Three restored 1880s homes and an 1876 gambling parlor at the corner of Ocean Street and Columbia Avenue, thirty-one rooms and suites, the village's most awarded bed and breakfast since 2007.
"The Queen Victoria is what most people picture when they picture a Cape May bed and breakfast: gingerbread porches, wood-burning parlors, a six-course breakfast, afternoon tea at four, and the village's best B&B trophy on the shelf every year since 2007."
The Queen Victoria occupies the corner of Ocean Street and Columbia Avenue, one block from the Atlantic in the heart of the Cape May Historic District. The property is unusual in the village's bed-and-breakfast landscape because it is not a single restored Victorian: it is a campus of three impeccably restored 1880s residences (the Queen Victoria, the Prince Albert Hall, and the House of Royals) plus an 1876 building that originally operated as a gambling parlor (now Regent's Park, which holds the larger suite categories). The four buildings sit around a central garden and parking court, giving the property something closer to a small village-within-a-village than a single-house bed-and-breakfast feel. The Queen Victoria has been voted the best B&B in Cape May every year since 2007 (locally, in the Cape May Magazine annual awards) and holds a consistent presence in national best-of lists.
The thirty-one rooms range from compact period-furnished doubles in the Queen Victoria main house to large luxury suites with gas fireplaces and double whirlpool tubs in Prince Albert Hall and Regent's Park. The base category is a Queen Standard in the main house; from there the property moves into Premium Queen and Premium King rooms, then into the named Suites (the Empress Suite, the Royal Suite, the Lord and Lady categories) that hold the property's signature combination of a king bedroom, a separate sitting area, a fireplace, and a double whirlpool. Several of the larger Suites include a private porch or balcony. Every room is decorated in restrained period antiques and reproductions, every room has a private bathroom, and every room is non-smoking.
The breakfast and tea routine is the property's defining daily rhythm. A generous buffet breakfast is served each morning across the dining rooms of the Queen Victoria and Prince Albert Hall (hot dishes, pastries, eggs to order, fruit, coffee, juices); afternoon tea in the British fashion is served at four in the front parlors (sandwiches, scones with Devon-style cream, savories, sweets, tea); and a complimentary social hour with sherry and savories runs in the late afternoon. The four front porches across the campus are deep, screened, furnished with rocking chairs, and used by guests through the day. There is no on-site restaurant beyond the breakfast and tea service, but the Ebbitt Room at the Virginia, the Blue Pig at Congress Hall, and Lucky Bones Backwater Grille are all within an eight-minute walk.
The Queen Victoria is the Cape May default for the bed-and-breakfast traveler who specifically wants the larger campus rather than the smaller single-house property. The thirty-one rooms means the property can absorb larger booking groups (a wedding-weekend reservation, a multi-generational family gathering) without losing the bed-and-breakfast register; the suite categories with the gas fireplaces and the whirlpool tubs are the village's most-booked celebration rooms; and the front-of-house team is famously thorough on the small details (the same daily tea selection that the returning guest had the year before, the breakfast that accommodates the dietary request without comment). Two to three months' advance booking is standard for summer; the Victorian Week festival in October and the Christmas weeks book six months out.
An anniversary at the Queen Victoria works because the property has spent two decades perfecting the brief. Book one of the named Suites (Empress, Royal, Lord, Lady) for the king bed, the gas fireplace, and the double whirlpool; book Lucky Bones or the Ebbitt Room for the dinner; and let the afternoon tea and the social hour close the daily routine without any of the planning friction a larger resort introduces.
For a Cape May honeymoon, the Queen Victoria is the bed-and-breakfast pick for couples who want the four-poster, the fireplace, and the whirlpool, but not the formality of a larger resort. The Royal Suite is the consensus celebration room; the Lord and Lady categories with the private porches are the photogenic alternative; and the Victorian Week festival in October is a particularly atmospheric time to book for a non-summer honeymoon.
The Queen Victoria is a generous solo retreat. The Premium Queen rooms in the main Queen Victoria building are the value pick; the front porch with a rocking chair is the genuine morning ritual; the Cape May Promenade walk to the beach, the Cape May Point Lighthouse, and the bird sanctuary fills the day; and the social hour at five lets the solo guest dip into company without commitment.
102 Ocean Street
Cape May, NJ 08204
United States
Ocean Street Historic District; one block from the Atlantic; 2.5 hours from Philadelphia
31 rooms across 4 restored buildings
From USD 235/night (shoulder season)
Summer high season USD 395-525/night
Suite categories include gas fireplaces and whirlpool tubs
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Three 1880s homes + 1876 gambling parlor
Best B&B in Cape May every year since 2007
Generous buffet breakfast included
Afternoon tea in the British fashion
Sherry social hour at 5 PM
Gas fireplaces and whirlpools in suites
Four screened front porches
On-site parking
Free Wi-Fi
One block from Atlantic
From USD 235/night. Two to three months' advance booking is standard for summer weekends; Victorian Week in October and the Christmas weeks are the toughest single booking windows of the year.
Book This Hotel →The 1872 Stephen Decatur Button Italianate on Columbia Avenue, twelve rooms in a former gambling clubhouse. The smaller, quieter alternative.
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The 1816 oldest seaside resort in America, 107 rooms, the long yellow façade and the pool deck.