Golden Door — Hotel in San Marcos

I WILL NOT BE RETUNING||||Let me start by saying my first visit to Golden Door in January 2024 was one of the most magical, transformative, spiritual and relaxing experience I have ever had. From the food, to the choice of classes, the tranquil property and all inclusive amenities really stood out from anything else I have experienced. I have worked in the hospitality industry for 20 years and this was a very special and memorable place. ||||I had such a wonderful experience the first time I decided to use my savings to return in 2025. The past 5 years has been filled with trauma and major life changes and I felt I deserved to treat myself even though I really couldn’t afford to do so. ||||I arrived Sunday, January 19, 2025 and until Tuesday afternoon my experience was exactly as I had remembered. I was so thrilled to be there. Tuesday, January 21, my massage therapist came to my room to give me a massage. The therapist was pretty firm with their pressure, but I assumed this would be good since I normally get soft pressure and my muscles were a bit tense. We discussed their type of massages and they explained they are prone to give deep tissue massages. The massage was ok, although slightly painful. During the last couple minutes of the massage, the therapist focused on my shoulders and neck area. They turned my neck to one side and pressed firm with their knuckles, then flipped my head over to the other side and continued firmly pressing my neck. At one point, for a couple seconds, I thought I may pass out, but soon recovered. I got up from the table and walked to the bathroom and at that moment I felt the room spinning. I told the massage therapist I felt dizzy and they directed me to sit down and drink some water as I could be dehydrated. Then they talked about common dizziness after massages and proceeded to tell me about a time when they gave someone a massage and when the client left, they got in a car accident. I was disturbed by the story but continued to focus on drinking fluids. The massage therapist left 15 minutes later. About 45 minutes later, I called the kitchen to send some coconut water, a banana and some cheese. I thought it was possible my blood sugar was low. Around 8 pm I went to bed, hoping that it was just a minor episode of dehydration and low glucose although the spinning continued after eating and drinking. In the morning I woke up and as I rolled out of bed, again felt the room spinning and became nauseous. At that time I called the front desk to ask about a car to Urgent Care. I spent 2 hours at Urgent Care to be told by the doctor I could have a “cerebral stroke” and I needed to head straight to the Emergency Room for a CT Scan. I spent 6 hours in the Emergency Room to thankfully be told I did not have a cerebral stroke and diagnosed with peripheral vertigo. ||||I want to give you the facts of the story in case there are any future incidences, it could be a liability. I spent Tuesday evening in my room, all day Wednesday in the hospital, through my departure on Sunday mostly in my room trying to limit my movement due to the vertigo. My trip was more than ruined. I was extremely disappointed and disheartened Golden Door only offered to cover an acupuncture session while on property. I sent a letter to the Manager following my return home and they offered to take $2,000 off $12,000 on my next visit. I don’t make six figures and don’t have a lot of savings. I spent all year looking forward to this return. I had planned to return again next year if my finances allowed, but I will not...

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...

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...