The Queen Victoria® is a renowned bed and breakfast OPEN ALL YEAR in the heart of historic Cape May, New Jersey, one block from the beautiful Cape May beaches, antique shopping, gourmet dining, and historic Cape May tours.
Cape May is a historic town where the streets are lined with Victorian style homes with bright colors and gingerbread detailing to make them look ornate yet each one uniquely different and beautiful. The sidewalks are peppered with horse hitching posts from when that was the main mode of transportation, and was left in to add to the historic character. As you stroll along the sidewalks, holding your partner’s hand, you can watch the trolleys pass along full of people taking in the sights, a horse-drawn carriage escorting a couple in love for a night on the town, or a family taking a bike ride through the quiet streets of town, seemingly without a care in the world. The town is so peaceful and calm, but has so much charm and character, it’s hard not to fall in love with it.
Thirty-two inviting and romantic rooms and suites with private bath are decorated with period antiques in the Victorian style and tradition of a historic Cape May bed and breakfast. Inn rates (ranging from $115 to $595/night) include full breakfast and a delicious afternoon tea with sweets and savory in the British fashion.
About the Innkeepers:
Doug and Anna Marie McMain invite you to experience the charm and Victorian elegance of the meticulously restored and maintained Queen Victoria® Bed and Breakfast. They purchased The Queen Victoria® from its visionary founders Dane and Joan Wells in May of 2004. The purchase of the magnificent property fulfilled their long time dream to own and operate a truly special Bed and Breakfast Inn. I had a chance to meet Doug, and he and his wife truly do a wonderful job in running this beautiful property, or should I say 4 properties. The food is delicious, rooms are impeccable, and service is outstanding.
The Queen Victoria is actually four properties, all equally beautiful, and guests are welcome to visit and relax in parlor in any of the homes, and use the amenities that all of these properties offer. The Queen Victoria offers a freshly prepared breakfast buffet each morning, tea and snacks in the afternoon, beach chairs and towels, use of bikes to ride around the town, and they also have a book and movie library available. Another great feature is the kitchenette in each of the buildings where you have sodas, teas, water, coffee etc. at your disposal any time of the day or night.
We took advantage of almost all of these amenities this B&B had to offer. Our first night there we borrowed a DVD from the library to watch in our room (which was equipped with a DVD player). On the second day there we started our day with a delicious breakfast and then took the bikes for a spin and rode them to Cape May Point to see the lighthouse, and sunset beach to visit the world war two tower and gift shops along the beach. It's about 3 mile bike-ride each way, but all flat roads, so it was a nice leisurely ride.
I was not familiar with Select Registry prior to this trip, but I was impressed with how their reviews are conducted. This registry verifies the quality of the inn or B&B you are visiting. Here is how it works - Select Registry carries out a quality assurance inspection for each of its nearly 400 facilities. This program involves independent inspectors-not employees of Select Registry-with years of experience in the hospitality industry. The inspectors arrive unidentified, spend the night, and evaluate the inn on a detailed point system, which translates into a pass/fail grade for the inn. Inns applying for membership are inspected, as are existing members on a periodic schedule. Not all inns have what it takes to pass the inspections, and this process provides a guarantee to the traveling public that a Select Registry inn is in a class of its own. A recent Internet directory identified over 20,000 "country inns and B&Bs" in the United States and Canada. A select few of those are members of the Select Registry. All properties that belong to Select Registry will have a plaque (pictured below) indicating their membership in this selective organization.
We had a wonderful time at this B&B and would recommend it to anyone!
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