This weekend Erin & I cruised the City Wide Garage Sale with Jen Perkins. The find of the day wasn’t a life-sized hot pink horse sculpture (I wish!) but rather, it came in the form of a hot travel tip from madam Perkins herself: The Madonna Inn. Easily the tackiest hotel west of the Mississippi (fact, South of The Border wins the East-Coast title) the Madonna Inn is not named after the Material Girl, but it certainly is, ahem, la Isla Bonita:
Room 206, Old Mill
110 Unique rooms make up this Shangri La in San Louis Obispo. Most of the rooms are constructed using rocks mined from local quaries, which results in such breathtaking spreads as these:
Room 204, American Home
Room 191, Misty Rock
Room 130 Yosemite Rock
Room 153, Swiss Rock
Room 143, Rock Bottom
Room 157, Traveler’s Suite
Room 141, Madonna Suite
Incase you don’t want to mix spelunking with your slumbering, or you’re still having nightmares from watching The descent (like me!) there are plenty of light rock rooms for your vacationing pleasure:
Room 134 Lucky Rock
Room 136, Villa Rock
Room 180, Traveler’s Yacht
Room 183 Love Nest (Eat your heart out, Jaime Hayon)
And don’t worry, when your tummy starts growling, you don’t have to leave the dream behind, the dining room looks like this:
Now, don’t let the fake plants, dark wood and horrid 70s photography get you down, this tack-a-licious delight is totally slumber worthy. Given the choice between The Madonna Inn and a La Quinta, I’d pick this joint faster than you could say Touched For the Very First Time.
So, what do you say? When we go on our blog-wide vacation, which room will you stay in?
Related posts:
The Madonna rocks! Don’t be hatin’ …
I never knew my bedroom was missing a faux rock treatment until this very moment…
I keep thinking David Bowie from Labyrinth is sitting on the couch in the Traveler’s Suite, and I’ve seen a room with the same wallpaper as Villa Rock but I can’t find it again. Karly, you know which one I’m talking about, right?
WOW…that is crazy, creepy, and insane. Love it…wonder how you could modernize this kind of look?
Girls, I have been to that very restaurant. Pink sugar on the tables.
You failed to mention the rococo pissoir in the men’s restroom.
Yeah, I peaked.
Peeked.
I have a not-so-secret fear of caves, and I’m sure there’s a name for that phobia. These rooms unfortunately brought that fear rushing right back to me. However, the Madonna suite has my name written all over it, if someone could maybe drape those rocks with something a little less rock-like. Or spray paint them gold.
I think gold spray paint would be a welcome addition to the Madonna Suite, we should write them a letter.
I think Lucky Rock is the room for me, though.
And, yep, Erin, I know the wallpaper you’re talking about, I can’t remember who’s portfolio it was in, but I have the image in my interiors desktop folder and I thought of the same thing when I first saw the villa rock room
Raina, you are one lucky lady! (and I didn’t even notice your spelling error)
Rock bottom or Lucky rock. I know where I want to go for my ten-year anniversary now. That place is fanfuckingfabuloustastic.
I was totally going to try to stay at the Madonna on this one road trip I took… maybe next time!
I saw the Domino link referenced somewhere else as the Obama (Michael Smith) story and Design-Crisis and Raina’s were the first places I went to see if you guys had heard/discussed already!
http://www.dominomag.com/
It’s funny though… you know I work in DC at an international news broadcaster — but no one here knows/cares about the decor story! Dammeet!
OMG it’s even more beautiful here than on the Girls Next Door Episode. The minute this baby is weaned I say we take a road trip. I do live for tacky hotels. Did you see the themed hotel on this week’s Rock of Love Bus? The porn star lady was crying in her space ship bed and it made me giggle.
Ha ha this is so funny. I would love to spend a night there and have my pick of the rooms.
This hotel reminds me of a recent episode of Rock of Love Bus Tour they said at a fantasy motel that had an alien invasion room. Pretty funny and yes I get a kick out of watching those crazy ladies throw themselves at Bret Michaels.
OMG, Rock of Loooooveeee! My new addiction (but don’t tell anyone, ok?).
Ps, Domino totally stole my post about White House interiors through the ages. Or maybe probably it was just an obvious choice for a decor post.
Oh Gees whiz y’all, this sure is one fancy hotel.
(um, just trying to fit in with the residents of such a hotel!)
No, Erin, they stole it.
I just posted the White House news. Thanks to Erin for emailing me and mucho thanks to WPZ for alerting Erin.
I think Michael Smith is an awesome choice. His work is gorgeous and always appropriate.
P.S. I love that the DC readers can reference “Rock of Love” and “Girls Next Door” in an interior design discussion.
oh honey, the madonna inn is the BEST!
i’ve stayed in at least 7 of the rooms over time and have enjoyed the comforts of a rock shower, 10 foot bathtub, 20 foot fireplace, lime green walls, and have witnessed the waterfall urinal.
i even had cocktails with mr. madonna — who has since passed away
FABULOUS!
photos next time, please, lucky miss tula.
And, Raina, would you believe that i was actually going to talk about rock of love in this post but second guessed myself. I guess our readers are just as addicted as I am… which is why i love our blog.
next week, i’ll bring some rock of love fever
Definitely room 134…helloooo zebra. Rockin’ post ya’ll!
Book me for a couple of nights in the “rock bottom” room. Nothing says welcome like having to spelunk into your room. The pool better be as amazing as the room or the deal is off.
Gasp! I live in Missouri and somehow I’ve NEVER heard of this. St. Louis’ best kept secret, meaning it’s best to keep it a secret! You had me literally laughing out loud! Love it!
And now I see that it says SAN Louis. Which totally explains why I’ve never heard of this. Ha Ha.
Must. Go. There! This looks delicious!
from some one who lives in san luis obispo….the gentlemen’s bathroom where the gents pee into a waterfall back by rocks is the first place most people want to go see when they come to visit me! Their cake is to DIE for as well!