Best of Cape May

Our Best of Cape May features our favorite inns, restaurants and shops in this beautiful resort at the tip of New Jersey. Cape May is one of our favorite getaways in the world. We go there quite a bit because it’s close and it just fits our personalities. It is a tiny town with great style, great food , great shopping, and great culture.

Best Breakfast in Cape May: The Mad Batter

The Mad Batter serves marvelous homemade fresh breads and pastries, fresh squeezed juices, and hearty traditional breakfasts on their breezy front porch.

The restaurant and inn is just steps away from the beach. It is a must do for any Cape May vacation.

Best Traditional Dining: The Washington Inn

The Washington Inn is delightfully old world. This is not a place that charts new territory in the culinary world, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Washington is a traditional fine dining restaurant that features beautifully prepared food, a well trained and helpful staff, a very good wine list. They will make you feel very welcome here.

Best Small Luxury Hotel: The Virginia

Our favorite hotel of all times, The Virginia is a place of wonder. It always restores and rejuvenates us. Their respect for us and appreciation of our business is shown every year when they send us their Christmas Card. This level of service is exceptionally rare these days. The best rooms of the house are the two front rooms on the second floor with private balconies and lounge chairs. I will warn you though, those two rooms are hard to get.

Best Victorian Bed + Breakfast: Inn @ 22 Jackson

Nicknamed “The Marauder” on our first visit to Cape May because of it’s distinctive dark blue and purple paint job, this three story inn features incredible period furnishings. The Inn offers complimentary wine and tea in the afternoon in addition to it’s breakfast served in the formal dining room on the first floor. The inn now has painted over that dark blue/black paint that made it so distinctive, but it’s still an extraordinary inn.

Best Contemporary Lodging: The Star

This inn or hotel is delightfully devoid of lace and flowery wallpaper that is so common in bed and breakfast inns. It has an understated contemporary smart style. Some rooms come with efficiencies and private backyards. The Inn is steps from the beach.

Best Bets in Shopping: One Great 3 Way Tie!

There are lots of shops we love in Cape May, but there are three where we always find great gifts for ourselves and others:

• Bath Time: Bath time is the best bath shop in the world. We love their selection of exotic and expensive soaps, sponges, bath brushes, fragrances and rubber duckies. The owner and her daughter do an incredible job with display and packaging.
• The Whale’s Tale: This is the one place that can sell us a Christmas ornament in July. It would be hard to list the categories of merchandise that the Whale carries, but our favorites are her Christmas ornaments, her greeting cards, her jewelry, her wrapping paper and her sea shells. (aka Whales Tail)
• Mariah’s: Mariah’s has one incredible selection of home decor items. He never ceases to surprise us with his new finds.

Best Hotel Value: Hotel Macomber

On our last Cape May trip we got a great deal at Hotel Macomber. It’s located close to everything. Almost every room has an ocean view and it has great deep porches to relax on. When you book your stay, be sure that you meet Crystal and tell her that SeeCapeMay.com sent you.

No compensation was exchanged between our editors and the establishments profiled in this feature.

See the 2011 edition of the Best of Cape May @ See Cape May.