New Jersey · 12 Hotels Listed · America's Oldest Seaside Resort
Cape May
A National Historic Landmark in pastel and gingerbread. The Victorians built it for the long summer; the rest of us simply inherited the porch.
A National Historic Landmark in pastel and gingerbread. The Victorians built it for the long summer; the rest of us simply inherited the porch.
Ranked by overall occasion score. Every hotel verified, priced, and visited in 2025–2026.
"The yellow grande dame of the Jersey Shore. 1816, four presidents, and the only verandah in America that still feels presidential."
"An 1879 building restored to genuine refinement. Twenty-four rooms, the Ebbitt Room downstairs, and Cape May's most adult address."
"Built in 1872 as a gentleman's gambling club. Today it is the most photographed Victorian B&B in Cape May, and it earns the lens."
"Four restored Victorian buildings, thirty-five rooms, and tea every afternoon. The B&B against which all other Cape May B&Bs are quietly measured."
"An 1860 Italianate villa with formal gardens and a wedding-grade ballroom. The proposal happens in the rose garden — every time."
"Cape May's oldest continuously operating hotel — 1876, wooden, beloved. The bathrooms are mostly shared. The atmosphere is mostly perfect."
"The 1894 oceanfront hotel on the Promenade. Rooms vary; the Atlantic does not. Aleathea's porch remains the right place for an evening drink."
"Larger, more practical, and unapologetically a resort hotel. Two pools, oceanfront balconies, and the easiest answer for a multigenerational stay."
"Oceanfront, modernised, and home to Cape May's only proper rooftop bar. Functional rooms; the view from the Top Deck is the reason to book."
"Quiet eastern end of the beach, a long lawn down to the sand, and rooms designed for naps. The least Victorian hotel in town — refreshingly so."
Cape May was built for the long second look. Couples return here for tenth, twenty-fifth, fiftieth anniversaries — usually to the same hotel, sometimes to the same room. The town's preserved Victorian district makes every stroll feel like a re-enactment of an earlier visit. Our verdict: Congress Hall for the iconic flagship setting, The Virginia Hotel for the most romantic adult-only stay, and The Queen Victoria for the refined Victorian B&B experience couples come back to year after year.
The yellow grand dame. Verandah, Boiler Room bar, Atlantic across the lawn. From $475/night.
Four restored buildings, afternoon tea, the proper Victorian B&B. From $295/night.
Cape May offers something most American proposal destinations cannot: a sunset over the Atlantic from the eastern seaboard. Sunset Beach faces due west thanks to the peninsula's geometry, the Cape May Lighthouse beam sweeps the dusk, and the Victorian streets after dark feel like a film set. Congress Hall is the setting most couples picture. The Southern Mansion offers the most private rose-garden moment. Marquis de Lafayette commands the rooftop sunset view that closes the deal.
The rooftop Top Deck — the proposal that survives every retelling.
Our ranked list, with the one-sentence verdict on each.
The yellow flagship of the Jersey Shore — 1816, four presidents, the porch that defined American summer.
Cape May's most adult address — twenty-four rooms, the Ebbitt Room, an 1879 building restored without compromise.
The Italianate villa that anchors Columbia Avenue — Cape May's most photographed B&B for good reason.
Four restored Victorian buildings, thirty-five rooms, afternoon tea — the B&B that sets the standard.
An 1860 Italianate villa with formal gardens — the proposal hotel of Cape May, and quietly its best wedding venue.
1876, wooden, beloved — Cape May's oldest continuously operating hotel and its most authentic time machine.
An 1894 Promenade landmark with Aleathea's veranda and the Atlantic across the boards.
Two pools, oceanfront balconies, and the easiest answer for a multigenerational summer.
Cape May's only proper rooftop bar above an oceanfront tower — the sunset address.
Quiet eastern beach, long lawn, no Victorian frills — the modern oceanfront alternative.
The peak season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day — when the beaches fill, the rates double, and Washington Street Mall holds its breath against the crowds. The serious visitor chooses a different window. Late May through mid-June delivers warm Atlantic afternoons with empty mornings, restaurants that take walk-ins, and the spring songbird migration through the Cape May Bird Observatory still in full traffic. September and the first three weeks of October may be the best weeks of the year here: water temperatures hold into the seventies, the autumn raptor migration draws birders from across the country, and rates ease by 25–35% off August peak. December brings the Cape May Christmas Wassail Walk, the Wine Festival, and an entirely different town — gas-lit, garlanded, and quieter than any other historic seaside resort in America. January and February are properly off-season; many of the smaller B&Bs close, but Congress Hall, The Virginia, and the larger oceanfront hotels remain open.
The Cape May Historic District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, contains the highest concentration of restored Victorian buildings of any town in America. Stay here — on Columbia Avenue, Hughes Street, or Jackson Street — and you will walk past gingerbread porches every morning. Congress Hall, The Virginia, The Mainstay Inn, The Queen Victoria, and The Southern Mansion all sit within these blocks. The Cape May Promenade, the boardwalk-edge of Beach Avenue, runs from Madison Avenue east to the Lighthouse — this is where The Inn of Cape May, The Grand Hotel, and the Marquis de Lafayette face the Atlantic directly. Sunset Beach, on the bay side at the western tip, offers the famous nightly flag-lowering ceremony, the wreck of the Concrete Ship, and the Cape May Diamonds (clear quartz pebbles) the children come for. West Cape May, immediately inland, is residential, walkable, and home to the Wednesday farmers' market and the lavender farm — a quieter base for a longer stay.
Cape May's hotel market runs from $245 to $700+ per night depending on property, season, and oceanfront orientation. The historic B&Bs (The Mainstay, Queen Victoria, Chalfonte) sit between $245 and $400 in summer, with two-night minimums on weekends and three-night minimums for major holidays. The flagship hotels — Congress Hall and The Virginia — run $395 to $700 in peak summer, with shoulder-season rates 25–30% lower. Oceanfront resorts like The Grand Hotel and La Mer occupy the $275–$425 band. Suites and named rooms with claw-foot tubs, fireplaces, or ocean balconies command 30–50% premiums over standard rooms within the same property. Cape May charges a state occupancy tax of 6.625% plus a local tourism fee of 2%, applied separately to the quoted rate.
Three events drive predictable rate spikes. The Cape May Music Festival in late May–early June fills every B&B inside the historic district. The New Jersey Wine Festival in late September draws crowds to the surrounding vineyards (Willow Creek, Hawk Haven, Cape May Winery) and rates rise from the Friday afternoon through Sunday lunch. The Christmas Wassail Walk in early December consistently sells out the Victorian inns four to six months in advance. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry from North Cape May to Lewes, Delaware (85 minutes, vehicles welcome) is the most pleasant arrival into Cape May for travellers coming from the south. Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) is 30 minutes north — limited commercial service, but useful for a Spirit Airlines flight. Philadelphia International (PHL) is 90 minutes by car and the practical airport for most international visitors. Cape May is a strict pedestrian town inside the historic district — book a property with on-site parking or be ready to leave the car for the duration of your stay.
American tipping standards apply throughout Cape May. Restaurants: 18–20% on the pre-tax total, 22% for excellent service or large parties. Hotel housekeeping: $5 per day for standard rooms, $10–15 per day for suites or B&B rooms with daily turndown, left in cash on the pillow daily. Porters and bellmen: $3–5 per bag. Concierge: $10–20 for a good restaurant reservation, $20–50 for hard-to-secure tickets to the Wine Festival or a chef's table. Spa services: 18–20%, often added automatically — check the bill before tipping again. The B&B owners themselves are not customarily tipped; a written note and a returning booking are the more correct gestures.
Other destinations worth your consideration.
Tell us your occasion and we'll narrow it down. Anniversary, proposal, family summer, or off-season retreat — Cape May has the right address for each.
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