayhem Trolley Tour
- Cape May Wine Trail
- Carroll Gallery Exhibit: "The Iconic Cape May Lighthouse"
- Chocolate Lovers Feast at the Washington Inn
- Friends of the Physick Estate: "Pushing Boundaries"
- 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
- Lighthouse Full Moon Climb
- Murder Mystery Dinners
- Physick Estate Scavenger Hunt
- Sip Into Spring Festival
- Sip Into Spring Crafts & Collectibles Show
- NEW! Spring Celebration Garden Tour
- Underground Railroad Trolley Tour
For more information about all of these events, visit the MAC website We're also hosting our "Chocolate Lover's Weekend" during this celebration, on May 11, which is even more reason to celebrate. Our event should not be confused with the Chocolate Lover's Feast at the Washington Inn (ours is free for reserved guests of The Queen Victoria). |
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Cape May Music Festival May 26 through June 14 2019 |
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The Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) is celebrating 30 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. |
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Over the course of the entire festival, 14 different concerts will be held, most of them on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. As always, Anna Marie and I will be pleased to present our guests staying at least two nights at The Queen Victoria, who wish to attend, with complimentary tickets to most of the concerts, with a few exceptions (Bach's Lunches, Champagne Jazz Brunch, Paula Johns at Willow Creek, and Musical Desserts concerts). 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! Learn More |
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Cape May Restaurant Week June 2-9, 2019 |
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Restaurant week is an amazing time in Cape May. Early each June, the folks at CapeMay.com organize a dining extravaganza at all of the finest restaurants throughout all of Cape May, each of which will be featuring a 3-course "pre fixe" menu for $35. Restaurant week is a wonderful opportunity to affordably sample the finest food in Cape May, all week long! So far, there are 21 restaurants signed up to participate, including (in alpha order): - 410 Bank Street
- A Ca Mia
- Aleathea's
- Backstreet Simply Delicious
- Black Duck on Sunset
- Blue Pig Tavern
- Carney's
- Elaine's
- Fins Bar & Grill
- Godmothers
- Good Earth Organic Eatery
- Lobster House
- Mad Batter
- Merion Inn
- Peter Shields
- Sapore Italiano (4 courses)
- The Ebbitt Room
- The YB
- Tisha's
- Union Park
- Washington Inn
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Cape May Summer Concert Series Wednesday, July 3 through August 21 |
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The Summer Concert series has truly become a staple of entertainment in Cape May. For several years now, most of the concerts have been sold out. We've got several guests who make sure the summer reservations they book include at least one concert night. Anna Marie and I enjoyed the concerts that we attended last summer so much that we are planning to attend every single one of them this year! Seriously. This year's lineup includes a few acts that have performed here before, but also includes several new ones. One of them is a band I enjoyed quite a bit in college (pictured to the right). Here is the entire lineup: |
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- July 3 Pure Prairie League & Orleans
- July 10 Max Weinberg's Jukebox
- July 17 Jay and the Americans
- July 24 Herman's Hermits, starring Peter Noone
- July 31 Mavis Staples
- Aug 7 Jay Siegel's Tokens
- Aug 14 The Stylistics
- Aug 21 The Drifters
The City of Cape May is sponsoring two additional concerts that for some reason are not part of the "Summer Concert Series" (perhaps because they are Friday evening concerts): - July 29 The British Invasion Years (Anna Mare and I saw and loved this band in 2018)
- Aug 16 Great Balls of Fire (Music of great piano legends)
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More New Stuff! New Bathrooms in Covent Garden & Charing Cross |
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Every year we do 2-3 big projects during our quiet winter season. These projects often involve new bathrooms, which was true this year. This year we chose to renovate the bathrooms in the Covent Garden and Charing Cross suites. Since the bathrooms have an identical shape, we were able to configure them exactly the same way, just using different tiles and counter tops. This picture is of the Covent Garden suite's new bath. We're thrilled with the way it came out, utilizing the space much more efficiently than before. As you can see, we swapped out the old pedestal sink, replacing it with the lovely quartz counter top, with a lot more set-down space. We also replaced the single-person whirlpool tub with a spacious |
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step-in shower. Finally, we moved the toilet into its own room with a door (water closet), which is a design feature I really love, especially in a guest room, as it makes the bathroom so much more shareable for travelers (you!). We also changed the decor a bit, giving it a really fresh, refreshing, and comfortable feeling. Separate lighting for each space, the room itself, the shower, and the water closet also make the bathroom bright & cheery. Both Covent Garden & Charing Cross were always great rooms, and favorites of many of our guests. Now they're better than ever! |
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Favorite Photo(s)
A Vision of Spring |
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This year Anna Marie decided to decorate most of our porches with some beautiful Spring flower baskets. We had a great time at the local grocery store shopping for flowers for the baskets, purchasing more pots of blooming bulbs than they had probably ever sold to a single customer (35 in all). I took this photo about a week ago, and I was stunned with how beautiful it came out. Those of you who are fans of our Facebook page (if you're not, I highly recommend it!) have already seen it. It got more "likes" than any post in recent memory. These flowers really do invoke the joy of Spring, and the promise of a beautiful season to come. View Photo Gallery >> |
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Featured Gift Shop Item
Teapot & Cozy |
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If you've been to The Queen Victoria in the last 10 years or so, then you've probably seen our cozies. If you've asked us for tea at breakfast, then you've enjoyed the use of one to keep your tea warm. What you may not be aware of, however, is that we sell them in our gift shop. I know that many of you ARE aware of that fact, as they are very popular gift shop items. We just got a new shipment of them, and as usual, we got several different designs, all of which are different from those we've purchased in the past. Our teapot cozies are designed a little differently than most of the ones you see out in the real world (as opposed to our fantasy world at The Queen Victoria). They cleverly wrap entirely around and underneath the tea pot, providing much better insulation than most others. If you are a tea lover, or are in need of the perfect gift for a tea lover you know, then I highly recommend picking up one of these gems during your next visit to The Queen Victoria. They are all hand crafted in the USA in small batches (maybe 4-5 are made of any given material), so each one is virtually unique. Each one also features a tag on the bottom, proudly proclaiming it came from The Queen Victoria. $21.95 (without a tea pot) $29.95 (with a tea pot) |
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Fun Things to Do in Cape May
Take a Bicycle Tour |
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One of the best ways to explore Cape May is certainly on a bicycle. Over the years, thousands of our guests have discovered the joy of cruising on one of our fleet of 16 bicycles through the beautiful streets of Cape May, marveling at the homes and buildings that they pass by. Many of our guests have also purchased the Bicycle Tour guidebook that is available in our gift shop, which takes one through a structured tour of the historic district and describes many of the buildings on the route in great detail (this involves several stops along the way, as you can imagine). |
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Restaurant Pick of the Month
Washington Inn |
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No doubt about it, the Washington Inn is, and always has been, one of the finest restaurants in Cape May. Many of our guests will insist it is THE finest restaurant in Cape May. I certainly wouldn't argue with that assertion. For many years the Washington Inn had a dress code, men wore jackets to dinner and the ladies put on a pretty dress. These days things are much more casual, of course, but the special feeling of the restaurant remains. No matter how you are dressed when you arrive, you'll feel like you have "arrived". |
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The atmosphere and decor are important, of course, but it's really all about the food. In a word, the food at the Washington Inn is (consistently) Spectacular. OK, that was two words, but I had to throw that adjective in. Over the years I have enjoyed so many wonderful dishes that I hardly know where to start. The halibut pictured here is certainly near the top of my favorites list, but the dish that jumps to my mind as my favorite ever, and I've enjoyed several times, is their Short Rib dish, which is usually offered as a special. The first time I ordered it was at the suggestion of a woman sitting across the isle from us, who simply could not resist telling every stranger she met how incredibly good it was. Once I tasted it, I understood her compulsion. Anna Marie's favorite dish, which is usually on the menu, is the Cioppino. I think it is the only dish she has ordered at the Washington Inn for the last couple of years. It is that good, and I love it too. For those of you unaware, this magical dish is an "Italian" fish stew (apparently originating from San Francisco, however), with a slightly spicy red broth filled with scallops, clams, shrimp, and some type of firm white fish. It is topped off with a delicious and generous piece of toasted focaccia. It is a truly magnificent dish. If you've been to the Washington Inn before, then perhaps this article is making your mouth water and you're already making you plans to dine there on your next visit. For the uninitiated, I highly recommend giving it a try. No matter what you order, I'm confident you'll love it. Insider tip(s) ... Sunday at the Washington Inn is "Wine Appreciation" night, where they allow you to bring your own wine, without a corkage fee. They are the only restaurant with a bar in the world that I know of that does that. Anna Marie and I usually dine there on Sundays! If you enjoy dining early, you can also take advantage of their 3-course, $33 early dining special, offered between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. |
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Great Reasons to Visit The Queen Victoria
Upcoming Queen Victoria & Cape May Events |
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Cape May Spring Celebration (formerly "Festival") Apr 26 through May 19 2019 Queen Victoria Chocolate Lover's Weekend May 10-11, 2019 Cape May Spring Festival of Birding May 16-19, 2019 |
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| Cape May Music Festival May 26 through June 14 2019 Cape May Restaurant Week June 2-9, 2019 Designer House Tour June 15, 2019 Cape May Summer Concert Series Wednesdays, July 3 through August 21 |
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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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