Calistoga Spa Hot Springs - Calistoga, California

kittyt925

This has got to be the most disappointing stay I have ever had. I was so looking forward to a trip away to celebrate my birthday. The pictures of the resort don't really do justice to the reality. The rooms are dark, musty and stocked with the bare minimum. No waters, pump style dispensers in the shower. The shower head is basic, doesn't rotate and has black mold around the head and blocking several holes. ||The noise level from the open deck and motel style layout was anything but relaxing. The fluorescent lights in the room really detracted from the romantic atmosphere that we were hoping for. ||||There are barbeque pits and benches on the ground floor interspersing every room. This invites guests to congregate and sit right outside your room, leave their wet bathing suits on the benches, and blow BBQ smoke right into your bedroom. There is zero poolside service. Besides a little shack with a lost and found, and a pitcher of water, there are no poolside amenities. Many guests were bringing their own Stanley Cups of liquor to the poolside, and there were far more children than we were expecting for a Hot Springs Spa. ||||The horrors continued during our spa day. We had booked a mudbath, photochromic mineral bath, massage, eucalyptus bath, and blanket wrap. ||||My partner enjoyed the mud bath immensely, I found the texture and aroma of the fresh mud to be slightly off-putting. I was expecting a more runny clay-like consistency, but it was proper mud, with sticks and lumps like wet compost. The heat was lovely. After rinsing off, we were put into soaking tubs that one would find in a home bathroom. The water came from a faucet, and didn't taste of anything minerally. The photochromic part was just flashing multicolored lights. It felt very gimmicky. After our strict 7 minutes in the steam room which was not eucalyptus scented but just steam scented, we were escorted to our "blanket wrap" which was literally a cubicle with a bed and a sheet, where we got to lie down for 15 minutes. The cost of this spa experience versus the actual experience was frankly laughable. ||||I would not recommend this place on any level.

Sonja R. T.

I have come here for so many years and now I'm so disappointed. Unfortunately the customer service here has really gone down hill.

I understand that if I arrive before 3pm my room may not be yet and that is fine. But to tell me I cannot use the pool area while I wait is beyond pathetic. The pools are literally the only reason I come to this specific place.

Whoever came up with this policy let me tell you that is the worst most regrettable idea you have ever had and you have totally ruined the experience for me and I'm sure many others.

It was never this way before. If you came early they just let you go change in the locker room and go to the pools no problem. Seriously it's a Tuesday in the middle of the week and there are maybe 15-20 people in the area with 4 pools and you literally told me NO you don't qualify for using the pool and we will text you when your room is ready, so in other words go away.

Do you think that if people drove hours to get here and enjoy the weather and are here asking about check in at 11:30 that maybe the receptionist should communicate to the housekeeping staff to get their room ready first?

It's after 2:35 pm I've called twice and it's still a 'no your room is not ready'. She made some excuse about the housekeeping staff going to lunch and said just come back at 3 pm when it's guaranteed to be ready. It's like a power trip for this one receptionist to be as unhelpful as possible. So sad about this place now and there's just too many other options to choose from to want to come back after having such a miserable customer service experience.

I was here last month and the young man behind the desk was much more helpful. I don't know if it's because I had booked a massage for 11 am but guess what, when I arrived at 10:30 am I got upgraded from a queen to a king room that I could check in to right away.

When I was here last month another guest was complaining about all the construction noise in the street. The noise was really bad. She said when she asked about changing rooms to try to get away from the noise the receptionist was rude to her and didn't even apologize about the noise being disturbing. It was just nope don't have any rooms. That was it. The lady said it felt like the girl didn't care at all about her experience and the girl's attitude was like 'oh well too bad for you'. Instead of the girl saying something more appropriate like "I'm so sorry about the road work noise, I wish that there was something that we could do to help, but unfortunately we don't have any other rooms".
And to think I tried to defend the front desk people and I said well it's not their fault that we have to listen to all the noise, they can't control it.

I was planning on dropping another few hundred dollars in the spa over the next couple of days but not now I'll go down the road for my services just because of the receptionist.

You really need to rethink your policy of telling paying customers that they cannot use the pools a few hours earlier than check in.

So seriously where was I supposed to go? I don't drink. I didn't come for the winery's. I stayed sitting in one of the chairs and I read my book and I know they saw me and I watched. The staff could have totally had a room ready for me much earlier if they just wanted to.

So now to top it all off after I posted my review I walked into the lobby and guess what there was my reservation form printed out alread and the key to my room already set up sitting on the back counter waiting for me for who knows how long but nobody bothered to text me to say my room was ready.

I really hope that management reads this post and takes into consideration what I have said and make some changes around here because if you have people at the front desk who do not make people feel welcome or cared for and just want to talk about some policy instead of making a person's experience special then you need change your policies and hire new people who actually have customer service skills

Kristina W.

**Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Price**

We booked the mud spa treatment and paid an extra $50 per person for access to the mineral pools. Unfortunately, the entire experience was underwhelming and overpriced.

**Front Desk:** Despite being overstaffed, they were surprisingly unhelpful and indifferent.

**Spa:** Easily the most bare-bones spa I’ve ever been to. For $212, the so-called 60-minute treatment was actually only 45 minutes, broken down like this:
- 10-minute mud bath
- 15-minute water bath
- 5-minute steam room
- 15-minute body wrap in a cramped, RV-like room

There were *zero* spa-like touches—no aromatherapy, no relaxing music, no decor, no amenities like infused water or even a place to relax afterward. The locker room was equally dismal: stained, paper-thin robes, and the only provided products were shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. No lotion, combs, Q-tips, or deodorant, and no heads-up to bring your own.

**Mineral Pools:** Decent but lacking any atmosphere—no music, no staff presence, no food or drinks. We had to DoorDash lunch, and when our delivery forgot utensils, the front desk’s suggestion was to *go to Ace Hardware in our robes* to buy silverware. Seriously?

Overall, this place feels like it’s long past its prime. For the price, you expect a premium, relaxing experience—not this outdated, no-frills setup. Save your money and look elsewhere.

Natasha B.

Overpriced and disappointing. Bare bones and old facilities. Front desk woman was very rude. I had a massage at noon, which was after check-out, and she said my husband would have to pay $50 if he was going to wait for me by the pool for an hour, even though we just paid $400 to stay there. Massage was not great, I had to ice my neck afterwards. FYI they automatically charge 20% tip on all services. Spa facilities were like tired gym locker room. The pools are ok but a bit dirty. Maybe worth a day pass if you're just looking for a pool, but wouldn't recommend a stay or the spa. Probably a great place for kids. It is right downtown which is convenient for walking into town but sometimes noisy.

Coke A. F.

My friend and I booked at Calistoga Spa to enjoy a few days away from the world and we were not disappointed. We enjoyed soaking in the geothermal mineral pool to unwind at the end of the day. Our spa service did not disappoint. The attendant was kind and took the time to inform us of what we could expect, she frequently checked on us to ensure our comfort. The mud baths were a perfect way to rejuvenate. If you are planning to visit Napa Valley, this is the perfect place to stay.

emery R.

great location! walking easily to everything downtown. they have become more challenging for day use and require multi-day stays to reserve rooms more recently. the pools are fabulous, with a good balance of sunny and shady areas to relax poolside!

Bianca T.

I have grown up going to the Calistoga Spa and Hot Springs and usually love it. Unfortunately, my last experience was awful. Upon arrival the woman who checked me in was rude, I was told the day before I would have a bottom floor room but when she checked me in she said that was not true and gave me a top floor room, the shades let in a lot of light at night and we were told we would be charged $50 per person if we used the pool past the 11am checkout the next day (I have never heard of this). I am so sad but I will not be going back.

Lisa S.

I have stayed here many times in my life, and keep coming back because the pools are fantastic and the property holds a lot of memories for my family. You can really relax and enjoy time with the person/people you came with. There are plenty of chairs and the outdoor atmosphere is nice.
I was disappointed this trip for the room quality vs the price. The prices keep creeping up, to the point I would expect luxury, but it is far from that. The mattress was sagging, dated and uncomfortable. Both the heaters were quite janky and made awful noises. The fan in the bathroom was ridiculously loud. The fridge made a terrible squealing noise all night. The room was poorly insulated and not quiet, despite having the doors and windows closed. We were not particularly comfortable. It just feels very funky and poorly done for the price. I will say the room was spotless and the staff were very friendly. We still had a great trip but I do have the feeling we were overcharged. Might be time to start exploring new options