My first visit to the Madonna Inn was in the early 1980’s while on a trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco. San Luis Obispo (SLO) is about halfway between these two large cities, so it’s a strategic stopping point for gas and food. I’ve since been back at least a dozen times over the years, and the Inn seems to stand still, unchanging .
The Madonna Inn is situated beside the busy 101 Freeway just south of SLO on a large (1000 acre) property. Some describe its architecture as “pseudo-Swiss-Alps”, but I like to think of it as genuinely American. A sign clearly marks it as being the Madonna Inn and it’s worth pulling off the freeway to explore this landmark.
The Inn has nothing to do with the 1980s pop singer or with the Virgin Mary. It is named for its founders, Alex and Phyllis Madonna, a married couple with a great imagination and a flair for the fanciful. The first dozen hotel rooms were opened late in 1958, and extra rooms were added such that today there are 110 rooms. Each room has a unique theme created by Mr. and Mrs. Madonna, and no two rooms are alike. Some of them have rocks, some have waterfalls, with themes like “Safari Room”, “Jungle Rock”, “Love Nest” and “Caveman room”, to name just a few. I’ve only spent a single night at the hotel, and it was a fun stay. Wish I could remember which room I was in – I only remember it was very green.
The property has a few interesting features. Most notable is that just about everything is pink. Not subtle pink but unapologetic loud, splashy, in-your-face pink. The Madonnas liked pink because it was a fun and positive color – and Mr. Madonna enjoyed it when his wife was dressed in pink. Many of the unique features of the Inn were built on site, including the generous use of copper, wood carvings and lead glass features.
In addition to the hotel Madonna has an excellent coffee shop (Copper Café), a formal dining room (Gold Rush Steakhouse), bakery, and wine and gift shops. The formal dining room is opened evenings but has terrific food and is well known for its steaks.
A great way to explore the hotel is to have breakfast or lunch at the Copper Café. The café is named for its large copper tables and is often very crowded, especially on weekend mornings, so call ahead for reservations. All the food I’ve ever eaten here has been excellent! We introduced my younger son and his wife to the Inn in this manner and they also enjoyed the experience.
After having a nice breakfast, look around the place.
The bakery is well known for is Pink Champagne cake, shown in the photo below. They also make a wonderful assortment of cookies, pies and European pastries.
A final few photos from our most recent visit…
