Golden Haven Spa, Calistoga

That place is not worth the monet they charge. Everything is outdated, staff is rude and unfriendly.

Made a BIG MISTAKE going here without checking the reviews available online, beforehand. My husband I went here to celebrate early Valentine's Day, driving more than 3 hours only to find out how horrible this place is, much less 'how romantic' it could be!! Don’t let the online pictures fool you! 1) What was more disappointing was they are CHEATS! When I called, they promised a free MUD BATH promotion, and made us buy a pkg for $200. And took my credit card info on the phone. Once we reached there, they front desk lady said there are no free rooms and they can’t honor the promised deal! I argued and ended up getting a pass for Mud Bath for later, but now just that thought of going back there makes me PUKE! ***** The Bath rooms are DIRTY, Showers are Old and BROKEN, Water is SMELLY!! **** 2) The lady who did my HERBAL FACIAL had NO CLUE of what she was doing! I felt dirty after the facial nor it was relaxing. She didnt even STEAM my face the right away to start with!! 3) The front office staff including the one (who claimed to be the manager) all are CHEATS, RUDE and unprofessional!! Couple of young boys who work at the facility seemed really nice though, but I am sure they won’t last long with the rotten management out here! I have no doubt that once they gain some experience, they will move on!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY GOING TO THIS PLACE. FIND A BETTER DEAL ***** I would like to report this place to right state authority, but don’t know how to do it or whom to contact email/ph etc ******

Don't waste your time and money for this place, it is not worth it at all. The front office staff was rude and she won't give you Triple A discount because you've got the "best price" already. If you make reservation over the phone, a credit card is required and once they have your credit card, you can't cancel the reservation. We got a cottage room with 2 bed rooms, no phone, the tv didn't work, no internet connection, we had to go back to the office which was 10 steps away from our room and complained about all the above. The bathtub was old , dirty and didn't work well either. This is a nightmare and their price is outrages . Don't get them fool you with their name "SPA n Resort", it is a motel with extra swimming pool.

I should have read the reviews before booking the spa packgage and room at Golden Haven Spa. The only thing I have to say is " I agree with the bad reviews other visitors have said about the spa" not romantic, not relaxing, no privacy, the mud was reused by other people etc... Not to mention the bed in are room was so uncomfortable and there was a fly flying around the room. My boyfriend was so mad at me because I booked the backgage with his money and he did not enjoy it at all! One more thing, be careful when you book the special spa packgage that they have offering. The packgage is PER PERSON not a couple packgage.

I went there for my birthday with some friends for the girlfriend special and this is by far the ultimate worst spa place I ever been to!!!!! It looked like a Motel with dirt road parking! The mud bath room look like a dungeon, the attendant was rude and didnt allow us privacy at one point she smuggly removed the towels from under our neck that I had placed there so I wouldnt get mud in my hair and threw them on the floor, which could've been avoided if she had mentioned we get shower caps!! You have to rinse off with a garden hose behind a curtain attached to the wall and while you're trying to enjoy you privacy the attendant comes in and starts cleaning up while you're in there. Then the heat wraps....yea right!!! It's a room down the hallway that you go to where they put hot blankets on you, not impressed....by the way, you dont get a locker and you have to haul your stuff with you to every room...dont mind the workers and people in the hallway staring at you in your rob( more like hospital gown)!! No quietness no privacy at all, I remember hearing the workers in the hallway discussing what they would be having for lunch!! The 1 hour massage was the worst!!! My girlfriend got some crrepy old lady with clammy cold hands who apparently didnt know what she was doing, about 5 minutes in to the massage she asked her to stop and not continue with the massage, it was uncomfortable and awkward, the masseuse offered no apology and stormed out of the room mad, so my friend got dressed and called it a day...the room was lit, with the fan on and it was cold!! My massage itself was just ok...the attendant talked through out the whole time and her breath...not too pleasant. None of the workers wore smocks or uniforms, they wore jeans and t-shirts and berkinstocks....they looked like wana be yoga hippies gone naturists!! The mgr refunded the entire amount and we left ASAP!!!! All I can say is DONT GO THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Total disappointment and waste of time!!!

If you are on a budget, this is definetely for you but you get what you pay for. The atmosphere and ambience was not to my liking, I can say I "tried it" and that's about it......

Golden Haven is a very popular place. Someone had wrote that they didnt get down in the mud where the heat was. Well it dosent take a genius to figure that one out. And had you gone all the way down you would have relized that 10min is all you can handle in the mud. That is why the attendant comes in twice to change your cool cloth. And they run on a schedual and that is why they come in and clean the room while you are in the shower. you dont rent the room for sex. the blanket wrap would have cooled you down had you been hot from the mud. I always have a great experiance there and i have been going for 17 years. sometimes the front desk can be unplesant. but i just ignore them and more on the the relaxing part. it is a great place to go if you dont have the money to splurge. alot of the therapist have been working there for 20 years plus. i suggest asking for one of those.

Online this place looks like spa/resort, but nothing is further from the truth. My partner and I booked a 2.5 hour couples treatment, with a 1 hour massage/ 1 hour mudbath, plus 1/2 hour facial, expecting the ultimate pampering treat. Here's what we got. We arrived a little early, but were only told to sit and wait in a dingy little corner with old magazines and average chairs. No one welcomed us with an overview of how things were going to happen, a glass of tea or water. 10 minutes late, the 2 masseurs invited us to a room, which looked alot like a cheap motel room with 2 massage tables. One of our masseurs told us she had swolen wrists and could not do deep massage. She barely did any massage. While my masseuse was pretty good, my partner's' masseuse (with the hurt wrists) was awful. Instead of giving a massage, she talked the whole time. When my friend said her arm was aching, the masseuse told her to "let it rest." We should have complained and got someone else, but as this was my partner's masseuse and it was my birthday, she didn't want to cause a fuss. We were ushered to the mud bath room where we emersed ourselves on top of the mud. Noone told us we needed to move around to get under the mud. Our attendent came in 2 times to put cold rags on our heads, which was disruptive and unnecessary since we weren't getting hot anyway. By the time we figured out that we really needed to push around to get down into the mud (about 10 minutes later), the "attendant" came in and told us our time in the tub was finished and that we needed to go to the other part of the room, behind a shower curtain, and rinse off. We had barely gotten into the mud and we had to get out! While we were behind the shower hosing each other down (litterally, like garden hoses), the attendant was just on the other side of the curtain hosing down the area around the mud bath. WE HAD NO PRIVACY!!! Then, he announced we needed to get out of the "shower" and get in the "hot tub". We did as instructed, but only after 10 minutes, the attendant peeked in and said time was up, pushed a button ont he wall, which immediately began to drain the water from the tub. We got out, put on robes and were led to another room for a "blanket wrap" which was a total joke. We were merely wraped in a sheet with an army like wool blanket around the outside of the sheet. That was to be the last 20 minutes of the "hour" in the mud baths. All in all,this place is like a motel 6 with a twist. Don't expect any pampering here.

I was nervous about the Golden Haven because the prices were so much cheaper than the other places around, but we have an awesome experience. We were looking for a reasonable and clean place to stay, and the Golden Haven was perfect for that. The beds were comfortable and the pillows were soft. The room was clean and the bathroom/shower was nice. We did not do any spa treatments, although the accomodations did not look appealing. I would have gone somewhere to do spa treatments, especially after seeing the "models" on the billboards posted all around the spa and website! Considering we had friends staying at the Best Western and Comfort Suites for over $200 a night, we were beyond satisfied to stay for $99 per night with a King size bed.

We went for our one year anniversary and it was dissapointing. If you are looking for a romantic place to relax this is not it. We had the mud bath, spa soak, facial, 1 hour massage and blanket wrap. The mud bath was a very cool experience, we were intereupted every two minutes because the spa also in the mud bath room was broken so they had to fill it while we were in the mud bath. Not at all relaxing. After that we went to a room with blankets...for the wrap...not relaxing at all either. We then had a one hour massage...I personally felt worse after the massage than before. The massage was very "rushed" feeling and not very relaxing. The facial was my first time so I cant really judge it but my wife said it was the worst facial she has ever had. She said it felt like the woman was trying to scrub her skin off. On top of all this somehow during this weekend getaway I aquired an extremely itchy rash. We think but have no way to know if it was the massage oils used. Either that or perhaps the mud bath that I learned afterwards is not changed very often. Overall I would say the experience was okay but nothing to go back to. Again if you are looking for a romantic getaway this is not the place. On a high note calistoga does offer some great places to eat...All Seasons Bistro was wonderful. although not recommended by the spa staff..