Esalen Institute — Local services in Greenfield

I hate leaving a negative review, but I hope this helps Esalen's management improve their guest experience. Our workshop was absolutely transformative – 5/5, incredible facilitators, and amazing attendees. However, the facility and staff left much to be desired.

Upon arrival, the receptionist couldn't direct us to our accommodations and had to ask someone else. When we reached our room, there was no hot water, which was frustrating, especially since we were on the opposite side of the property from the baths. Additionally, I forgot my shampoo and conditioner, and there were none provided in the room. For $4,030 for three nights, I expected basic amenities like this. When I asked reception, they didn’t have any, and they were out of stock of what they sell.

This was my husband's first time at Esalen and therefore his first time eating in the cafeteria. He accidentally left his knife on his plate, and before I could show him where to place it, a dishwasher (big guy, ponytail, beard) aggressively threw it to the other side, nearly hitting my husband. The dishwasher made a comment about his annoyance of not putting it where it belongs. It was a really unpleasant interaction, especially considering it wasn’t intentional.

As a breastfeeding mother, I needed a place to freeze my milk, not just refrigerate it. Reception was unsure and suggested I check with the kitchen, and the guy in the kitchen (blonde curly hair) was super sweet and helpful. However, I found it disappointing that Esalen doesn’t provide this basic accommodation for breastfeeding moms. Other places I’ve stayed, including a trip to Mexico, had a system for this.

The tipping point for me came on my last night. I needed to add more milk to my stock, so I tried to get the attention of a kitchen worker (D3) who was on the other side of the kitchen by nodding. He ignored me so I waved. He came over but then told me, "That's rude." I was genuinely confused. I wasn’t sure if he was referring to me handing him my milk or what. He then told me it was rude that I waved him over. I am not sure how else he would expect me to get his attention from the other side of the kitchen. This staff member was also handling food without gloves and touching his beard.

Additionally, after Saturday’s lunch (chimichurri steak, blistered corn, and beans), I got food poisoning and ended up in my room on the toilet for most of the day. Note: I don’t have a weak stomach. My husband, who ate the same meal, also had digestive issues. The food is delicious. But something definitely got me that day.

Beyond these issues, the dining experience was disappointing. The cafeteria was constantly out of basic items like silverware, napkins, honey for the coffee, or to go containers. Having someone dedicated to refilling these items regularly during meal service should be a standard practice, especially considering the premium price we paid.

Lastly, when I went to get coffee one morning, they were out, and when asked when it would be ready the guy said "its going to be a while, we are shortstaffed". For the price we paid, I expected better service and staffing. The bar and cafe were also closed all weekend.

In short, while the workshop itself was fantastic, the kitchen staff, especially D3 and the dish guy, had terrible attitudes. I think Esalen could benefit from providing customer service training to their staff. The overall experience fell short of the expectations set...

My visit to Easalen on May 4th of this year was greatly overshadowed by the treatment my Indigenous/African American friend received on property. When we drove in I greatly assured her that this place would be progressive and spiritual and therefore welcoming of people of color and LGBTQ friendly. According to their premise, Easalen claims to be on the cutting edge of consciousness exploration and social progressiveness. However, after arriving there, each, with our day passes for massage, we found ourselves rushing to get me to my scheduled massage on time.-- My friend was to follow with getting hers from the same practitioner which left her heading to get lunch in the dining room. However, after only a few minutes in the lunch line, a man approached her out of everyone else there and inquired as to why she was there. (It is important to note that no one else looked like her. ) She told him that she had a daypass. He pressed on to ask for which workshop? At this point she was losing precious time before the kitchen closed but in attempting to keep with her hopeful optimism, she asked him which workshop was he attending thinking perhaps he was asking out of an attempt to socialize with a potential peer. Quickly he mumbled that he was on staff there and instructed her as if somehow he just happen to know she was a newcomer, where the utensils were for the jam and he quickly disappeared. My friend hadn't even been on property for 5 minutes before this happened. Upon settling in further she could not find one other newcomer who had been approached in the same way. All of THEM were of course white and appeared straight looking. When we met up at the massage room I knew something was wrong. We tried to make the most of our stay but couldn't shake the feeling of her being seen as "other" and a threat who had tried to sneak in to get free food, and we left shortly after dinner. The blatant difference in treatment of her, Indigenous/Black and queer, verses me being European white was obvious. No one followed me or checked on me etc. I called and complained once I was back in the Bay Area and was told that I had a phone meeting scheduled with the head of guest services. She having been informed about the nature of my concern, no-showed. We submitted seperate letters outlining the incident and, again, NO response! It is incomprehensible for me to identify one's institution as being a spiritual organization open and embracing all while promoting discriminatory practices AND have no accountability when called on such profiling and thus, inappropriate behavior. I must conclude that their values have shifted and that they prioritize whiteness, money and corporate practices now. But they also go out of their way now to NOT go out of their way when called out on their hypocrisy in regards to what they proclaim vereses what they actually practice. It sure is a far cry from the visionary icon of healing, consciousness awakening, socially accepting and free spirited institution it was once revered for. However, in these dark, dangerous & perilous times, they seem unconcerned with experiencing any repercussions for their discriminatory practices as their motto seems to be to simply ignore any complaints as they will...

Following a sudden career transition- I was in need of a week to clear my head, meditate, do yoga, be around like-minded, fellow seekers and reset. Esalen helped me achieve this in many ways.

The grounds are truly jaw dropping and gorgeous. The baths were magical with the natural heated spring water. The massage offering was wonderful and much needed. The other guests were all open and friendly and the views from my premium room were incredible.

I arrived expecting a retreat center so I wasn't surprised to see the sparsely appointed room and tiny shower. I also expected a cafeteria style dining hall rather than a sit down restaurant. All good! I'm sure some expect a more hotel like experience- this is not that.

I was on a solo/ self-guided retreat alongside ten other folks. All of us there for various reasons. I appreciated the light programmatic options and that there was zero pressure to attend or not attend. During the week there was a massage training workshop and a women's retreat and those folks would pop in and out of the shared programming as their schedules allowed. I certainly left with a couple of new friendships and a much clearer head on my shoulders.

JJ, one of the teachers, was warm, good humored and wise. I enjoyed my time with him and certainly left with new insights about life from him.

On a more practical note: I also appreciated the free Tesla and EV chargers available for guests. Super helpful and pretty easy to access despite a full campus of Tesla driving guests.

Also- I'm glad I brought layers of clothing as they recommended. The weather was perfect - low 70's during the day but cool and damp at night being right on the water. This is why there are hoodies!

A few negatives: They need to work on their cleaning- my room was littered with the last guest's hair- an easy thing to remedy if the crew is trained and given the right tools.

I'm vegetarian and only one lunch or dinner the whole week didn't feature Tofu as the main option. I am glad I brought snacks.

Despite their website saying no kids under 16, three of the five days I was on campus there were kids running around. Not quietly in the corner- I'm talking racing through the dining commons and bath house being loud and energetic. A huge reason I chose Esalen was to find tranquility so it was really disappointing to see that there are children running around on a frequent basis- even at the baths! When another solo-traveller brought this up to the Esalen team during the orientation, we were assured that it was an "off day" due to the Memorial Day Holiday and kids are "never around". Apparently he was too optimistic.

I hope that in the future Esalen will work on diversity and inclusion. There's a whole world of people who would benefit from this experience besides white women in leggings. It will require direct outreach to communities that may not resemble the staff or leaders at this organization. I hope they will be brave and figure out this key component to make Esalen stronger and the world a...