Brava House Bed and Breakfast
	Brava House – 1108 Blanco Street, Austin, Texas 78703. 1-888-545-8200. Located in the quiet old west Austin neighborhood of Clarksville, this two-story home, built in the lat 1880’s, makes a convenient place to stay when exploring Austin.  Formerly known as the Southard House, it was one of Austin’s earliest homes.  From the wide front porch to the expansive back deck, the experience is pure early Austin elegant. Brava House offers two rooms and three suites. All accommodations have hardwood floors accented with decorative rugs and private baths.  The two suites have microwaves and mini-refrigerators.  The property is shaded by stately trees and features a back garden with pond.  Breakfast is served buffet-style each morning and tea and snacks are available at any time. Each of the guest rooms and suites come with its own personality.  The Van Gogh Room is a cozy first floor room off the deck and garden. Features a queen bed and armchairs in front of a bay window.  The Casablanca Room is decorated in a Morrocan motif and offers romantic privacy. Four-poster queen bed with canopy and a sitting area by large corner window.  Clawfoot tub in private bath.  The Garbo Suite is reminiscent of the 1930’s Hollywood glamour style. Features include floor-to-ceiling bookcase and fireplace in the living room.  Queen-size carved antique bed and a second fireplace in the bedroom. Large bath with clawfoot tub.  The Fitzgerald Suite is decorated in 1920’s Art Deco style and features mahogany furnishings and a parlor fireplace. Private bath has an oversized double-headed shower. Queen size bed and sleeper sofa make this suite ideal for families.  The Monroe Suite (yes, named after Marilyn) is the largest accommodation and is located on the second floor.  The suite has 650 square feet with a completely separate bedroom, living room, dining area and a full kitchen. Private bath.  Great for families.   For rates and reservation information, see website. www.bravahouse.com
Carrington's Bluff Bed and Breakfast
	Carrington’s Bluff Bed and Breakfast – 1900 David Street, Austin, Teas 78705. 1-888-290-6090. This lovely English country house, built on an acre of tree-shaded bluff in the center of Austin was part of an original homestead of the Republic of Texas.  Carrington’s bluff offers eight guest room in two separate buildings.  The Main House has five guest room and the Writer’s Cottage, located across the street form the main House has three guest rooms.  Both houses have kitchens, sitting areas and porches.  Porch on the Main House is 35 feet long and overlooks the beautifully landscaped sloping bluff.  Each room is decorated individually, but all feature English and American antiques, accented with English country fabrics and decorative accessories such as handmade coverlets.  Baths feature plush robes, hairdryers and Matrix hair care products. All rooms have coffee and tea makers. Some of the rooms have antique bathtubs garden views, or sitting areas. In the Main House there are three rooms on the first floor and two more rooms on the second floor.  The Main House has the original wood floors and high ceilings. The Writer’s cottage is a 1920’s home that is perfect for small groups who wish to rent the whole house.  Three guest rooms are available for rent individually.  The house features a full kitchen which comes stocked with Blue-Bell ice cream, a living room and dining area in addition to the three bedrooms, each featuring a private bath, one with a clawfoot tub.  Breakfast is served daily in the dining room of the Main House.  Weekdays, 7:30-8:30 am; weekends 8:30-10:00 am. Menu items might include: homemade granola, a savory hot entrée, breakfast meats, fresh fruit, gourmet coffee and more.  In room spa services available upon request.  See website for rates and reservation information.  www.carringtonsbluff.com
Katy House Bed and Breakfast
	Katy House Bed and Breakfast – 201 Ramona Street, Smithville, Texas. 1-800-843-5289. The Katy House Bed and Breakfast is located in a 1909 home.  The house features an Italianate exterior graces by an arched portico set over the bay-windowed living room. The house is named for the old “Katy” railroad line (Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad) which stopped in Smithville on its way to Houston and the Port of Galveston.  Local folks still refer to the house as the old Stephen’s House, after a well-known local doctor,  Dr. J.D. Stephens.  Stephens was a railroad division surgeon who moved to Smithville in 1937, converting the first floor of the home to serve as his clinic with a laboratory in the half-bath tucked under the stairway.  The home features elegant Georgian columns on the exterior and long-leaf pine floors, pocket doors and a graceful staircase. Smithville, built as a railroad town in the 1880’s,  is located in the heart of central Texas.  It is a quiet, country town 45 minutes from Austin and a two-hour drive from either Houston or San Antonio.  Antique shops line the town square and there are several dining options. Katy House offers five guest accommodations.  Each features a queen-sized bed and private bath.  Full country breakfast is served in the Main Dining Room daily.  Two rooms are located in a separate building on the back lawn.  These include the Katy Tower, an upstairs bedroom filled with railroad memorabilia and featuring its own deck, just outside the bedroom, equipped with rocking chairs. Private bath with claw-foot tub.  The Conductor’s Quarters, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, was once the home of an over-the-road railroad conductor and captures the feel of early small-Texas town living. Private bath with claw-foot tub. Coming soon is another, and very unique,  accommodation which was moved onto the property in 2003.  An authentic 1910 Katy caboose railroad car is being lovingly restored by innkeepers Bruse and Sally Blalock, and will be available to guests.  Stay tuned for updates on the caboose.  See website for rates and reservation information. www.katyhouse.com
The Inn at Salado
	The Inn At  Salado – North main at Pace Park Drive, Salado, Texas 76571. 1-800-724-0027. The Inn at Salado was the first bed and breakfast in the unique little village of Salado.   The stately Greek Revival style home was built in 1871 as a private residence by Edward Buckles, the owner of the famous Stagecoach Inn and one of the founders of the city.  The home was later owned by the Norton and then the Orgain families, both of whom were also very instrumental families in the development of the area.  The home bears a Texas Historical Marker and is designated with a National Register of Historic Places listing.  The Inn has 11 guest rooms and suites plus a private cottage. Some rooms offer private balconies overlooking the grounds or Salado’s Main Street.  Rooms are individually decorated with attractive furnishings and pleasant color schemes.  The two  room cottage has  a Victorian canopy bed and a separate sitting room with a day bed, plus two full baths, one with a whirlpool tube. The cottage has a private porch with rocking chairs.  Breakfast included with accommodation.  Area attractions are many and loads of fun. The town is an antique shoppers paradise located halfway between Waco and Austin. Don’t miss Three Dogs or a Quilt, a great little shop located in a dog-trot style house located on Salado Creek,  The shop features over 250 hand stitched quilts.   For room rates and reservation information see website.  www.inn-at-salado.com
Woodburn House Bed and Breakfast
	Woodburn House Bed and Breakfast – 4401 Avenue D, Austin, Texas 78751.  1-888-690-9763 Woodburn House has a long and interesting history in its Austin Hyde park neighborhood, the city’s oldest suburb. Originally built in 1909 by John Headspeth, an Austin builder for over forty years and credited with building many of the 19th and early 20th century homes in the city.  The house was built for Francis Wagner in the tradition of grand plantation homes of the Old south with its two-story, wrap around verandas and Doric columns, alluding to Greek Revivial style.  However, the high-pitched roof, gables and furniture-style spindles on the porch railings add an ornamental Victorian architectural note to the structure.  The home was purchased by Frank and Bettie Hamilton Woodburn in 1920.  Bettie was the daughter of Andrew Jackson Hamilton, a provisional Governor of Texas during the Reconstruction era. She is credited with having written many of his speeches.  The Woodburns had three daughters who never married.  The daughters lived in the home until the death of the last one in 1973.  the property suffered years of neglect and was almost demolished in 1976, until the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association was able to purchase the home and relocate it to its present location, still within Hyde Park and on a tree-lined property similar to its original site.  The home was totally restored maintaining the integrity of the original design, materials and workmanship.  The house features those great porches, voted “one of the ten best porches to sit on” by USA Today,  spectacular leaded glass windows and eleven foot ceilings with original woodwork and pocket doors.  The house has four guest accommodations, all located on the second floor, with access to the veranda.  The rooms are furnished with a mix of period antiques and more recent furniture. Rooms feature queen- or king-sized beds with luxurious linens, down comforters and pillows.  Each room has a private bath. Common rooms include the comfortable den downstairs, a favorite place for watching TV, playing board games or cards, or reading books from the library.  The elegant sitting room provides a more formal setting.  Full gourmet breakfast, served in the dining room, is included with each room Friday through Monday mornings.  Continental breakfast is served Tuesday through Thursday.  See website for rates and reservation information. www.woodburnhouse.com