Madonna Inn secret garden and dance floor, SLO

Madonna Inn, built in 1958 in San Luis Obispo, is a unique place to visit. You don't have to be a guest to walk around, or enjoy the live music or dance floor. When you drive in, there is a large parking lot on the lowest level of the property. The secret garden will be to your left. A statue of Alex Madonna on his horse is framed by redwood trees. A winding path leads to the garden beds and pond. Come in springtime! There is a lawn with a white pagoda. A large flower bed is full of roses and amazing ranunculus flowers. A path leads above it. Walk to the second level of the property where there are sweeping views of the mountains, and the adorable horse fields with undulating white fences. The path to the pool has incredible plants from South Africa. The hotel rooms have stained glass windows, and quaint wooden railings carved with hearts. From various vantage points on the property you can get good views of the Swiss alps-style hotel buildings. At night when they are lit up it is romantic. 

Walk down the driveway back to the lower level, admiring the horses up close. There are pink lampposts. A small garden in the parking lot has a pink cow sculpture! Walk to the front of the inn's main building. Here you will find the most incredible flower beds of ranunculus in May. Wow! There are fountains.
Open the heavy doors and enter the main building. It is so dark inside! There are sweet stained glass pictures of bucolic scenes in each window. And hammered copper is everywhere! To your left is the Copper Cafe, a diner that serves coffee, cake, waffles etc. You can sit at the bar for faster service. Everything is pink and ornate. It is fairly loud inside. 
Straight ahead are stairs that lead up to the gift shops. From the stairs you can look down on the steak house, which is in an open area in the middle of the building. It has round, pink booths! The steak house is decorated for special seasons like Christmas and Easter. The first gift shop has gaudy clothing, and the highest gift shop has home items, but it is musty up there. 
To your right when you enter the main building is the Silver Bar. It is a small area in the hallway, with pink stools at the bar, plus a few small chairs and tables under stained glass windows. At the end of the hallway is the dance floor! It is a fancy dance floor, with a piano on the stage, and some tables around its edge. It is wonderful to come here on Monday nights at 8pm to swing dance, or to watch dancers from the tables. Many of the dancers are excellent. There is also live music most nights of the week, at the dance floor!
The toilets are famous in the Madonna Inn, including the little girls toilet in the women's room, and the waterfall urinal in the men's room. 
Madonna Inn is located right on Highway 101 on a large swath of ranchland. It is an easy stop on a Highway 101 roadtrip.
After, go for a walk in the eucalyptus forest at the San Luis Ranch neighborhood, or let your kids play on the San Luis Ranch playground.

Directions

Madonna Inn is located at 100 Madonna Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA. There is a large parking lot on the lowest level. When you park, the secret garden is to your left. The inn's main building is straight in front of you, with the coffee shop, steak house, bar, and dance floor. The gift shops are located there too, upstairs from the steak house and open daily 9-9. The Silver Bar is open 10am-midnight. The diner called Copper Cafe is open 7am-10pm. The hotel rooms and pool are situated on the second level of the property, which has sweeping views.

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