906 McClure Street
Victoria, BC Canada V8V 3E7
P: 250-388-5363
F: 250-361-1905
innkeeper@abigailshotel.com
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| Abigail's Bed & Breakfast Boutique Hotel has won several awards, including Victoria's Best Small Hotel by Frommers, "Best B&B and Best Boutique Hotel 2008" by Victoria News Group's Best of the City readers' poll, "2008 Hotel Value Award" by West Jet's In-Flight UP! Magazine and "Top 1% of World's Hotels 2009" by Expedia Insiders Select Group. Abigail's Hotel is rated triple diamond by AAA. |
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"Luxury and
Great Location"
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We stayed at Abigail's to
celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary and enjoyed this small hotel very much.
The staff is very efficient, helpful and knowledgeable. We looked forward to the
gourmet breakfasts each morning. The short walk to the centre of Victoria and the harbour
area was very pleasant. We stayed in the carriage house and were surprised by
the many small touches which made our stay more wonderful......bathrobes,
cookies, bottled water, tea in the library, coffee machine for use any time of
the day, hors d'oeuvres in the library...etc
I would recommend Abigail's to
any of our friends.
-Guest October
2009
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"Waited on hand
and foot, extraordinary gourmet breakfast, and plush
bed..."
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We found this hotel by looking up
B&B's in Victoria on hotels.com. I wanted a luxurious,
B&B within walking distance of the popular sites of Victoria {Parliament
building, Empress Hotel, the marina etc.} but not right in downtown. It was a
perfect fit. The huge Victorian mansion sits at the end of a cul-de-sac in a
residential neighborhood. It is very quiet. We stayed in the Country Room. It
had a very nice bathroom with marble floors and a rain can shower head. The
linens were top of the line.
The breakfast at the Abigail is an
experience I will not soon forget. It was a three course meal delivered with
exemplary service. Matt the chef, Chris the head of house keeping and Wes at the
front desk not only made us feel completely at home, but each went above and
beyond to make our stay perfect. The only thing I would say that was less than
excellent was the views from window of our room.
-Guest October
2009
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"Homely
Luxury"
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Lived up to the reviews, very good
quality small hotel with spacious well appointed rooms and very friendly helpful
staff. Good location 5 minutes from downtown bars and restaurants, so quiet but
within easy striking distance.
-Guest October
2009
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A warm welcome to
the Royal couple!
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PRINCE CHARLES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL VISIT VICTORIA
THIS NOVEMBER! A WARM WELCOME TO CANADA...
To start the month off and after much anticipation, the
Olympic Torch was lit here in Victoria on October 30th and made its
4 day debut along Vancouver Island while the first of 12,000 torchbearers were
supported and cheered on by the local community, excited to invite the world to
our country. The beginning of the 45,000 km route was launched with great
success and compassion by famous Canadians, former Olympic athletes and local
community members. The relay will continue for over 195 days until we reach
games time. This Olympic moment began the month with unbelievable energy here in
the capital,and Victoria
is still bustling with many more exciting events this month to complement your
stay here.
This week, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will make several
appearances in Victoria,
starting with an official welcoming ceremony at the provincial Parliament
Buildings on November 6 at 4:00 PM. This will be Prince Charles' 15th
visit. There will be a reception and dinner at Government House co-hosted by
the Lieutenant-Governor, The Honourable Steven L. Point and Mrs. Point, and
Premier Gordon Campbell. On Sunday, November 8, 2009 their Royal Highnesses
will attend a remembrance service at Christ Church Cathedral, just steps from
Abigail's Hotel. On Monday, November 9, 2009 their Royal Highnesses will leave
Vancouver Island and depart for Ottawa
and the rest of their Canadian tour of 12 cities, coast to coast. Are you
curious as to how to appropriately greet the Royal Couple? Visit http://www.visiteroyale-royalvisit.gc.ca/sov-eng.cfm#a2
for tips!
Other upcoming special events and shows include "Art of the
Cocktail" at the Arts Connection, "Great Ladies of Jazz" at the Alix Goolden
Hall, "The Nutcracker" at the Royal Theatre, and Victoria's festive Santa Parade on November 21st.
See the events around town section below for the monthly schedule of local events.
Chef Victoria
has shared a secret cooking tip for your collection and a favorite recipe of
hers, plus new offers and special packages are available this winter... See below
for Abigail's own Olympic experience!
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SPECIAL PACKAGES AND EVENTS AT ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
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Packages and Promotions
Get the Royal
Treatment at Abigail's Hotel this month! Choose from any signature package
at Abigail's Hotel this November and receive a complimentary upgrade just for mentioning this newsletter! Package
details can be found at www.abigailshotel.com/packages.php.
The Olympic Contest has also been extended
to November 30th! See our packages web page if you want to play and
save! If your answer is correct, stay anytime between now until March 31, 2010
to receive great rates and a comp upgrade, plus a souvenir of the upcoming
games.
Feel the Magic of Christmas at The
Butchart Gardens!
Book your
"Gardens and Gourmet Breakfast Package" at Abigail's Hotel to view The Butchart
Gardens 23rd season of festive Christmas displays. Your package will
include a one night stay at Abigail's Hotel, gourmet breakfasts for two,
evening hors d'oeuvres, 24 hr parking, internet service plus two tickets to world famous
attraction, The Butchart Gardens. Please call 1-800-561-6565 and we will be happy to reserve your
festive winter package. Festivities begin December 1st to January 6th,
2010. Evening performances are offered each night between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm
in the Piazza.
Christmas Time is coming! Sign up for a festive
class while you're here!
Abigail's Baking
Specialist, Chef Victoria Kirby will be presenting her second annual Gourmet
Christmas Baking Class on December 12th at 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. She will lead you in the steps to bake and
decorate an actual Gingerbread Sleigh and also share her unique sugar cookie
decorating tips to help you complete many festive cookies to take away with you
as holiday gifts for family and friends. The class is $50 per person and
includes all baking materials and a mini recipe book. Please RSVP by November
30th by calling 1-800-561-6565 to book your space. Abigail's is
offering great hotel rates of up to 25% off for all participants! Last year
proved to be a sweet time, and you won't want to miss it this year!
Abigail's
is also offering a Gourmet Christmas Eve Dinner with our Executive Chef Matthew
McGinn, for guests staying with us on December 24th. If you plan to spend
Christmas Eve in Victoria,
please call us for the details at 1-800-561-6565.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT
ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
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Halloween Festivities at Abigail's Hotel
Halloween at Abigail's went off with seasonal fun and festivities! The
staff and their families came together and carved unique designs into decorative
pumpkins which lined the walkways of Abigail's Hotel for guests to enjoy. Contest
winners for best carving were Laura, Diane and Carlo. Congratulations on the
creativity! The Live Theatre event at Craigdarroch Castle
was a success and each and every show was sold out once again. Giggling Iguana
productions offered the play "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" full of suspense, murder
and drama at its best! Thank you for attending! Make sure to consider this
during your vacation to Victoria
for next Halloween!
The Great Cmolik Driving
Adventure - The Final Leg!
With the beginning of November comes the last leg of the Great Cmolik Driving
Adventure from Eastern Asia all the way through to Europe.
The group eventually arrived in the town of Czesky Krumlov,
a Renaissance Village
on an Island in the Czech
Republic.
"Just the
roof tops in the village were amazing. Of course there was a huge Castle
Fortress with gardens and shops. Tiny little winding streets with all the
houses built right to the edge of the streets added to the charm", per
Abigail's owner, Ellen Cmolik.
Hubby Russ Cmolik was hoping to check out his family roots there in the
nearby city of Rozmital,
one of three cities with the same name apparently! Good luck Russ! Join them at
http://teamcmolik.com
as they trek from Poland to Holland on their last stretch of the trip, taking them
through Paris to Amsterdam!
Abigail's own Olympic Torch
Bearer shares her moment - all 300 m of it!
On the morning of Monday, November 2, at the Bowser
Elementary School Track on November 2nd at 8:23 our own
Diane Eccles was privileged to carry the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch for 300 m
in its trek across Canada.
For more information about the Olympic celebration and Canadian
Torch Relay routes, visit www.vancouver2010.com.
The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, BC from February 12
to 28, 2010, and the Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled from March 12 to 21,
2010.Please read Diane's note below to get a
sense of her experience this week...
"Wow! What an experience! To be lucky enough to carry the torch is truly
an honour, but to be able to carry it twice is truly an unexplainable feeling!
I had a
dream when I was 10yrs old to go to the Olympics. When I got a chance
to carry the torch in 1988 when Calgary
hosted the world I was happy with the end of a dream. To have the chance again,
when Vancouver
now invites the world in 2010 is an honour and an experience that I will
cherish forever."
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SOCIAL SPACES
| Abigail's is now offering a complimentary upgrade to all
of our fans on Facebook.com!! You can link to us on the homepage of our
website. To find us there, see our home page for easy access at www.abigailshotel.com. Please let our
staff know at time of booking that you are a "Fan on Facebook" and they will
confirm your upgrade!
To our past guests, we appreciate your positive reviews at
www.tripadvisor.com and our staff
gives you a very warm thank you for all of your thoughtful comments. We hope to
see you again soon!
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CHEF'S SECRET TIPS
| Chef Victoria's Secret Gourmet Cooking Tip of the Month
How to Caramelize Onions...
Caramelized
onions are quite easy to make. Other than time and an onion, there is not much
needed to produce wonderful, deeply caramelized onions. Because of the way
onion cells are lined up, how you slice up the onion will have an effect on the
final product.
If you want
caramelized onions that almost melt in the mouth, you will want to cut thin
slices longitudinally, or from the root end to the stem end. If you'd like your
caramelized onion to have a little more structure and not break down so much,
slice them into thin rings across the equator. If you would like smaller
caramelized pieces, you can also chop or dice the onions.
Ingredients
1 large onion,
sliced per your preference
2 tablespoons olive oil, butter, or I prefer a mixture of the two
Heavy pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Optional, fresh minced herbs
Heat a large
sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the oil/butter.
Once the
butter has melted and is hot, add as many onions to the pan as will fit in a ˝"
layer in the pan. Sprinkle the salt over the onions. The salt helps to draw
water and dissolved sugars out of the onion's cells. When you salt the onions
at the beginning, it will take longer to achieve browning because of the extra
water it draws out, but ultimately, your onions will have a much better flavor
and will brown more evenly if you add the salt at the beginning of the cooking
process.
Cook the
onions over medium low heat. Cooking the onions at a relatively low
temperature, called sweating, allows all the water to release into the pan and
then evaporate slowly. Sweating also ensures that your onions will be soft and
caramelized all the way through, and not just on the outside.
Stir the
onions every couple of minutes, and adjust the heat so you here just the merest
sizzle. If your pan would not hold all of the onions, add more as the ones in
the pan cook down and free up more room in the pan.
Add in your
optional ingredients, if you choose to use them, and continue cooking on
medium-low to low heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and
anywhere from honey-colored to deep brown, depending on how caramelized you
want them to be.
The process
can take anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes to upwards of half an hour,
depending on how many onions you are cooking and your preferred level of
caramelization. Don't worry; as long as you cook them slowly and stir them
frequently, you will not end up with burned onions.
Enjoy!
Victoria's Delicious & Healthy Granola Bar Recipe...
The nice thing
about this recipe is you can substitute the coconut and chocolate for anything
you prefer or keep them and add anything else, like whole almonds, cashews,
dried cranberries, raisins and anything else you can imagine!
Enjoy!!
INGREDIENTS
-2 & 1/4 whole oats
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1/4 cup wheat germ
-1/8 cup ground flax seeds (a
coffee grinder works great!)
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup 70% dark chocolate,
chopped
-3/4 cup shredded coconut
-1 tsp salt
-1 beaten egg
-1/2 cup honey
-1/2 cup applesauce
-2 tsp vanilla
METHOD:
Preheat oven
to 350 decrees F and grease a 9×13 pan
Add the oats,
flour, flax seeds, wheat germ, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, coconut and
chocolate until well blended
Stir in the
honey, apple sauce, egg and vanilla and mix until all incorporated. Press down
into the pan and back for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
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THE PEARL SPA AT ABIGAIL'S HOTEL
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The
Features team is excited to offer new specials this month for your relaxation.
The Massage Sampler, including a bonus aromatherapy steam-bath, will be
available this month for only $145 (Value $160). Or opt for the Escape Facial
with a bonus skin beautifying glycolic peel for the special price of $85 (value
$116).
This
November the "3 for 20%" Waxing special also applies! Choose any 3 waxing
treatments and receive 20% off the total. The double teeth whitening session is
held over this month and is available for $149. Please pre-book for those
upcoming Christmas parties! Explore the full spa menu at www.abigailshotel.com
for details or call 1-800-561-6565 to reserve your appointment. Spa packages
are offered 7 days a week.
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EVENTS AROUND
TOWN
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Please see our website at www.abigailshotel.com/local_events.php
for local events around town. A few special events are noted here.
Nov 7 and 8 - Art of the Cocktail
Victoria Arts Connection
This two day event is launched by the Victoria Film Festival in celebration of
the art, craft and tradition of the cocktail. Cocktail lovers will enjoy sophisticated
beverages, tips from mixologists, authors and other local representations, plus
watch a competition for the Best Mixologist!
November 21 - Island
Farms Santa Parade
Festive Streets of Victoria
With over 40,000 spectators, bring
the whole family and join in on the festivities as Santa parades through town.
Parade begins at 5:30 pm. Call 250-382-3111 for details.
November 27 - Great Ladies of Jazz
Alix Goolden Hall
Four extraordinary divas perform
for one incredible night starring Maria Manna, Miranda Sage, Maureen
Washington, and Melinda Whitaker. This is a World Premier Concert Event,
produced by Anthony Edgington. Show starts at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available at
1-888-717-6121 or online at www.rmts.bc.ca.
November 27 to 29 - Alberta Ballet Perform
the Nutcracker
Royal Theatre
See the Alberta Ballet perform the
new Nutcracker, a Christmas tradition and a lifetime of memories.
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