The Madonna Inn is the stuff of California legend. Founded in 1958 by Alex and Phyllis Madonna, the hotel, located just outside of San Luis Obispo near the iconic Highway 1, has long been a bastion of a kind of boundless whimsy that transcends the parameters of traditional taste. From the start, Alex was in charge of structure, while Phyllis held the reigns on interiors. The result is a property unto itself, limited only to the imagination of its proprietors. If there is one rule the Madonna Inn has long adhered to, it is to be unique. The strategy has worked well for them; in just two years, the inn will be celebrating sixty long years in business.
A few words often get thrown around when talking about the Madonna Inn—kitschy, wacky, eccentric—but none seem to do the place precise justice. The inn, while admittedly different, is not intended to be a gag; it’s a place where you’re invited to step far beyond the ordinary, and thoroughly enjoy yourself in the process.
From the outside, the building’s Swiss- Alps-inspired exterior, with its pink accents and Disneyland-esque flair, gently hints at what awaits. Inside, the Madonna Inn has crafted one of the most singular, distinct hotels in the world. Each of the inn’s 110 rooms is decorated in its own theme: California Poppy (an explosion of orange), Bit of Solvang (lots of Danish blue), Yahoo (a wagon wheel bed). The common areas are just as flamboyant. The Gold Rush Steak House features Barbie-pink banquettes rimmed with gold, pink floral carpet throughout, and a ceiling gilded with a mass of ropey chandeliers. A riot of pink continues throughout the hotel. It’s present in their Silver Bar Cocktail Lounge, their banquet facilities—it’s even on their tennis courts. Restraint is not something you will find here. Consider that a compliment.
Today, the Madonna Inn remains a family operation. Connie Madonna-Pearce, daughter of Alex and Phyllis, runs day-to-day operations. Her husband, Clinton Pearce, is president of Madonna Enterprises, managing the company’s real estate and development endeavors. Though Alex Madonna passed away in 2004, the vision for his roadside inn remains fully intact. As second generation torch bearers, Connie and Clinton are tasked with maintaining that original ethos while continuing to bring the inn into the 21st century with amenities modern travelers look for. No small task. Below, we talk to Clinton about his first memories of the inn, developing an established brand, and the importance of creating a truly authentic experience for their guests.
BOND STREET: When you married Connie Madonna, did you know you would one day be helping to run the Madonna Inn?
CLINTON PEARCE: [Laughing] No, I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what I would be doing. I started out working for her father in construction. I actually spent the first twelve or thirteen years in the family construction business.
BOND STREET: What sparked the concept that became the Madonna Inn?
CLINTON PEARCE: Alex Madonna had been all over the Western states with his road-building business, attending events and functions, things like that. He just felt that there was a missing piece here in San Luis Obispo. He thought the area needed a really interesting place. More than anything, he meant for it to be fun–elegant, also, in many ways–but just fun and out of the ordinary. Something that you wouldn’t find elsewhere. That’s really the thinking still: trying to make the inn different but exciting and high-value at the same time.
BOND STREET: Do you remember the first time you visited the hotel?
CLINTON PEARCE: I remember the first time I saw it was when I was in 8th grade. We were headed over to Santa Barbara–I lived over in the Central Valley. I remember coming over the hill and seeing this amazing place on the rocks as we drove past. We never stopped in, but I remembered back then that it was larger than life.
BOND STREET: As a husband-and-wife team, how do you and Connie tackle the various responsibilities of the business?
CLINTON PEARCE: Connie is the lead. She’s the general manager and has the final say. She relies on feedback from myself and a handful of other folks that make up our executive team. We confer on many things and have a lot of group discussions.
BOND STREET: As a family operation, how important is it to stay true to Alex and Phyllis Madonna’s original vision?
CLINTON PEARCE: Oh, it’s very important. In fact, that’s one of the biggest strengths that Connie has. Not only is she a great leader–there’s about 250 employees around the inn at any given time–but she knows the inn so well. It’s in the fabric of her being–the vision of the inn–and knows what it’s all about and what it’s meant to be. It’s not something that she had to learn; it’s something that she grew up with, something that’s within her.
BOND STREET: How would you describe that vision? What’s at the core of the hotel?
CLINTON PEARCE: I would say, first and foremost, it’s individualistic. It’s certainly one of a kind and the only thing like it. It’s not trying to really be anything beyond trying to be comfortable in its own skin. We get written up in different publications as being kitsch or tacky or things like that. Those aren’t the perfect words we would want describing it, but that’s fine—everyone has their interpretation and their opinion. Just as many people—or hopefully more—say that it’s magical and that the inn takes them out of their everyday life and gives them a truly authentic experience.
BOND STREET: And that’s the result of being an independent hotel that doesn’t answer to any chain hotel formula…
CLINTON PEARCE: Absolutely. Every day, you can wake up and you can take a look at things and if something doesn’t seem like it’s working for you, you just change it or you build on it. We don’t change too much around the inn; we do more adding and refreshing of what’s existing. A good example is when we remodeled all of the hotel rooms. We truly got in there and did the heavy work, even recreating some of the rooms in keeping with the same themes—in many ways getting even deeper into the themes—to give it more of a punch. You really feel like you’re in that experience.
BOND STREET: When did you tackle that remodel?
CLINTON PEARCE: From between 2008 and 2010.
BOND STREET: Which room is the most requested?
CLINTON PEARCE: There’s a number of really popular rooms. I would say the most requested is Caveman.
BOND STREET: Do you have a favorite room yourself?
CLINTON PEARCE: You know, I think my favorite room is Old World. Talk about getting out of your everyday routine. In Old World, you really feel like you’re in the Old World. You really feel like you’re in an Etruscan cave.
BOND STREET: How does a fully established business like Madonna Inn approach marketing?
CLINTON PEARCE: We always market. We don’t have a marketing agency; we just have our daughter, Audrey, the oldest of our two children. She and one other woman make up our marketing department. We all collaborate and share ideas, but they’re the ones that are doing most of the work on that front.
It’s a very competitive world and you can’t just rest on your laurels. You have to keep looking to the future and keep looking at current tastes and preferences–what people are really willing to spend money on and what they’re thirsting for. We never want to change who we are, but we want to make sure we’re relevant. That’s why we added the pool and spa, the pool bar, the fitness center, the tennis courts, horseback riding and hiking trails. We just keep thinking about what adds to the experience and gives someone that extra reason to stay with us.
BOND STREET: What’s your guest demographic? Where are most of them from?
CLINTON PEARCE: Ours are mostly leisure guests. We have some business travelers, but not much. The lion’s share is leisure. We have a lot of international guests, but most of our guests are from California. I would say somewhere around 60 percent at the hotel are from this state, predominately a 50/50 split between Southern California and the Bay Area.
BOND STREET: How do you cultivate a good guest experience for guests?
CLINTON PEARCE: I would say the common theme that runs through everything we do—or I hope runs through everything we do—is that family feel. Sometimes the inn might not feel like a five-star because we’re probably not five-star; we’re probably somewhere between a three- and four-star. But we want that warmth of a family feel to be pervasive. We want the service to feel like you’re home and you can let down and relax. Like you’re being taken care of by family.
BOND STREET: What’s the trick to staying in business for over half century?
CLINTON PEARCE: I think probably the most important thing is to not to take anything for granted, to wake up every day and do the best you can and see if you can make what you’re working on a little bit better than it was the day before. We get written up and we are fortunate to have international exposure, but that doesn’t pay the bills. You have to make sure that every day your front desk, your wait staff in the restaurant, your banquet staff during events, your horseback riding instructors–across the whole organization everyone has the same feeling that they want to do the best they can that day and show the guests the best experience they can and make each day a little better than yesterday.
Quick fire:
BOND STREET: Book every small business owner should read:
CLINTON PEARCE: Who Moved My Cheese?
BOND STREET: Favorite beach in California:
CLINTON PEARCE: Cayucos
BOND STREET: 5 favorite small businesses:
CLINTON PEARCE:
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