Are you looking for the perfect retreat location for a
small team or group meeting? Doesn’t this look a little better
than the conference room at the local Hilton? The Queen
Victoria may just be the perfect spot to hold your next
meeting. Talk about getting away!
Seriously, if you want to get your team or group away from
the real world for a while so they can really focus on
strategy for the coming year, you couldn’t do much better than
Cape May. Think about it! We’re not very far away, there would
be no disctractions, the setting is certainly inspirational,
and you could blend in some great team building activities and
evening events.
We’ve played host to several groups in
the last year and I can tell you that they were all great
successes. If you are planning a retreat, give me or Anna
Marie a call. We can come up with a great package for you that
is affordable and enjoyable.
Cape May Wine Trail
No Queen Victoria newsletter would be complete without
mention of wine in some form or another. If you love to wine
taste, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of or been on a “Wine
Trail”. I introduced the Cape May Wine Trail idea quite a
while ago in a previous newsletter. Anyway, it seems like the
idea is catching on. I am pleased to report that there are now
two (2) official pubished references to the Cape May wine
trail now.
Perhaps you heard about the MAC (Mid Atlantic Center for
the Arts) wine trail trolley tour. Starting in February, MAC
will be offering a trolley tour of all 3 local wineries (Cape
May, Turdo and Natali), combined with a lunch at the Carriage
House Tearoom & Cafe. I love this idea (I guess I should,
since I proposed it to them). An afternoon of cruising, wine
tasting, fun and a great meal, all without having to worry
about driving. The tour starts at 12:00 noon and ends at
4:00pm. What a great way to spend an afternoon.
I
figuratively tripped over the second reference to our little
trail the other day at the Cape May Winery. They just got
together with the other two wineries to publish a brochure for
the wine trail. They provide a map to all the wineries and
listing of all the websites and phone numbers. This trail is
for real!
Seasonal Specials Return!
Besides all the great events, Fall also brings with it a
return of our amazing week night packages. Lots of you already
know about these great deals. I know this, because many of you
have already booked reservations to take advantage of them.
So let me tell you about the specials. Perhaps the most
popular is the “Gourmet Getaway”, which features two nights in
a luxury suite with a whirlpool tub and dinner at one of our
fine dining restaurants ($100 dining certificate) for $385.
This is really a great deal. Another popular package is the
“222”. Come stay with us for two nights in one of our large
premium rooms for $222 (plus taxes). Do you like shopping? Try
the “Girlfriend Getaway” package for 2 nights in a luxury
suite and $100 in shopping vouchers good at over 15 of Cape
May’s wonderful shops. The ladies really like this one!
If you can’t do a weeknight stay, take a look at the
“Winter Weekend Madness” package. Stay three nights on
a two night minimum weekend and receive a $75 gift card to the
famous Mad Batter restaurant.
These packages are
available November through April with a few exceptions. Give
us a call to reserve your room soon!
Did you know that every November Cape May plays host to the
New Jersey State Film Festival? It isn’t quite as famous as
the Sundance Film Festival, but that is proabably only because
nobody as famous as Robert Redford is sponsoring the Cape May
festival. You never know what the future holds, though.
If you love great films and want to get a peak at some of
New Jersey’s up and coming talent, you should really consider
making a trip to Cape May this November 21-23. There will be
screenings all over town, parties, workshops, and a general
sense of festivity throughout. By the way, if you have a film
you want to enter in the festival, the deadline is October
17th.
Amazingly, Christmas is fast approaching. I don’t think
that the stores and malls have their decorations up yet
(they’re decorated for Halloween, I think), but we’re starting
to plan for our decorations and events already. Have you made
your Christmas plans yet?
Now I know that many of you couldn’t imagine spending
Christmas away from home. For some of you though, The Queen
Victoria is like your second home. Why not spend Christmas
there? Bring the family! Lots of folks do, actually. Consider
this: without the stress of cooking big meals and getting the
house ready for company dropping in, you’ll be able to really
enjoy some quality time together.
I was tempted to just run the same Thanksgiving segment
that was in my last newsletter because I liked it so much. I
particularly liked the part where I thanked all of our dear
friends and guests for making The Queen Victoria a success and
for coming back time and again. I was tempted, but I knew that
many of you actually read most of these newsletters, so I
would hear about it if I appeared to get lazy. Since all my
eloquence on the subject was consumed in last month’s
newsletter, I’m afraid that you’ll have to be satisfied with a
restatement of thanks from the bottom of my heart!
So, Thanksgiving is returning and you are facing one of two
possibilities: 1) where to spend Thanksgiving, or 2) what to
do with the weekend after Thanksgiving. The answer to either
dilema is brilliantly clear … come to The Queen Victoria! We
are the ideal “nuetral” location for a family gathering
(nobody has to cook or clean).
Despite all the hype
you’ll soon be seeing on TV, I know you don’t really want to
battle it out with all the other crazed shoppers in the malls
on Black Friday. Think how much more enjoyable a leisurely
drive to Cape May on Friday morning would be (after sleeping
in). All those sales are over-hyped, and they’ll be clearing
the merchandise out a few weeks later anyway. Why not start
your holiday shopping in Cape May’s charming
mall?
Do you decorate your home for Halloween? Are you drawn to
displays of scary masks when browsing in your local stores? Do
ghost stories feature prominently in your book case? If you
answered yes to any of these questions there is a reasonable
chance that you are suffering from paranormality syndrome.
Don’t lose hope, though! Your condition is treatable.
You guessed it! A weekend in Cape May is the only treatment
that can offer you true relief. Each year thousands of people
return to Cape May during the Halloween season to get their
“fix” and get on with their normal lives. Luckily, the
incredibly wise folks at MAC (Mid Atlantic Center for the
Arts) have recognized the needs of so many visitors and have
extended the Halloween season of 2008. Starting on Friday,
October 17 Halloween returns in earnest in Cape May, running
straight through the Hallowed day itself. As usual, there will
be tours and events, far too many for me to list
here.
The important thing to remember, though, is you
need to stay for the weekend at The Queen Victoria to maximize
the effects of the treatment. For a very serious case, we may
be able to arrange for you to stay in a room reputed to be
haunted! Ask about it when you book your
room.
Upcoming Events
Rounding Third at Cape May Stage Thru Nov 1
Cape May Wine Festival Oct 11-12
Victorian Week Oct 10-19
Halloween Events Oct 17-31
Sherlock Holmes weekend Nov 7-9
Cape May Jazz Festival Nov 7-9
New Jersey Film Festival Nov 21 – 23
Cape May Christmas Nov 21 – Jan 4
Dickens Extravaganza Dec 7-9
Valentines/Presidents Day Feb 13-15
OK, I’ll admit it. Summer is over. I’m still wearing shorts every
day and going to the beach one or two afternoons a week, but
technically speaking, Summer has come to an end. As much as Anna
Marie and I enjoy Summer, however, I can honestly say that September
and October are our favorite months of the year.
With Fall
comes all of Cape May’s best events, including the Food & Wine
Festival, Octoberfest, Victorian Week, the NJ winegrowers wine
festival, Halloween in Cape May, the NJ Film Festival, the Sherlock
Holmes mystery weekend, and most of the Christmas season. Nobody
does Fall better than Cape May!
A Sunny Fall Day in Cape May
Featured “Room of the Month” … King Edward
Do you want to stay in our most popular room? Well, here it
is! The King Edward room is a stunning room on the 2nd floor
of the House of Royals. It literally occupies 1/2 the floor.
The view here is taken from the bedroom section of the suite,
looking into the sitting room. As you can probably tell, this
is a truly special room.
If you’ve ever stayed in or ventured into the House of
Royals, you have probably noticed the parlor downstairs. It is
a pleasant space with some really magnificent wallpaper.
Believe it or not, this sitting room is bigger than the parlor
below it and just as ornate. King Edward has a queen sized
bed, which is separated from the sitting room by some “theatre
drapes” that you can see pulled aside in this photo. The room
features a HUGE bathroom with a beautiful marble floor and a
2-person whirlpool tub surrounded by a marble backsplash that
has an amazing pattern in it (accidental or planned … you
tell me). The room also has its own very large private
balcony, which is accessed from just outside the
room.
If you want a spacious, grand and Victorian suite
for your next visit to The Queen Victoria, ask about the King
Edward room. You’d better plan ahead, though, as it really is
our most popular room and it gets booked up
quickly.
With Major League Baseball (“MLB” for you sports junkies)
claiming October as their own, I guess it is only appropriate
that Cape May Stage present a baseball themed play now. This
show opened up last night and is already garnishing rave
reviews from our guests.
Even if you aren’t a serious sports hound, I think you’ll
enjoy this new play. Like all Cape May Stage productions, it
is wonderfully cast with great actors. And the story line is
apparently about two coaches of “LLB” (Little League Baseball)
teams, so we won’t have to worry about offending any specific
team’s fans. Anna Marie and I haven’t seen the show yet, but
it sounds like a serious comedy, if that is possible. The
description I’ve heard was funny, but you weren’t sure if it
was appropriate to laugh or not. How is that for intriguing?
The show runs through November 1st, so if your planning a trip
to The Queen Victoria this month, put it in on your “beach
bucket list” (cute, huh?).
Speaking of baseball, I
KNOW you’re all pulling for the Phillies this year,
right?!
You might have guessed that we have always considered The
Queen Victoria to be the best bed and breakfast in Cape May. I
suppose we could be faulted for having a subjective and biased
perspective on this, but I honestly think it is true. I know
many of you agree, for which I am eternally grateful. In fact,
so many of you feel that way that The Queen Victoria was just
voted the “Best Bed and Breakfast in Cape May” by the readers
of www.capemay.com!
You might be surprised to hear that we were unaware that
capemay.com was holding this contest. Can you believe it? I
wasn’t even able to “stuff the box” with my own votes. I can
only assume that many of you, our great guests, took the
initiative to vote for us. THANK YOU !!!
I want you to
rest assured that the award won’t go to our heads. While it is
exciting and we’re thrilled to tell anybody who asks about it,
we’re going to keep on trying to make The Queen Victoria
better for you each time you come. Being ranked #1 isn’t
really a new thing for us, as you may be aware. We’ve been the
#1 ranked bed and breakfast in Cape May on www.tripadvisor.com
for a couple of years now (again, thanks to you!), which is
also something that we are very proud of.
We’re
thankful that you’ve voted us #1. We’re even more thankful
that you keep coming back and sending your friends and loved
ones.
bedandbreakfast.com Gift Certificates … not welcome
here
I regretfully informed you all about our decision to
suspend acceptance of gift certificate and gift cards from
bedandbreakfast.com in my last email blast. Many of you had
already made reservations with the intention of using them, so
we accepted them from many of you this Summer, despite our new
policy. Now that the season is complete, I just wanted to
remind you all that we are no longer accepting them.
If you’ve got a relative or friend that loves to give you
gift certificates to bed and breakfasts, suggest to them a
Queen Victoria gift certificate. It works just as well as the
other ones (better actually, as we’ll apply them as the
deposit), and we’re always excited about redeeming
them.
Favorite Guest Photos … The Engagement
I know that it comes as no surprise to most of you that The
Queen Victoria is a great place to celebrate special occasions
like anniversaries and birthdays. Nearly every day somebody is
celebrating something at The Queen Victoria. One of our
favorite, and certainly the most romantic occasions is a
proposal/engagement.
Nick proposed to his lovely girlfriend Emily in Cape May
last February (can you say “Valentines Day”?). Judging from
the smile on both of their faces, and the ring featured so
prominently in this photo, Emily accepted the proposal.We
often hear of the plan to get engaged by the nervous
prospective groom. We have to be careful with our
congratulation of these events, however, in case of cold
nerves or a rejection. So far we haven’t had any rejected
proposals here at The Queen Victoria.
The conclusion
that I draw from this is that The Queen Victoria is perhaps
the best place in the world to bring your loved one to propose
to her (or him!). We’ve got a perfect record of acceptance
going for us here. Cape May really is a romantic place at any
time of the year, and there are so many wonderful places and
ways to get engaged here.
Doug & Anna Marie’s Restaurant Pick Of The Month
… Pier House
I can’t remember if we’ve ever featured the Pier House at
Water’s Edge, but if we haven’t, we should have. Anna Marie
and I took it upon ourselves to visit the Pier House for
dinner a couple of weeks ago and were reminded how much we
like it (its a tough job, but somebody has to do it). We had a
wonderful meal that I’m still thinking about.
On this visit Anna Marie and I opted to eat in the bar,
which since the NJ smoking ban is a wonderful setting. It was
quiet and we had a great view of the beach across the street.
We started off with an amazing order of our favorite
appetizer, Fried Calamari, which was beautifully presented
with 3 different sauces. Anna Marie ordered the “Sea Bass
Bluenose”, which was served with skewered crunch shrimp and
some fabulous Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. I thoroughly enjoyed
the Mahi Mahi which was served in an incredibly flavorful
shrimp & scallop creole with rice pilaf.
We really
enjoyed our meal from beginning to end. Next time you come to
Cape May, give the Pier House a try. I know you’ll be glad you
did.
