Page 28 - San Luis Obispo Visitors Guide - Summer 2025

28 SUMMER 2025 slovisitorsguide.com
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The iconic Madonna Inn—enchanting
guest rooms and pink champagne cake
Whether a first-time or repeat
visitor to the iconic Madonna
Inn, locals and visitors are always in
for a special treat. Located just off
Highway 101 in beautiful San Luis
Obispo, it’s the ideal place to stop
for a meal, dessert, or an enchanted
night or two.
Nostalgia is the name of the
game at Madonna Inn. The unique
style and ingenuity from the first 12
rooms completed in 1958 by Alex
“Over the years, returning guests
share how much they enjoy that
nostalgic feeling,” says market-
ing manager Amanda Rich. “It’s
important for us to maintain the
originality of this special place while
also adding upgrades.”
This originality spreads through-
out the entire 1500-acre property,
from Madonna’s world-famous Pink
Champagne Cake, the gift shops,
and into the famous restrooms.
That’s correct – the restrooms
at Madonna Inn have personalities
all their own. The men’s features a
waterfall urinal and clamshell sinks,
the women’s exhibits pink sparkly
wallpaper and leather interior. “It
was an ongoing joke between the
Hiking, horseback
riding, world-
famous food and
bakery, and dancing
to big band music
Madonnas, and he liked to remind
her how famous that waterfall had
become!” says Rich.
Family-run with unsurpassed
hospitality
From its mom-and-pop begin-
ning to now, the Madonna Inn has
been a family-run business. Their
children – Cathie Twisselman, John
Madonna, Karen Twisselman, and
Connie Pearce – learned the impor-
tance of hard work from an early
age. Pearce is currently the general
manager. Her husband, Clint, man-
ages the Madonna properties, and
their daughter, Audrey, helps with
marketing.
The family’s hospitality has ex-
ceeded guest expectations for nearly
seven decades. Guests return year
after year to their “home away from
home” for special experiences and
lasting memories.
Everyone is welcome to walk
around and enjoy the ornate
hand-carved woodwork, etched
copper and brass adornments, and
custom-made leaded glasswork and
windows. The prevalent color pink
first took off with the design of the
steakhouse booths.
“If you’re sitting in a pink booth,
you can’t help but smile!” says Rich.
No two rooms are alike
Famous for its unique accom-
modations, the Madonna Inn boasts
110 themed guest rooms.
and Phyllis Madonna are reflected
throughout the property.
You can’t help but smile when sitting in a pink booth.