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Hello from the team at Abigail’s Hotel!
JOIN IN ON THE MAGIC OF A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY!
The countdown is on! The Olympic Torch Relay is about to begin, right here in Victoria, BC on October 30th, 2009. This 45,000 km route is the longest Torch Relay ever in one country and will bring the Olympic Flame, direct from Athens, close to 90 percent of the Canadian population, carried by 1,200 torchbearers who have been given this once in a lifetime opportunity. The Flame will pass through 1,036 Canadian communities in 100 days, before being transported to Vancouver for the Opening Ceremonies. During these 100 days, close to 200 Celebration’s have been planned for various communities across the country, where live entertainment showcasing local talent will add to the excitement for the upcoming games. Planning for the torch relay has been ongoing since 2006, and with less than a month to go now, communities prepare wholeheartedly to welcome the world to their part of Canada. In the spirit of the 2010 Olympics, Abigail’s Hotel is offering a contest for the entire month of October, so you can join in on the magic of the Olympic Games.
Contest Question: Guess who? What are the names of the chosen mascots for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics? See the main picture above for a clue!
Call 1-800-561-6565 with your answers before October 30th (relay start day). If your answer is correct, you will receive 25% off of your next stay at Abigail’s, for any available dates between October 15th, 2009 and March 31, 2010!! Contest winners will also receive a complimentary upgrade based on availability, plus a very special surprise gift upon arrival as a souvenir of the Olympics. This offer is not valid with any other promotion. The Torch Relay is scheduled for October 30th through November 3rd, 2009. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will take place later in Vancouver and Whistler, BC from February 12 to 28, 2010, and the Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled from March 12 to 21, 2010.
Other upcoming local events for October include Tony Bennett live at the Royal Theatre, live theatre events for Hallowe’en at Craigdarroch Castle, ghostly city walks and carriage tours, plus The Sacred Arts of Tibet exhibit at the Art Gallery. See the events around town section below for scheduled Olympic festivities and local shows. This newsletter also provides secret tips from Chef Victoria, a favorite recipe of hers, special packages, and more.
SPECIAL PACKAGES AT ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
It’s time for romantic fireside conversations, bubbling relaxation baths and warm down filled duvets. If you are planning that special time for two, look no further. Abigail’s Hotel will arrange an evening to remember, complemented with local BC wine or champagne and sweet strawberries dipped in rich chocolate. Enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride for two around Victoria’s stunning Harbour. Top off the night with a candle light dinner at one of this city’s finest restaurants. Cherish that loving smile, when the surprise unfolds and your gift of quality time together is realized. Treat yourselves to a soothing spa massage. After a relaxing evening, in one of Abigail's most comfortable guestrooms, accept a beautiful breakfast in bed picnic basket for two, prepared by the Executive Chef. Bring that special someone and rest assured we will take care of the details for you. See below for current promotions and call 1-800-561-6565 for arrangements.
Romantic Getaway in Victoria or The City Carriage Ride and Dinner Package
Choose from two signature packages at Abigail’s Hotel this month and receive 10% off for mentioning this newsletter. The Romantic Getaway in Victoria includes dinner for two, a couples massage treatment, champagne, strawberries and truffles in-room at your desired time, plus breakfast in bed upon request. The City Carriage Ride and Dinner package offers you a very unique one hour horse drawn carriage ride for two, through some of Victoria’s most beautiful heritage neighbourhoods, followed perfectly with an elegant dinner for two.
Live Theatre Package
Craigdarroch Castle and Abigail's Hotel present Giggling Iguana Productions' The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde plus Cocktail Reception with the actors on Friday October 23rd at 9:00 pm. Be prepared for an evening to remember! This live theatre package offers manager’s special rates at Abigail's Hotel, 2 tickets for the live theatre show at Craigdarroch Castle, followed by hors d’oeuvres by Truffles catering. Tickets are now on sale and must be purchased in advance. For full package details, please contact the staff at Abigail's Hotel at 1-800-561-6565 or visit www.abigailshotel.com.
Christmas Baking Class and Christmas Dinner prepared by the Executive Chef
Guests have already begun to inquire about Christmas at Abigail’s. Yes, Christmas will be here before you know it! This year, spend a weekend in Victoria, with baking specialist Chef Victoria, who is excited to offer her annual Christmas Baking class to guests of Abigail’s Hotel this December. This Baking and Decorating Class is scheduled for December 12th, at 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Victoria invites you to enjoy a Christmas baking prep class to learn skills for creating unique baked gifts for your family over the holiday season. Make this time with loved one’s, to show off your creativity in one of Victoria’s premier accommodations, with one of Victoria’s great chefs. Remember to plan time for shopping – this city can be great for gift finding from signature boutique shops along Government Street to Lo Jo’s fabulous styles (Lower Johnson). Manager’s Special rates are offered to all participants of the class! Tickets go on sale October 1st to November 30th only, for $50 per person. Please call 1-800-561-6565 for details. Abigail’s will also be offering a special Christmas dinner with our Executive Chef, for guests staying with us on December 25th. Details will follow with November’s news.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
The continuation of the Cmolik Driving adventure has begun this week, but this time in Latvia! Follow the global steps of Abigail’s owners Ellen and Russ as they begin Section 3 of the Great Cmolik Driving Adventure. Between September 27 and October 29, their 33 days of travel will take them from Riga to Vilnius, then on to Yalta and Poland. Photographs and the details of their activities can be found on their blog at http://teamcmolik.com.
Happy Birthday to twins Oscar and Marcus! Proud parents Chris and Christy celebrated the first birthday of their cutie pie twin boys this weekend with family and friends from the hotel as well!
Of the 12,000 Olympic Torchbearers involved in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch relay, Abigail's own Operations Manager, Diane Eccles, was chosen as one of those Torch Bearers for the 2010 Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony on Vancouver Island from October 30th to November 3rd. The community location of her portion of the relay has been announced to be the Bowser Elementary School Track on November 2nd at 8:23 am for the distance of 0.3 km. The national route will be unveiled mid-October, and the festivities will begin at the end of the month across Canada. For more information about the Olympic celebration, visit www.vancouver2010.com. (A hint!!)
SOCIAL SPACES
Abigail’s is now tweeting about all current promotions and hotel specials offered! Follow us on www.twitter.com to find out more. You can also find us on www.facebook.com and are invited to become a fan of ours for current special deals. To find us there, see the links on our home page for easy access at www.abigailshotel.com. To all past guests, we appreciate your positive reviews at www.tripadvisor.com and our staff thanks you for all of the warm comments.
CHEF’S TIPS
Chef Victoria’s Secret Gourmet Cooking Tip of the Month
Oranges, lemons or limes! How do you get the most juice from fresh citrus?
Make sure your fruit is at room temperature. First roll the fruit along its axis and gently squash it. This is the secret bit that basically gets the juice mobilized in the flesh before actually breaking open the fruit. Then slice the fruit in half as you normally would do across the equator and “squeeeeeze”.
Take care not to lose the pips in your recipe mix and watch the juice flood out. So whether it’s orange, lemon or lime, there’s no excuses for not having fresh and now you can really get all the juice out!
Fall Recipe: Victoria's Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
Whisk together dry ingredients:
3 cups flour (I like to use 1/2 white & 1/2 whole wheat flours)
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Combine wet ingredients:
Beat 2 eggs
Add 1-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
Chop:
2 cups local apples
Streusel Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine dry ingredients with whisk. Combine wet ingredients & then mix with dry ingredients, just until moistened. Fold in apples. Scoop batter into 18 muffin cups. Top with streusel topping (cut together butter, sugar, and cinnamon until crumbly). Bake at 375 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.
Makes: 18 muffins
THANK YOU FOR YOUR LATEST REVIEWS ON TRIPADVISOR!
“Super great service with a homey vibe”
We booked 3 nights at Abigail's in order to get away from it all… it was a very charming spot to stay while in Victoria. It always felt great to return home to our room. The coach house was very cozy and comfortable and the foxglove was very fancy and had a huge bathroom and beautiful views from the windows. We loved the special attention Wes gave us. The appetizers were lovely as well as the breakfast that came with the room. I would recommend this hotel to others. Thank you to both Wes, Allison and Larissa for making us feel so welcome and wonderful. If we return to Victoria we would stay again at Abigail’s.
-Guest September 16, 2009
“Anniversary trip”
My husband and I stayed at Abigail's as a part of our 20th anniversary trip. We were in the coach house and found it absolutely charming. The room was very comfortable and the fireplace made for very special evenings. The staff is incredible - efficient, helpful and fun. Kudos to the chefs for the gourmet breakfasts. I would highly recommend Abigail's to anyone looking for a getaway.
-Guest September 8, 2009
“Unique Hotel”
We visited Victoria for a weekend and stayed in one of the Coach House rooms, which I would highly recommend! The plush bedding, wood burning fire place and jacuzzi tub were such a welcome change from your standard hotel fair. The breakfasts were all freshly made and very tasty. We met a number of the staff and they were all friendly and helpful. We don't have a single complaint about our visit.
-Guest September 4, 2009
THE PEARL SPA AT ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
The Features team is proud to use Yon-Ka skin care products in professional spa services offered at Abigail’s Hotel. For the first time ever, Canadian Consumers have chosen Yon-Ka as the Best Spa Product Line! The annual Fashion Magazine reader’s choice awards named Yon-Ka the winner of the Best Spa Product Line of nearly 15,000 votes. Yon-Ka products were also featured in a Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Book an Aroma Yon-Ka facial at Abigail’s Hotel this month and receive a free Yon-Ka cosmetic bag with samples of skin care products and one week’s worth of facial cleanser. This month, the spa team is also offering 25% off waxing services on Mondays and Tuesdays. The Hot Stone massage is on special for $89 and the double teeth whitening session for $149. Explore the full spa menu at www.abigailshotel.com for details or call 1-800-561-6565 to reserve your desired relaxation time. Spa packages are offered 7 days a week.
EVENTS AROUND TOWN
October 5 – Save on Foods Memorial Center
Canada/US Women’s National Hockey Exhibition Game
Canada's National Women's Team will face the United States' Women's National Team in a series of six exhibition games, ahead of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, BC.
Tickets go on sale May 1, 2009 and will be available through Select Your Tickets at www.selectyourtickets.com, by phone at 250-220-7777 or in person at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre box office.
October 1, 6, 8, 10, 13 – Royal Theatre
La Traviata
This is Verdi's most personal and compassionate work - the pinnacle of romantic opera.
La Traviata is one of the most popular operas known. For ticket information or to purchase tickets please contact the Box Office, in person, by phone at 250-386-6121 (Toll-free 1-888-717-6121) or online at www.rmts.bc.ca.
October 7th, 2009 – Royal Theatre
Tony Bennett Live at the Royal
Tony Bennett is a world renowned singer of popular music, standards and jazz. He remains a popular and critically praised recording artist and concert performer in the 2000s. Bennett has won fifteen Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, been named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. For tickets call 386-6121 or visit www.rmts.bc.ca.
October 15-31, 2009 – Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, BC
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Craigdarroch Castle and Abigail's Hotel have teamed up to provide a package that includes great rates at Abigail's Hotel, 2 tickets for the live theatre event on Friday, October 23rd at 9:00 pm, followed by a cocktail reception with the actors! For full package details and show times, please contact Abigail's Hotel at 1-800-561-6565.
October 23 & 24, 28-30 – Downtown
Ghost Bus Tours
Ghost Bus Tours have become Victoria's most popular Halloween activity over the past 16 years. Tour routes are developed and are narrated by John Adams, a well-known local historian and ghost expert who has appeared many times on the Creepy Canada TV series. Seating is limited on each bus. Please call 250-384-6698 for event information.
October 30 – Inner Harbour
Olympic Torch Relay Ceremony & Celebration
The eyes of the world will be on the Capital Region when the Olympic torch arrives directly from Athens, Greece. The flame will arrive early on October 30th to much fanfare and excitement at a ceremony at the Inner Harbour and from 5:30 - 9:00pm there will be an evening community event to celebrate the Olympic Torch Relay's first day in Canada, featuring world class music, performance and spectacle. More information and details on performers and artists is available at www.victoriaspirit.ca.
August 14 – December 6 – The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
The Sacred Arts of Tibet
The art of Tibet is almost exclusively devoted to the service of Buddhism and is almost never practiced for art's sake. Tibetan art is representative of the existential character of Mahayana Buddhism known as Tantrayana or Vajrayana (the diamond path or vehicle), which considers its art to be very sacred. Although Tibetan art is religious in nature, it is also rich in artistic or aesthetic value. For exhibit information call 250-384-4101.
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