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.

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!

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.

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.

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.