The Madonna Inn near San Luis Obispo seems to be a fun place to spend a night on first glance. Located enroute from Los Angeles to San Francisco on the California Central Coast, the hotel's claim to fame is that all of its rooms have been decorated in different styles and that pink is a favorite color of the owners.
Unfortunately, the rooms appear to never have been redone in their 30+ year existence, leading to a rather unpleasant smell as you enter the rooms. The carpet is a grayish and worn color where one stain blends into the next, the bed covers look faded and the entire room had a creepy feeling to it.
My daughter had rack of lamb in the "Gold Rush Steak House" that is part of the hotel and is decorated entirely in pink (despite the name). Unfortunately the lamb did not appear to have been fresh, as my daughter became rather ill that night and managed to add another stain to the carpet....
We were very happy to leave the place in the morning and continue our journey. In retrospect, we should not have stayed there in the first place. Any Best Western or even a road-side Motel 6 is almost certainly a better choice!
Our rating: ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ (0 out of a possible 5 diamonds).
