Golden Haven Spa LLC — Hotel in Calistoga

MUD BATHS

I am a little disappointed with our experience at Golden Haven. We treated our friend to a solo mud bath while we were having our couple’s mud bath. We had the 7:00pm time slots which must have been the last booking because we ended up feeling rushed.

Becket was our mud specialist for the couple’s session and he was great! Friendly yet respectful, he explained the process and all the how-to’s. He moved us through the experience and assisted us as needed.

We enjoyed our experience until as we spoke to one another in the car. We learned that our friend did not receive the same service. Bobbi her mud specialist never offered to take her photo. She never put cucumbers on her eyes, and did not give a choice of plain water or cucumber/lemon water. We discovered that she finished significantly earlier than us. It felt as if Bobbi was going through the motions and never fully engaged with our friend.

Our friend waited for us in the lobby. While we were getting dressed, the greeter at the beginning of our stay pounded on our door telling us that our friend was waiting. It was jarring and I thought it strange. My friend had never asked for her to do that and she already knew we were coming out through exchange of text.

In addition, we noticed items had been discarded around the resort and were not being collected like towels, hanger bags, and flip flops left in the bathroom, etc. An appointment should not be punished for being last on the books. Excellent service is based on the staff’s positive attitude that conveys warmth and is proactively helpful. At the least, Bobbie should have been sure to include all of the steps that are offered in the service. We are locals and had hoped for something better.

UPDATE: I appreciate Tara with management reaching out and explaining what had happened and offering some incentives to make it right now and in the future.

Often times it is not the problem that is important but what is done because of it.  Thank you for the olive branch.  I will be sure to let my friend know that she is being invited back to the spa the next time she is in town.

It will be worth giving this business another try to see if our experience was an...

My husband and I decided to come up for the day. We did not stay the night and that worked great for us. I called ahead and booked a mud bath and massage. Unfortunately I said 15th over the phone and attended heard 16th. My bad was they sent an email confirmation and it said 16th but I didn’t catch it. Mistakes happen. Golden Haven was so sweet about it and still squeezed us in later that day and did some add ons for free. I thought they handled it so well. We went on a Saturday which I assume is a busy day although the weather was cold. The hot tubs were moderately busy. They have one large pool and two spas each of different temperatures. It was so nice to go back and forth between the three. The staff is great, everyone we encountered was so nice and accommodating and I loved the flavored waters up front. I do wish they could offer those by the pool :) As for the mud bath, I will say I was skeptical and honestly now that I have done it, I didn’t love it, but I’m so glad we did it and I will definitely be back to at least do steps 2 and 3! But me not loving the mud bath has nothing to do with Golden Haven that’s on me. They do an amazing job. I think everyone should try it at least once. My husband was very skeptical and while he didn’t love it he definitely liked it and it did help relax him. The facility is nice and our attendant Kimberly was fantastic! She was so sweet, attentive and respectful. I loved step 2, we got out of the mud bath and showered off and enjoyed a mineral bath right there in our mud room, with cold lemon water, it was so nice and relaxing. Then step 3 we went to a cooling room. We laid on very comfortable tables and enjoyed cool cloths on our head and cucumbers on our eyes. I hate being cold and was worried about this step but after the hot mineral bath the room felt so good! Overall we had a great time and will definitely be back! Thank you...

This review is for the mud bath experience only. Bobbie (Melissa-Bobbie) was my spa attendant and she was great. It was my first time in a mud bath so I don't have anything to compare it to. Everyone asked me the same questions when I posted it on my stories so here's the 411.

1. How much was it? $149 paid in advance with credit card for 1 person. There's a discount for couples.
2. Can you tip with Venmo? Yes, I did.
3. Were you naked? I didn't bring a swimsuit so yes, butt naked.
4. Did anyone see you naked? Not really. The spa attendant did a really good job to give me privacy when I needed it, came to check on me once I was in the mud, and left me alone. It's very relaxing.
5. Is the mud gross? It's more like dry clay that's mixed with warm water with a texture like wet coarse sand, so it doesn't really stick to you like a muddy marsh.
6. How do you get the mud all off? When you stand up, most of it just slides off. You have a powerful warm shower from above and separate hose to shoot everything off, and then you go into a warm jacuzzi with jets that washes everything off.
7. after you're all clean you go into a cooling room.

Mud is a natural exfoliator and helps to flush out toxins from your body. It's truly a unique experience. I only had one hour so I did the mud bath experience, but I wish I stayed longer because a massage after that would have been the absolute best. There's also a mineral pool I didn't have a chance to use.

I write these reviews mostly for my future self, so: BOOK OVERNIGHT STAY so you can utilize the mud, the massage, the mineral pools and do it again the next morning. My skin felt so soft and the clay mask they put on my face definitely did something, my sister said my skin...