#323 - Meyer Hotel in Comfort, TX

Meyer Sisters!

Last week, my sister and I (along with our spouses) stayed at The MEYER Hotel, in the sweet town of Comfort! 

During our stay, Jennifer and I forgot to pose with the hotel sign! (Meyer is our family name!) However, we did stop to pose with another sign, on our drive to Comfort. "Sisterdale, Texas Cotton Gin 1885"  We Old Sassy Sisters clearly felt a little ownership over these 2 historic places. We don't date back to the 1880's, but both of these cool places do!

Meyer Bed & Breakfast in 2001

I've been eager to stay at this historic property since my daughter and I found it, 22 years ago. It was a B&B then.

In 2002, Heidi and I spent 3 days exploring the Texas Hill Country, in our Dodge van. Our mission was to find a place for our Meyer Family reunion... that would please 20 family members, coming from 6 states! We came upon this historic gem (with the perfect name) and wanted badly to choose it. But the set up wasn't a good fit. 

March 2024

22 years later, I got my wish to spend a night at the "Meyer Hotel Complex". 

New buildings have been added to the 33-acre property, but the historic Meyer residence and hotel building, looked just how I remembered! 

Office

No need to  stop at the office anymore, since there is contactless check-in. Some folks love getting a text and using a code. Not me. Meeting hosts and asking questions, is part of the adventure for me!

But the office door was open wide, when we arrived. I stuck my head in and a gracious employee let me peek at the old photos on the wall. 

The Old Homestead

​In the morning the same friendly woman (with a name I can't recall) was out and about and chatted some more. She allowed us to look inside the Meyer home. The entire Old Homestead can be rented for about $460. a night.

155 years old! I compared the exterior to one of the old photos, displayed in the office. I wonder what happened to the upper windows?

Busy Meyer Family

The home was built in 1869, by German immigrant, Frederich Christian Meyer and his wife Ernestine. They had 8 kids, so we can assume they are the youngin's in the photo.

Mr. M operated a stage stop for some time. Mrs. M worked as a midwife, in a maternity building, constructed on their property. How did Mrs. M handle all the local ranch women having babies AND  tend to her own 8 kiddos?!

​I doubt they had much leisure time for porch sitting. 

Interior 
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It was fun to step inside and imagine the Meyer family living here, one and a half centuries ago!

No bathrooms in 1869, but 2 now! This would be a fun stay in the future, for a few more bucks! 

In Back
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​I wonder if the Meyers ever had to dash into the storm cellar? Maybe it was just used for storing jars of jam, or canned tomatoes. ​

I peeked down the stairs and it seemed to be set up as a work shop.

1887 Hotel

In 1887, the railroad came to Comfort! The Meyers figured, Why not build a 2-story wood frame hotel building, to house travelers?

They built the inn behind their home and housed guests upstairs. The downstairs held the kitchen and dining room. The 8 Meyer kids ended up helping Mrs. M run the place, after Mr. M passed away.

"Gast Haus"

In the original hotel, (called Gast Haus) there are only 2 guest rooms. I was determined to book them. Easier said than done. The website didn't give complete info and some recent changes in ownership, led to a bit of confusion about availability. 

It took a number of phone calls to nail down the 2  rooms in the old hotel.  

On the Veranda

Cheers for the Gast Haus and cheers for all hotels with porches! 

Jennifer and I did another fine pose, on the front porch... or should I say veranda?

We should have dressed up for our porch pic, like the ladies in white! 

Entrance

We arrived around 4 and entered the door between the 2 signs. 

One sign for the hotel and another for the newly acquired restaurant, "Food For the Soul Bistro".

​As the door opened, we were met with sounds and smells of a busy kitchen. 

We passed the kitchen door (open at the time) and waved to staff. Then we passed a pair of portraits. Mrs. and Mr. Meyer? They didn't look as friendly as the people in the kitchen.

​The Dining Room

When Heidi and I visited years ago. I remember spotting the MEYER sign, hanging in the quaint dining room.

I remember the wispy branches and lots of antiques and doodads. 

As we 4 headed up the stairs to our rooms, I looked down and fretted. "Why does that sign say HOTEL, not MEYER?"

But the space looked much fresher and more spacious than before.

Porch Stop

Before heading into our rooms, we stepped out to the front porch.

There were no chairs on the east end, but there was a good view of another historic building.

Julia Ellenberger House

This additional guest house was added in 1900. 

It was named for Julia Meyer Ellenberger, one of the 8 kids. Julia operated the inn until her death in 1956.

There were only 2 rockers on the long porch. Jennifer and I rocked a moment.

With no  leaves on the trees, we had a decent view of the property and the pool area.

We also had a close up view of a rusty old pulley. For lifting furniture?

The East Side

Don and I had the King Room, on the east side of the second floor. 

There was access to a screened porch in back and an extra space for a couple of kids... if we'd had any with us!

We didn't exactly need the trundle bed. I'm so curious how this upstairs space was broken down, for guests in the 1800s.

The bed was quite comfy and it was a treat being surrounded by 6 tall  windows! However a none opened and a couple had no coverings. 

Fresh Air
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We could easily open the door to the screened porch to let in some fresh air. There was a ceiling fan and a standing fan and an a.c. unit, if needed. It wasn't  quite chilly enough to need the gas stove. 

It was handy having a fridge, microwave and coffeemaker. It was less handy having the sink about a mile from the bathroom. I did appreciate having ample counter space near the sink.  

The bathroom wasn't exactly luxurious, but we had one!

We had a tub and toilet and towels, which is more than the guests had in 1889!

Bathroom Addition

I have no clue when the hotel first got plumbing.

But you can clearly tell the bathroom came later. The addition in the center sort of cracks me up! It looks like a floating outhouse!

The Screened Porch!

In this photo, you can tell there have been a number of additions to the back of the old hotel.

The red arrow points to our screened porch! Oh how I love porches! If you don't, then scroll on down. I'm gonna talk about this porch! A lot.

Old
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This was no recent addition. You could tell by the worn and sloping floorboards.

That floor space offered up lots of room. A table for games and snacking... and a comfier area, for chatting and reading. A rocking chair, too!

I first learned to appreciate screened porches at my grandmother's house. 

Daw's porch was about half this size, but it had similar wicker furniture. As a little kid, I remember pressing my nose against the screen and inhaling the funny smell. (Not this time!)

​When I was a little older I did puzzles and played Scrabble on Daw's porch.

We only had a tiny puzzle with us, but Jennifer put 100 tiny pieces together, before her tea was gone. 

The porch was heavenly at night, when all was quiet... except frogs and an owl!​

Morning on the Porch

The early sun spotlighted the slanted bookshelf in the corner. It's hard to capture the comical way the angled ceiling matched the slanted floor. At 7 am, I felt like I'd been drinkin', when I walked across the sloped floor.

This space was likely used as a sleeping porch, before days of air-conditioning. We heard from staff about a local guy who shared memories of living in this building as a kid. This porch had been his bedroom.

​Come on Out!

After the sun rose a bit more, I tapped on the window to hurry Don along. I texted Kate and Jennifer. "Door's unlocked! We're on the porch!" 

You have to love this tall skinny window, with 3 parts! Slide up the lower section... slide down the upper one! Clever, but no longer functional.

View

I haven't even mentioned the view from the porch!

Ahhh...! Green spring lawn, sloping down towards Cypress Creek. 

When Jennifer and Kate joined us, they told us about the storm we totally missed durning the night. (loud a.c.unit!) All we could hear in the morning, was a giggling boy on a swing, 

Wandering the Property

The property was even more peaceful the evening before. Jennifer and I wandered into town and returned to enjoy the creek views, around sunset.

I love swings as much as I love porches. There were 4 swings.

​I briefly tried out the tire swing.

I'm first to admit, I didn't give it my all.

I should have climbed on top and let my big sister give me a mighty sideways push, to get me spinning! No telling how my adult stomach would have reacted.

Sunset

The clouds had disappeared by sunset, so we were able to view the sinking sun.

If we'd booked our stay a few weeks later, we would have seen lovely green trees. But, they would have blocked the sunset.

If Jennifer and I had traveled with our Nikons, (like we used to) we cold have gotten clearer photos. My cellphone pic only reveals 2 white blobs beneath the sun. 2 sweet longhorns were enjoying the evening! 

Pool Time?

​Back in the day, I imagine the Meyers and guests, did all their swimming in Cypress Creek.

We had pool options, but the weather was a little too cool.

Things were getting spiffed up for the season. The new lounge chair cushions still had protective covers. 

Food at Meyer Hotel

Dining at the Meyer Hotel has changed a bit over the years. 

I'm not sure if this stove is original, but we found it in the Summer Kitchen. 

The screened in area is no longer safe for cooking, but we did find an ice machine and filled our buckets.

"Food for the Soul Bistro"

A century ago, they served 3 meals a day at the hotel. 2 decades ago, they served a complimentary breakfast at Meyer B&B.

Somewhat recently, a local restaurant moved into Gast Haus to offer  dinner, 3 nights a week. They still need to work out a lot of kinks when it comes to communication, but luckily our dining experience was wonderful!

Reservation Worries

​As I said before, cooking smells greeted us when we arrived at 4. I was incredibly relieved to know the restaurant really would be open that night. 

Days before, I had struggled to get information and make reservations. When I finally did reach someone, I still couldn't get firm answers about what might be served or what the cost would be. I'm all for laid back and casual approaches, but this seemed a little un-pro. 

Tiny Bar

I kept fingers crossed, since Comfort is small with few other dining options on a Thursday. On the day we arrived wandered downstairs around 5. In a tiny bar just off the dining room, I met restaurant owner, Kathy. She was sitting beneath the stuffed boar's head, touching up her make up.  

Kathy was warm and welcoming. She told me the chef would be serving Special Meatloaf and Tucson Chicken and we could arrive anytime between 6 and 8. 

We arrived around 7:30 and all tables were available. When we spotted the MEYER sign (which had been hiding behind the HOTEL sign) we sat right beneath it! 

Our Feast!

With just 2 dinner options, it didn't take long to decide. Luckily both sounded wonderful. All came with a trip to the salad bar, set up in the sunroom.

Kate and I went for the Tuscan Chicken, with mushrooms, potatoes and beans. 

Chef Derrick

Jennifer and Don went for the Special Meatloaf, with beans, mashed potatoes and a very yummy gravy.  

We enjoyed chatting with Kathy here and there... and Brandon who took our photo! We especially enjoyed meeting Chef Derrick. He playfully begged us to steer away from catsup. He gave us a little history about his family meatloaf recipe, served with gravy... not catsup. He was right! The gravy was delicious, as was the entire feast. What a great guy!

Good Night

I always have to sneak outside and take a night photo or two, when enjoying a Notable Night!

I imagined a warm summer night with more guests, enjoying fire pits and swings and the little gazebo.

As I strolled a bit, I imagined the Meyer family. Did they speak German to each other as they sat on the benches? 

I imagined my own Meyer family enjoying this property, during a future family reunion. None of us would speak German... but my great grandparents did.

Then I headed inside and eventually slept well... right through the storm!

Comfort

The next morning we enjoyed the hotel, then wandered around Comfort. It would be insane to stay in this lovely town and not absorb the history. Photos below give just a glimpse. I added a couple from a previous visit.

Ahhh, the curious comfort, of small-town Comfort. It was established about a century before I was born, by German immigrants. They considered themselves Freethinkers and abolitionists. They created a thoughtful town, so very different than any Texas town I've visited. 

What's Notable?

The combined history of the Meyer Hotel and the town of Comfort, is remarkably curious and fascinating. You get to enjoy both, when you stay. But, more than anything, I'll remember the fun of sharing this hotel adventure, with Jennifer and Kate... and of course Don!  

The memories that I'll cherish the most are... relaxing on the screened porch, strolling along the creek and watching the sunset, enjoying the delicious meal beneath the Meyer sign and wandering the town. 
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​What a special place!
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