Maison-Bayou, Jefferson, Texas

On moss-draped Big Cypress Bayou, just past downtown, lies Jefferson's most ambitious B&B. Jan and Pete Hochenedel's Maison-Bayou is set on 55 wooded acres and is patterned after an 1850s Louisiana antebellum plantation in Pete's family.

The main house is an authentic reproduction of a plantation overseer's home. Here the Hochenedels serve a full breakfast on weekends, with Southern entreees such as "swamp eggs," an oven-baked omelet filled with spinach, and brandied peaches.

But the most unique aspect of this B&B is the guest accommodations. Four cabins, modeled after slave quarters, offer primitive-style furnishings (but with the luxuries of full baths and central air and heat). Even the smallest details evoke authenticity: Mosquito netting hangs over one bed, sugar cane grows in front of the quarters, burlap curtains provide privacy. One dogtrot cabin features an open porch separating two accommodations.

All the cabins overlook Beaver Pond, an oxbow lake that's popular with anglers. If you don't bring your fishing gear, the Hochenedels will supply cane poles.

Location: 300 Bayou St., Jefferson

Related page: Jefferson Index