Blog

I called Madonna Inn this morning as I'm so excited about our upcoming and second Madonna Inn staycation! We've only stayed at the Madonna Inn once before at the room named San Francisco, Room #121. (Read my personal review of this other room;  Room #121.) They have an outdoor pool for room guests and last time we didn't bring any fun toys for the kids so this time, I wanted to see if we could bring them.

I called their main line and a lady answered. I asked her "We're checking in later today and I wanted to see if it's okay to bring our own pool toys for your pool there?"

She quickly responded back, "No, you may not." No sorry, or we apologize type of thing. I feel like it's a teacher scolding me. I was not shocked that we can't bring them but I was taken back by the abruptness of that response. Okay, I won't bring them, no problem.

I'm still excited about this staycation! We're staying in Room #111 this time. The theme is Antique Cars and the room is quite a contrast from the first room we stayed at. We had our Madonna Inn cake fix over the weekend when I brought home a Coconut Lemon Cake from their bakery for a family birthday (read about my experience with picking up a whole cake from Madonna Inn via this blog link) and I also reserved this hotel room stay as part of the birthday surprise for a few days later.

Before we entered our Antique Cars guest room, we ate at the Madonna Inn's Copper Cafe for dinner. It was a busy Monday night as many people are on Spring Break right now. I love how they have such a wonderful restaurant that's open from breakfast to dinner so we really don't have to go far to eat. However, during this staycation, we really wanted to also dine at a downtown SLO restaurant that we've never tried before as well. (Read all of my restaurant reviews.)

3 Days Later, Recollection of our Madonna Inn Stay at The Antique Room #111

When we entered our Antique Cars guest room #111, I really loved how it was literally across from the entrance to their Secret Garden! It's so wonderful! It made this staycation experience that much more memorable. The Antique Cars is definitely a more masculine theme, compared to many of the other guest rooms of Madonna Inn.


It's not one of their luxurious suites that you often see Madonna Inn and influencers post on their social media but it's still unique. After having two staycations at the Madonna Inn as a local, here is a summary of what I like and don't like about staying at the Madonna Inn versus staying somewhere else. I'll start with the Cons first.

Cons for staying at the Madonna Inn:

• There is no microwave in the rooms so if you have to heat leftover food, tough luck or just eat it cold! We brought our own air fryer with us! Since we drove here in our car, bringing our own airfryer was not a hassle.
• There is no refrigerator in our room. Online, it says that you can have one upon request and availability but it would require extra effort on your part to put in a request for it and it's probably not guaranteed that they would have one available during your stay.
• I can hear the conversations from the guests staying in the room next to us! We stayed in room 111 and we could hear the ladies and a man having their conversations from room 112 just by sitting on the couch next to the wall. It was not my intention to eavesdrop. I was just working on my laptop and that was the ideal place for me sit and plug in.
• The Madonna Inn has been around for a long time so the rooms can smell a bit musty if you don't open the windows. The carpets feel old. Every night that I was there inside of room #111, I started wheezing around 9PM and could not sleep. This problem is unique to me as I do have dust mite allergies (a blood test verified this) and the rest of my family members do not. I am not sure if it's actually because of the dust that was causing my allergy-related nocturnal wheezing but after we checked-out and was no longer staying there, my nightly wheezing stopped. Just make sure to bring your inhaler if you have allergy issues to dust/dust mites like me. I didn't have an inhaler as I haven't had to have a prescription for it for years since my last nocturnal asthma incident was over 5 years ago!  My allergies, like many others who have certain allergies, often worsen at night.
• There is no corporate standard that they are following so the check-out process was a bit lackluster and different from my experiences with other hotels or lodging properties. I walked into the Registration Office to check-out and handed my keys (I don't like to hoard old plastic keys). While reaching out to hand my keys over, I said, "I'm checking out of room #111." All the front desk agent did was said, "thank you" and then proceeded to look down to finish what she was doing and assumed I would just leave. I was taken back by that! It got me wondering if she was the same person who picked up the phone when I asked if I could bring our own pool toys before I had arrived. All of the other hotels I've ever checked out of always made sure to ask me if I needed a copy of my folio/receipt and said a good bye with a smile. She didn't seem to care if I had a great stay or not nor asked me if I needed a copy. I remembered from my previous stay here that they offered us a free postcard to keep after we checked out. She didn't even mention that to me this time! Good thing I remembered because as soon as I left through the door, a few steps later, I walked back in to ask about my free postcard souvenir and she said "Yeah, just go to that rack over there and pick one." I picked the postcard that has an image of the Antique Cars guest room, which was the very room we stayed in and then said, "thank you" and walked out of there.

This weekend is going to be a very eventful Easter weekend with my husband's birthday tomorrow and Easter happening on the following day.

I had put in an order for a small Lemon Coconut Cake at the Madonna Inn online a month ago for pick up today at 11AM. I had a few things to do today so I decided to pick up the cake last to avoid any melting frosting. 

First, I went to Ross, a block away from Madonna Inn, to pick up some small chocolate bunnies as it is Easter Day on Sunday and I still need to fill up some plastic eggs for an egg hunt at home. 

Then, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings, located in the shopping center next to Ross, to order 30 wings for take out. They said it was going to take 15 minutes for them to be ready so I walked over to Sprouts across the way to pick up some sushi to eat for those 15 minutes in their eating area. One thing that I want to note is that I prefer to order wings directly from Buffalo Wild Wings in person or on the phone versus online because the waiting time is noted less when I order it in person. I was already in the area so walking in to order was convenient for me. Remind them to include the carrots and celery! (This is now an extra cost at Buffalo Wild Wings but at the time the carrots and celery were complimentary with my order.) Wings is going to be my dinner tonight!

After picking up the 30 wings, I drove a couple blocks over to Madonna Inn to pick up my cake. I always love seeing the Tesla Charging area here as you enter the Madonna Inn property as it's like a fun display of a Tesla auto show. Today, it was particularly busy so I saw at least 20 Teslas being charged. 

Then, I parked my car on the second row from the Copper Cafe at Madonna Inn and there were a couple of people sitting outside so I knew it's going to be really busy inside, plus some schools are on Spring Break already. Madonna Inn is a top tourist spot and as a local, I love coming here too for their wonderful cakes. I went inside and people were walking around and exploring. The place was very busy with diners eating breakfast/lunch. It was around 11:40AM when I finally got inside after running a few errands. There was a line of 3 groups behind the bakery so I made my way to the end of it. I overheard someone wanting to order a cake and a Madonna Inn team member said their orders are full for cakes today so they were out of luck. Remember to order cakes online ahead of time if you know you want one from Madonna inn! I always order online at least 2 weeks ahead but usually, I do it a month ahead.

Since I was going to have to stay in that line for a little while, I couldn't help but eavesdrop the conversation the ladies were having in front of me about the shops inside the property. I chimed in and said there is a gift shop upstairs and she was excited to hear that and asked me where the stairs are. As a local I come here a lot so I knew and said it's past the EXIT sign in the back of the Copper Cafe and you'll see the stairs up immediately to the left. I also mentioned that even though there is hype about the basement restrooms downstairs, I actually prefer the restrooms right by the Copper Cafe that's closer to the entrance. It's much bigger.

After a few more minutes, a bakery chef asked the customers in front of me if they made an order. They didn't so the chef moved on to me and asked me if I had an order and to my delight of this expedited service, I said "yes" and showed my receipt on my phone. She asked me what time is pick-up and I said 11AM and since it was already around 11:45AM by this point, she was happy to get my Lemon Coconut Cake with my personalized birthday message to my husband. I watched her boxed it carefully. She walked it over to me and I happily accepted it with a "thank you". I walked out of the Copper Cafe at the Madonna Inn with my well-prepared cake order that's in their famous hot pink Madonna Inn box. I placed it carefully inside the cooler in the trunk of my car and still in a good mood, hit the highway and drove back home.

Read about my staycation experience at Madonna Inn.

Update: After hiding the cake in the fridge overnight, we were able to sing a "happy birthday" song and eat the Lemon Coconut Cake the next morning. Here's how it looks in the inside below. It was delicious!
 (Picture of the Lemon Coconut Cake that I pre-ordered from Madonna Inn)

See my pictures of the 6 different cake flavors that I've tried from the Madonna Inn.

Read About All of Our Travel Adventures and Reviews:

• Birthday Weekend at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Review and LEGOLAND California Amusement Park Review


• Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California


• Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip During Spring Break


• Ensenada Cruise on Carnival Cruise for 3 Days


• Ensenada and Catalina Island Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 4 Days


• Alaska Cruise on Princess Cruise for 11 Days


• Moon Palace The Grand Family Summer Vacation in Cancun for 5 Days


• Cabin Trip in Monterey


• Staycations at the Iconic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California: Madonna Inn’s San Francisco Room Review OR Madonna Inn’s Antique Room Review


• Staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation at La Quinta Inn in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation in Atascadero at The Carlton Review

Jump to SLO Easter Brunch List

This year, Easter Day is on Sunday, March 31, 2024 so the the egg hunt events are mostly towards the end of March or the week before.

2024 Upcoming Egg Hunt List (Current Count: 11)

(I took this picture at the Egg Hunt event at Dinosaur Caves Park in Pismo Beach)

2024 Egg Hunts in Order by Date:

• March 23, 2024 (Sat) - Spring Fling at Meadow Park in San Luis Obispo from 11AM - 1PM. There will be a free egg hunt for kids who are between the ages of 0 - 8 years old (bring your own basket). After the hunt, stay and enjoy lunch both free activities as well as local vendors.Included in the event are special appearances by the Bunny and Roman the Romaine, live music by Ku Dog and Friends, and food trucks on site with lunch for sale. Facepainting, interactive booths, vendor fair, and more are included in this day for all ages. Bring a basket and enjoy the fun! The SLO Food Bank will be in attendance and optional donations may be made to them directly. I used to take my kids to this park more often when they were little because they have a nice playground. See pictures that I took at Meadow Park. Address: 2333 Meadow St, San Luis Obispo, California 93401
• March 23, 2024 (Sat) - Easter Eggstravaganza at Nipomo Community Presbyterian Church from 11AM - 2PM. Free event. Event activities include: Easter egg hunt, cake walk, bounce house, face painting and games. Egg hunt schedule is by age: 11AM for ages 2 years old and under, 11:30AM for ages between 3 - 4 years old, 12:10PM for ages between 5 - 7 years old and 12:40PM for ages between 8 - 12 years old. Address: 1235 N. Thompson Rd., Nipomo, CA 93420
• March 23, 2024 (Sat) - Kids Day 2024 and Egg Hunt from 11AM - 2PM at Nipomo Community Park. Free Easter egg hunt with 16,000 eggs, inflatables, magic show, vendor booths and more. Free entry event. I've been to this event. See my instagram photo from last year at this egg hunt event at Nipomo Community Park. Address: 904 W Tefft St, Nipomo, CA 93444
• March 25, 2024 (Mon) - Egg Hunt at Teen Center at Centennial Park in Paso Robles for 6th - 12th graders at 2:30PM. Free event, egg citing prizes and just for teens. Meet at the Teen Center (Centennial Park Gymnasium) Entrance. Address: 600 Nickerson Dr., Paso Robles, CA 93446
• March 28, 2024 (Thurs) - Bunny Trail at the Downtown SLO Farmers' Market from 6PM - 8PM. Free, family-friendly springtime fun! Bring the kiddos downtown to collect treats from downtown businesses and meet Downtown Bunny! Bunny Trail coincides with the normally-scheduled Downtown SLO Farmers' Market. The Farmers' Market will continue the usual five blocks of over 100 vendors offering fresh produce, famous BBQ, delicious meals, crafts, baked goods, entertainment, and MORE! See my recent video of my walk through the Bubble Gum Alley in February 2024 during the Downtown SLO Farmers Market. Address for GPS: Higuera St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
• March 29, 2024 (Fri) - Easter Egg Hunt at SLO Public Market in the courtyard at 11AM. This is recommended for ages 3 - 12 years old. Bring your own basket. Address: 3845 S Higuera St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
• March 30, 2024 (Sat) - Family Egg Hunt & Festival in Arroyo Grande from 10AM - 11:30AM. Free egg hunt, free bunny hop races. Other activities have fees and cost extra like bouncy houses, carnival games and face paintings. Times are 10AM: for ages 2 years old and under & ages 3 - 6 years old (Elm Street Park by the playground), 10:35AM: for 7 - 9 years old & 10 - 13 years old (Soto Complex), 11:15AM: for 14 - 17 years old & adults (Soto Complex). Free BBQ hot dogs while supplies last. I've been to this egg hunt event before with my kids. Here's picture that I took last year during the event. Parking can be very tricky so plan for that.
  
  Address for GPS: 1221 Ash St., Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
• March 30, 2024 (Sat) - Egg-stravaganza at Dinosaur Caves Park from 10AM - 1PM. There will be bounce houses, games, crafts and more. Egg hunt times are: 10:10AM for ages 3 years old and under, 10:40AM for ages 4 - 6 years old, 11:10AM for ages 7 - 9 years old and 11:40AM for ages 10 - 12 years old. We've been to this event before for a couple of years. Here's a picture that I took during the egg hunt at Dinosaur Caves Park below.
  
  Address: 2701 Price St., Pismo Beach, CA 93449
• March 31, 2024 (Sun) - Easter Egg Hunt on The Bluff at Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa in Pismo Beach at 1PM. The Easter Bunny hops into town at 12:00pm, don't miss the opportunity to meet, greet & snap some adorable photos on the oceanfront lawn!⁠ Easter egg hunt starts at 1PM for all ages. Bring your own Easter baskets and hunt for colorful eggs hidden throughout the north lawn. Find the golden egg to win a prize basket. They will have complimentary champagne, coloring pages and more. No tickets needed. Address: 2727 Shell Beach Rd., Pismo Beach, CA 93449
• March 31, 2024 (Sun) - Brunch at Vespera Resort on Pismo Beach followed by Easter Bunny at 11AM and Egg Hunt at 12PM. It seems to me that the fun kids' activities is inclusive if you're dining there for Easter Brunch at Pequín Coastal Cocina at Vespera Resort followed by fun activities such as face painting, an Easter Egg Hunt, and even a visit from the Easter Bunny! Reserve your Easter Brunch here.
  Itinerary:
  7am - 2pm: Brunch at Pequín Costal Cocina
  11am - 12pm: Visit with the Easter Bunny
  11am - 1pm: Face painting
  12pm - 1pm: Easter Egg Hunt
  Address: 147 Stimson Ave., Pismo Beach, CA
  
• March 31, 2024 (Sun) - Reggie Perkins Memorial Easter egg Hunt at Shamel Park from 12PM - 2PM. Fun, games, activities, lots of eggs for ages 0 - 12 years old. Trolley will be running from 11AM - 3PM. Address: 5455 Windsor Blvd, Cambria, CA 93428

This is a growing list!

Lucky for us, Santa Barbara is only an hour and fifteen minute drive south from our area as it's only the next county over from San Luis Obispo County.

We've learned more about MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, from Blippi, the clown from YouTube! We really wanted to encourage the kids to visit a museum again, now that the mask mandate has been lifted and things are getting back to a more normal. At first, the kids were not up for a drive so I showed a video of MOXI from Blippi's video of his visit there and after about halfway through watching, they were ready to change clothes and get ready for it!

There are many kid activities at MOXI. It only took us about 2 hours to visit all three stories of MOXI but we could have easily stayed longer and revisit the floors again. Daddy got hungry and there were a lot of restaurants to pick from right outside luring us to shorten our visit to enjoy a nice, big lunch.

Rooftop at MOXI
There is a rooftop (3rd story) at MOXI that has fun exploration activities and a great view of the pier, ocean and the mountains of Santa Barbara. I really enjoyed coming up there! MOXI was going to close off the rooftop for a special event at 2PM for a private party so we made sure to visit the rooftop earlier on during our visit before they closed that part. I'm glad the front desk told us that as we were paying for our tickets to get in.

There's a lot of sections for kids to create crafts and build things, along with interactive play. Coming out of our area and into a public space again reminded me that there is some catching up to do as far as lessons to remind the kids about, such as how to appropriately share and behave politely when we're in public. The way they sometimes behave at home, like being loud and rambunctious, is not okay when there are other kids, especially those with sensory processing disorders, and other adults in the same room.

Outside Snacks Can Only Be Eaten on the Second Story at Mountain View Terrace
For any drive beyond 30 minutes, I usually try to pack snacks for the kids and bring them with us in my bag. I'm so glad I did this for our visit to MOXI because after a 1 hour and 15 minute drive and an hour of play at MOXI, one of my sons got hungry. We found a sign that said snacks can only be eaten at their Mountain View Terrace. It's located on the second story. You'll find a door that takes you outside to the terrace, near the race car tracks. The Mountain View Terrace had two benches to sit. We sat on one of their orange benches and my sons were able to fuel up with our snacks and breathe in some fresh air. They don't sell snacks or drinks there at MOXI so bringing snacks with us was a life-saver. It was quite busy at MOXI so navigating around the crowd and playing with the kids meant no free hands to take a lot of pictures of our visit. However, you can find pictures of MOXI and their current prices from their website: https://www.moxi.org/visit-and-learn/hours-admission. Kids under 2 are free and EBT cardholders only have to pay a minimal fee compared to regular admission.
(Another view of Santa Barbara from MOXI's rooftop)

All photos at MOXI on this blog post were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.

See family-friendly things to do in San Luis Obispo County.

(Note: They don't open until past noon and their closed days change season to season.)

I visited Bee House Thai Cuisine for the first time last week to pick up my take out order. They are located in the same spot where Sister Kitchen used to be! As you step in, you can feel the new restaurant vibe.


The area is sleek and there is a unisex restroom that I spotted right away. The order was done in 20 minutes like they said on the phone. I ordered the larb with pork (they let you pick the meat type) and the fried chicken. The larb was delicious and to my surprise, the 'fried chicken' item on the menu is actually an order of wings! Maybe they will change the naming of this on the menu later but I just wanted to note that here.

There are two other amazing Thai restaurants in Grover Beach that I've also dined at: Divine Thai and Bunn Thai (read my review of Bunn Thai). I still like Divine Thai and Bunn Thai Bistro Restaurant better because I'm just used to their tastes and have been familiar with them. However, I really liked how fast my order was done here at Bee House Thai Cuisine. Unlike many restaurants in Grover Beach, Bee House Thai Cuisines hours of operations change seasonally.

Address of Bee House Thai Cuisine: 245 W Grand Ave, Grover Beach, CA 93433

Read My Reviews of Other Grover Beach Restaurants:

• Pono Pacific Kitchen Review (Grover Beach)
• Bunn Thai Restaurant Review (Grover Beach)

See my other individual restaurant blog posts in San Luis Obispo County.

See the main restaurant page with my top recommended picks throughout SLO County.