Anna’s been following this place on instagram for a while. And it’s referenced in The Simpsons. It started in the 1950s with twelve rooms and now has 120. They all have different themes, distinct colours, layouts, furniture. I thought it was going to be fun but rundown. I was wrong.
We travelled to Japan in 2012 and visited Disneyland there. It was so perfect and manufactured that it risked being sterile but was obviously still incredibly fun. The Madonna Inn is similar: it’s unashamedly colourful and nearly gimmicky, but it’s done with a humour and fun that is disarming and totally charming.
There’s the men’s waterfall urinal, pink tennis court, underground rock hotel rooms and the pink steakhouse which filled with cherubs.
There’s a photoshoot going on in one of the rooms when we arrive, and people are wandering around the property posing and taking photos. It’s a fun, shameless vibe.
We play a set of tennis before a big dinner in the steakhouse.
In the morning we’re early to the pool and jump between the different temperatures. The waterfall flairs up on the hour with a huge downpour.
With very strong ‘we have to come back’ feelings we take off for San Francisco.
