We enjoyed a complimentary stay at Benjamin Ellis House in New Bern, North Carolina. All opinions are my own.
Nestled in the heart of downtown New Bern, North Carolina, lies Benjamin Ellis House, a bed and breakfast located in an 1853 historic home.
Originally North Carolina’s capital, New Bern was settled by the Swiss in the early 1700s, and this bed and breakfast is paying homage to some of the South’s first settlers.


The bed and breakfast is named after a successful turpentine merchant, Benjamin Ellis, who purchased the lot in 1850 and later built a home for him and his family. In the 1980s, the home was turned into an inn.
Now, the third set of innkeepers, Gretchen and Tracy Du Peza, are welcoming guests with loads of hospitality and delicious breakfast dishes, all while preserving and celebrating the quintessential charm of this North Carolina coastal home.




In fact, the innkeepers take breakfast up a notch, preparing and serving a three course breakfast each morning (if you’re lucky, you just might get the french toast casserole). And if you just can’t get enough, you can opt in for a candlelight dinner for two or a cooking class.
Benjamin Ellis House is just a short walk to both the waterfront and Front Street, where you’ll find shops, like Blue Magnolia, Bradham’s Drug Store, the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, and Mitchell Hardware, a hardware store operating since 1898.




We highly recommend grabbing a ginormous cinnamon roll from Baker’s Kitchen, dining at Morgan’s Tavern and Grill and having dinner by the water at Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant (pictured above). If you’re a history buff, you can’t miss Tryon Palace and the gardens, also a short walk from the inn.
From the city’s historical charm to the comfortable stay at the bed and breakfast, New Bern has a lot to offer, and we highly recommend Benjamin Ellis House for your next visit.
Looking for more? Check out 620 Prince in Georgetown, South Carolina, and follow along on Instagram to see what bed and breakfast we’re visiting next.
Leave a Reply