Name: Golden Door
Address: US San Diego - CA Escondido - Wild Animal Park, San Marcos, San Marcos, San Marcos, 92069, United States of America
Rating: 9

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

General

Safe-deposit box

Services and amenities

Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Swimming pool

Pool and beach

Tennis court

Sports

Sauna

Beauty and wellness

Location

At the hotel

McClellan-Palomar Airport

Torrey Pines State Beach

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala

Mission Beach

Belmont Park

Presidio Park

Old Town San Diego State Park

Ocean Beach Park

San Diego International Airport

San Diego Air and Space Museum

Copley Symphony Hall

San Diego Opera

Maritime Museum of San Diego

Port of San Diego

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Westfield Horton Plaza

USS Midway Museum

San Diego Repertory Theater

Seaport Village

Petco Park

San Diego Convention Center

North Island NAS

Coronado Beach

Golden Door

San Marcos

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

This was my first visit to a destination spa, and I will be back. The model at Golden Door ensures it will change your life. I started every morning with a hike, and it was perfect. Returning to my room after a wonderful hike to be met with a delicious breakfast while enjoying my Zen garden view was so special. My daily massages were amazing. I loved that I could upgrade to a hot stone or a Thai massage which I did. The classes are amazing from relaxing yoga to intense circuit training. The personal trainers are excellent as are the choices of facials. I even had a back facial. My massage therapist and aesthetician were wonderful, and I loved having them for the full week. The food was delicious and healthful. The personal growth classes were amazing and so fun. There is no spa that empowers you and enhances your health more than Golden Door.

Golden time at Golden Door

Golden Door strives to be perfect.  The landscaping and planning that has gone into creating an oasis is remarkable.  I have respect for every single person that works there.  

They will go the extra mile to please you and treat the new folks with as much respect as the people that have been there many times.  They want you to come back and they earn your patronage.  No matter how many changes we requested and how much we asked for help with our aging Mom, they smiled and did their best. We were so pleased that we are coming back.  It was me, my partner, and her mother.  They had something for each of us to do and fill our days, minds, and hearts.
 
See you next year, friends.

We are coming back!

Golden Door is nice but not great! The accommodations, spa services and classes are all fine. The food is disappointing. The price would be appropriate for excellence and that is not what they offer. 

I theoretically enjoy many of the activities they offer. Theirs need improvement. The attention to detail is simply not present. Their motto you should be you get what you get and don’t get upset.

It’s just okay.

The most delicious and healthiest spa food I’ve ever tasted. Room service breakfast every morning after an optional vigorous hike (3 miles or 5 miles of hills) or gentle stroll. Daily massages in your room! Four facials and four sessions with a personal trainer! Manicure, pedicure, body scrub, herbal wraps! Plus… yoga of all types, Pilates, cardio classes, mindfulness. The setting evokes a serene Japanese ryokan, with gardens, silk screens, flower arrangements, and stone lanterns. I felt transported to Kyoto for a week!

Treat yourself to the ultimate wellness retreat!

Not a place to relax.  Exceptional classes, worldclass landscaping, fun and friendly vibe, good food, but the atrocious service overwhelmed much of that for my own experience.

The concierge and housekeeping staff seem to be in some weird fight, or housekeeping runs the property.

Example -
Setting:  Midday half way into the week.

Me: "Hi, I know you only change linens once a week.  Any chance I could please get my linen changed today, I got my sheets pretty dirty."
Concierge: "I'll check with housekeeping."
Me (3 hours later): "Hey, any luck with the fresh linens?"
Concierge:  "Sorry, housekeeping said no."
Me: "What?"
Concierge: "They won't change them after 12 pm noon."
Me: "Don't they enter our rooms for your 'turndown service' every night?  Maybe they could bring them then?  Or if they tell me where to get clean linens, I don't mind changing them myself."
Concierge: (calls housekeeping) "Sorry they said no again."

Example 2 - 
Setting:  10:30 AM on a Thursday
Me: "Hi, I think today is laundry service day, right?  You guys offer that on Tuesdays and Thursdays?  I left my bag of laundry outside my room."
Concierge: "Housekeeping will only pick it up if you leave it before 8:30 AM"
Me: "Okay, but today's the morning of laundry day and I really would like to be able to wear clean clothes."
Concierge: "I'll see what housekeeping says."

There were 4 more examples of this throughout the week.  I offered to pay extra if they wanted to send laundry to third party facility, and offered to wash it myself if they would give me access to the laundry room.  Both requests firmly denied.

The funniest was when I escalated this to a manager (Debian I believe) and she said, "we'll make a special exception for you this once, but you must hurry and bring it immediately, and housekeeping will only wash one pair of underpants and socks."

It was unfortunate that such a silly issue marred what would otherwise have been a great experience.  Almost everything else was 5/5 or even better.  Every class instructor (meditation, yoga, personal training) was exceptional.  The kitchen staff and chefs were amazing.  

My only other complaints (that would maybe have been worth 1/2 of a star off) is that the entire property is within earshot of the local highway.  Even on hikes, you have to get 3+ miles away before you're out of earshot and eyeshot of the highway.  Not ideal for serene contemplation.  Lastly, there were some weird things with food and water.  They default to serving "alkali water" in every room and even in almost every fitness center and water station.  Alkali water can be made in a few different ways.  They add a mild laxative to theirs and many guests were confused by that.  At least half a dozen guests said at different points, "The food is great, I don't know why but my stomach has been hurting since I got here."  Lastly, quite a few repeat guests said the secret to having a good time at Golden Door is to ensure you bring your own condiments and some extra food.  Apparently this place used to be a "fat camp for hollywood" and they have some weird policies left over.  Fortunately, the kitchen staff is awesome and if you go up to anyone of them, they're happy to provide any standard condiment as well as additional high quality food.

Atrocious service, everything else world class.

I hope this review will resonate with you if it is, in fact, time for you to walk through the Door.  
I have known about the Door for a long time but recently grabbed the opportunity to go.  I anticipated that I would not socialize much and use the stay as a chance for silence and introspection.  By dinner the first night I realized that part of the experience was going to be comradery with other women which surprised me.  A strange kizmet takes place and you'll find you're seated with or hiking with people that are like minded, or have some kind of common thread, or some other universal connection.  Each day allowed for as much or as little interaction with others as felt right at that moment.
I got up at 5am to hike everyday which seems crazy but it was easy. By the time you hit the trails the sun is coming up.  By 8am you've already gotten some great exercise, breathed mountain air and have experienced more of nature that most people get in a month.  And then your breakfast is waiting for you in your room, a hot tub and sauna are waiting after that and you still have an entire day ahead for active experiences, or yoga, or poolside, or meditation or a nap.
For me, I was there to reconnect with my spirit.  I am at a turning point in life and wanted to allow for the universe to guide me.  Golden Door provided the Doors to this experience in ways I could not have imagined.  From my tarot card reading, to a chakra clearing, to breathwork (I had no idea - changed my game) to astrology reading to aligning my life to "hands on healing", I was cradled and nourished in every possible way.  I decided that I deserved a second week and was lucky enough to be able to stay.  I highly recommend 2 weeks if you can do it, use the Land and Sea program week 2 to save a little money and have less on your schedule.  
Over the past 2 weeks I hiked over 60 miles, I learned to swim (yes, I never learned to swim), I learned to honor my feelings and not minimize them.  I learned how to listen to my spirit.  I let go of many things and embraced many more.  I was inspired by many and I believe I inspired others.  
The Golden Door truly has the power to change the world, one woman at a time.  Stop putting this off.  Self love is not selfish.
I felt like I was leaving family by the time I finally left.  
To my tribe: Shannon, Danielle, Ellen, Brooke, Tracy, Alex (astrology), Heather, Celeste, Rachel, Bianca, Dawn, Alex (salon), Laurie and Elaine - you each played a special part in my journey.  I am keeping my word and I'm moving to California in 2 weeks.  I will see you all soon.  Keep an eye on those birds for me until I return. 
To Kathy Van Ness - THANK YOU for overseeing and sustaining the magic of the Golden Door.  I want to play a part in opening the Door for others and hope to be part of your tribe in the near future.

The Golden Door opened the door to my spirit and changed my life

My husband and I decided to recharge and do something uniquely different!
So we exhausted our options and opted for the Golden Door!
It is rather indescribable! Each of the 40 guests have there own experience yet there is a commonality amongst the varied perspectives that there is nothing better than the door, only different!
We reserved for next year and will make this a go to for the future!
The staff are amazing, the food is world class, and the accommodations are very in tune with the style and natural environment! So if your looking for pompous and ego filling flamboyance this is not the place! 
If what you seek is a reconnection with yourself, in a holistic all encompassing experience the pits you back to center and grounds you inner self to earth and spirit, then a week at the door is more fulfilling than any of the other numerous places that only make the claim.
 The Gold Door is absolutely marvelously wonderful.

Unequal

If you are new to the Golden Door what you may find (as I did) is that most guests are repeat guests who get priority over newbies like myself.  The resort plans your entire program of "extras" meaning massages, facials, scrubs, private training, etc. and they are completely inflexible when it came to accommodating any changes in that schedule that you request.  I was told repeatedly that return guests get priority.
Cindy [-] in guest services was particularly rude when it came to my request for stationery (of all things).  She said it was in my room - it wasn't.  Why would someone argue about stationary?  Just to be nasty?  My trip ended when a staff member actually me to leave the resort early because I was complaining too much.

BEYOND DISAPPOINTING

The Golden Door is the place I can go to rejuvenate my training routine, clean out my body of toxins, set new goals, connect with my inner self and be pampered. Their daily regimen is perfect to get you moving, stretch you out of your comfort zone (if you so desire) and to help you reconnect with what's important for your physical and mental health. It's such a grounding experience. I have been their four times and will go again in January. It's something to look forward to each year.

A Restful Week

The Golden Door Is a sanctuary For many people : It has only 40 people per week .Taylor to your needs and what you require : It is based on Japanese lines  - no harsh lines - or continuous straight lines .
There service is amazing - Their patience and kindness goes above any - They offer full on spa services - Have fitness coaching and so much more -They respect you , if you choose for the peace and quiet of your room for dinner or you can eat with the Group in the dinning room . Every one  employed there is very mind full . All of their staff are treated very very well and many have been there for longer then 15 years . All Spa staff is very professional - kind to the touch !!  all types of appointments form 9 am - 5 pm or do as little as you want . They have multiple Growing Gardens - they are self sustaining in all their foods . They are almost all vegen -They serve lamb and chicken but no other meat - Vegetables are huge for them - Your meals are prepared ahead .. of time . The security is 2nd to none .they know who comes and goes - Security are kind mind full also . 
The front desk staff is the front line ! they are very helpful - if they dont have a answer they will send you to Guest services .. This is a full on spa inclusive - They can help you on many fronts . This is first class - Would recommend it highly .. If you want to go to it , YOU must call ahead - you can not walk in to see it .Or call them directly on the phone for info . Phone manners are amazing by all staff 

Golden Door

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