Bryn Oaks Bed & Breakfast a relaxing retreat
By Rachel Strickland | Photos courtesy of RHONDA EGGLESTON
Downtown Belton is rife with gorgeous, historic houses and buildings that date back to the 1800s. One such home located on Main Street has been converted into a lovely bed and breakfast with much of the original 1878 construction still intact. Rhonda Eggleston, owner of Bryn Oaks Bed & Breakfast, purchased the property in March 2019 and, after some renovations and upgrades, officially opened the doors of the B&B that October.
The story that led to Eggleston’s purchase of the house is a convoluted one, she says. Her daughter-in-law’s parents were thinking of settling in Belton when they got out of the Air Force, and so they looked at the house, but ultimately decided to live in Lufkin instead. But the house stayed with Eggleston, and she couldn’t get it out of her head. She felt like the layout was perfect for a bed and breakfast — all it needed was a little TLC. “It bothered me that this historic house was going into such disrepair,” she says. About three years later, the house came on the market again, and she decided to go for it.
While Eggleston saw the house’s potential for a bed and breakfast, cooking is where her real passion lies. She makes just about all the food served at the B&B from scratch. In fact, there are a few menu items that are only available at Bryn Oaks, including a lemon rosemary muffin. “I’m constantly looking for new things to make and testing recipes,” she says. “What I’m working on right now is a brown butter toffee pear muffin.” Some of the delicious items on the menu include German puffed pancakes with a fruit topping, jalapeño cheese grits, and traditional Czech kolaches.
The house itself has an interesting history. According to Eggleston, a man named John Q. Allen built the house in 1878. She’s been told that his family owned the house until the 1950s, at which point, it changed hands frequently. A man who owned it in the ’90s replaced the window air conditioning units with central air found the original chandeliers from when they put electricity in the house in the early 1900s. Those chandeliers are now hanging in the public areas in the house. Additionally, the spiral staircase is still made of the original maple from when the house was built in 1878.
The land is just under and acre and spans the entire width of the block. Bryn Oaks encompasses the historic house on Main Street and the duplex on Pearl Street. The main house has four rooms: two upstairs and two on the ground floor. The Bob Bunker Room, the downstairs room closest to the parking lot, has ADA accommodations, including wheelchair accessibility. All the rooms in the main house have en suite bathrooms and each have their own unique amenities, such as porch access or a private sitting room. The Posada is on the backside of the property, and it has two duplex-style suites that are both child and pet friendly. Each suite has a full kitchen, full bath, washer and dryer unit, day bed, and King bed. Some of the amenities boasted on their website include spacious suites, relaxing views, and delectable breakfast dishes.
The story behind the bed and breakfast’s name is two-fold. Bryn is Welsh in origin, just like Eggleston, and it means “hill.” Put together, the name means “hill of oaks.” She says that recently, there was a couple staying at Bryn Oaks from Wales, and they were so excited to stay somewhere that honored the Welsh language on their first trip to the United States. “We made that connection [with them], and now we have a standing invitation to go visit them when we go to see our friends in Ireland,” Eggleston says.
All sorts of people stay at Bryn Oaks, including folks involved with events at the Expo Center, newlyweds, and parents visiting their kids at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Some people just find Bryn Oaks on Google and like the look of the photos online and decide to book a stay for a weekend getaway.
“I just had some gals this weekend who were here for a girlfriend weekend and found me online,” Eggleston says. “One was from Dallas, and one was from Houston. They met in the middle, and they chose my B&B.” She says their location is especially convenient because they’re so close to downtown Belton, as well as Temple and even Salado.
According to Eggleston, Bryn Oaks is unique because of its homey atmosphere and the fact that it’s situated right in the middle of downtown Belton, which has a great small-town vibe. “I think one of the biggest things that people are surprised about is everything that goes on every weekend in downtown Belton,” Eggleston says. “We just had our Chisholm Day last weekend in Belton, and my guests from Dallas came back and said that it’s just so family friendly.” It’s clear that Eggleston loves the community that she facilitates through her bed and breakfast. “I think what we offer here is a just a true, small-town feel,” she says. “The city’s doing a fantastic job here in Belton, and it’s been great to be part of that.”
IF YOU GO
Address: 410 N. Main St., Belton
Phone: 254-291-3240
Email: rhonda@brynoaksbnb.com
Website: brynoaksbnb.com
