The O’Neil House Bed & Breakfast

Yesterday, I posted about the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio. During the garden tour, my guide suggested I look into a stay at the O’Neil House Bed and Breakfast, saying it is the closest thing to sleeping overnight at Stan Hywet itself.

Looking online, room prices are from $75-$200, call or email to book. I called and asked if they had anything on the $75 end. She said, I have a room for $100, will that do? I said yes and showed up a few days later.

Well. apparently, she decided to give me a treat because she took me up to the Master Suite, the grandest set of rooms in the house. I mean, there’s a Family Suite of three rooms and two bathrooms together, so maybe $100 is just the price of the whole apartment that I got, but if so, it is definitely a steal!

The Master Suite

Y’all, this suite was unreal! It is like a whole glamorous 1920’s jazz apartment. This is a place I could see Lady Mary Crowley from Downton Abbey wafting through, and here I am with my backpack and sneakers.

There is a grand front room with a grey velvet sectional sofa and satin pillows, a TV and a fireplace. Next to a bank of windows is a small dining area.

There is a dressing area, like an antechamber, complete with a mirrored dressing table – which I totally used!

And the bedroom is huge. A massive four-poster bed with that satin, quilted, I-don’t-know-what-you-call-it, just-covers-the-very-top-of-the-mattress thing that I’ve seen on Downton Abbey. Whatever it’s called, it’s wonderful to sleep under.

In a massive bay window, there’s a whole ‘nother seating area, with great light and a view. The windows are a bit drafty, so you can pull closed the massive golden drapes closed if you want to keep out the air or the light. (There’s no air conditioning, so I slept with two small windows open on either side of the bed. There was traffic noise, but that’s my only complaint.)

There are two largish closets on either side of the room, one containing a rollaway bed. If you need to put your things away, you’ll have plenty of room.

The Bathroom

The original, intact, 100-year old, green marble bathroom gets its own section – what a hoot! Green and black swirled marble tile the walls, a deep soaking tub and a separate shower, roses painted on the ceiling! A bidet. Chinese-style lacquer cabinet and enameled plates round things off.

And chandeliers cap everything. Chandeliers everywhere! In the front room, in the bedroom, in the dressing room, two in the bathroom! There’s a wee tiny one just for the toilet.

I confess, I didn’t even eat dinner. I refused to leave this apartment. I read in the front room, I read in the bedroom bay window, I took a long, hot bath. I enjoyed this suite.

Breakfast

The breakfast part of the O’Neil House Bed and Breakfast was no less of a lovely surprise. It starts with dessert, a bananas foster napoleon in this case, and a cranberry juice cocktail (non-alcoholic.)

The main course was a little bit of everything. Pancakes with syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon, and fruit. She asked for my preferences first, but if you’d like something different, maybe give her a head’s up before the morning of.

Also, I dined alone, which during Covid, was fine with me. There was another couple in the house but they hadn’t come down before I left.

The Main Floor

Besides the small breakfast area where I ate, there is also a larger dining room with a lovely, long window seat.

Across the entry foyer, there is a large, wood-paneled lounge/living room area with three huge roll-arm sofas. The kind I’d like in my Stan Hywet-style library someday.

On the far end of the house is an area set up for a special event. The O’Neil House hosts weddings and receptions here as well as well as overnight guests.

The Library

There is a library room with plenty of books to borrow during your stay, plus a couple of places to read. But it also functions as the office of the O’Neil House owner and host, Gayle Johnson. It was here that I paid my bill and was able to chat with her a bit about the house.

The mansion was once the home of William O’Neil, founder of the General Tire Company. From what I remember, it sat vacant for a long time (maybe 30 years?) before Gayle came along and fixed it up and started the Bed & Breakfast. And she’s had it for something like 50 years. I may have that all mixed up but I do know that Gayle and her family live on site and have been doing this for quite a while.

The Grounds

While not the extensive 70 acres of Stan Hywet, the O’Neil House takes up enough land to buffer it from the outside world. There’s a wide lawn and archway perfect for weddings, a lily pond, and little paths and seating areas here and there.

Visiting the O’Neil House

There are four guest suites available at the O’Neil House, including a three-bedroom, 2 bath family suite, and prices are very reasonable at $75-200/night. Breakfast was amazing and the whole experience is a great complement to a visit to Stan Hywet. And it was such a surprise to me! Usually, as a single person, I get shoved in a corner somewhere. Here, I felt like royalty. I would really recommend it if history and fine houses are at all in your interests.