San Luis Obispo, California: Madonna Inn

Different indeed is the Madonna Inn. My wife and I stayed there during an unusually hot August in 1978. We stayed in the "Mountain View" room. The inn at the time was not air conditioned; but the room was somewhat comfortable. Much to our shock, after sunset the room was invaded by hundreds of crickets. A ghastly scene from a 'Bug Film'. They crawled up the walls, on the ceiling, and the floor. A call to the front desk brought a maintainance man with a can of Raid. No Good! Another call to the front desk demanding another room brought no satisfaction. We 'bugged-out' and went to another motel down the road.

Alex Madonna, the cantankerous 82-year-old owner of the amazing Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA, has made local yuppies see pink by freshening the paint on the sign that beckons motorists off U.S. 101 and into his famous motel.

It's the best inn -- a place you can go back to many times and never feel like you've been there before. There are over a hundred rooms with themes like Italy, Safari, the Pony Room, Mountain Cabin, or the Caveman Room. There is a cafe made entirely of copper, and they have blue sugar. It's endless schizophrenia for your imagination!