La Jolla Spa MD

Dr. Goldman no longer works in Spa MD but has an office over in the UTC area. He’s been my doctor for 15 years and has helped my acne, skin damage, veins etc. He’s very professional and I always love my results. I’m sorry for anyone who has had a bad experience with him and I urge you to try again. He really is a competent doctor and one that I trust completely.

I watch the Housewives of Atlanta and that fills my quota of rich people drama.
I’ve been to this location once and somehow even I heard about the divorce drama behind this place.
Okay, I knew someone who worked here. That itself left a bad impression.
When I went here, I didn’t know my friend was working here. The first thing she asked in a panic was who I made my appointment with. She was afraid I had made it with one of the terrible, grumpy ones. I’m not naming names.
Luckily, I had made an appointment with one of the «good» ones.
Unfortunately, the person wasn’t that good. Spotty service. Thank goodness I didn’t come in for anything major, just a skin check. I asked them to look at two areas and they looked at one.
So they’re apparently closed now… no S#!#…not a surprise.

i also have a gift card … any news on if we can get any sort of compensation?

Got gift card for my birthday. I called them up and they said they do not accept them anymore. The gift certificate was purchased less than month ago in their office. They do not have issue to sell them obviously. This is illegal and already called district attorney and filling claim. I know times are bad, but this is robbery. I even goggled this issue and I am one of them 50 people their gift cards didn’t got accepted. Dont go there!

The new owner, Diane York Goldman (DYG) is a nightmare. I paid for a package of treatments to treat a medical condition as prescribed by Dr. Mtichell Goldman, DYG’s ex husband. Unfortunately, DYG got La Jolla Spa MD as a divorce settlement which BTW as a patient was a nightmare! I continued to receive my treatments until my therapist went out on maternity leave. I was assured that the other therapists had been trained to use the equipment. Not true. The first therapist did not even know how to use the equipment. The second one made my condition worse. When I asked for a refund, I was told I could only get a credit. Who needs $ 1,000 worth of spa treatments? DYG told me she had the same condition (liar?) and was totally unprofessional, talking about my condition in the hallway and entry in front of other patients. It was horrible. I will never go there again, which is probably ok as DYG has fired all employees to save money. Don’t go there! I heard there are multiple complaints at the Medical Board and SPA MD can no longer even offer a dermaplane treatment or any kind of treatment that has a medical connection because they do not have a medical director for the medical spa. My previous review was deleted. I wonder why!

I was trying to get my skin glowing for my wedding in Europe so I decided to splurge and get myself a package of acne facials and I would get a peel with every facial.
Not only did my skin not look like I invested almost $ 1000 in it, but the girl that did my makeup for the actual wedding day said she was offended by my acne so she can’t possibly do a good job on my makeup.
Way of making me feel beautiful on my wedding day. I know that that was extremely rude for her to say but if spa md would have fixed the problem in the first place, I would have probably had a better wedding day.
After I got back from my honey moon, I went back to tell them I was dissapointed so they decided to make it up to me by trying to help me cure the problem, not just clean the surface.
I spent another $ 600 on the Obagi system that just messed up my skin so much more.
I get depressed just looking in the mirror and there’s days where I don’t even feel like putting make up on. I feel like there’s no point. And on top of all, I really saved up for a long time to be able to afford these treatments and I really wish I had taken my business somewhere else.
I feel completely betrayed and utterly dissapointed by this place.

Very friendly staff, nice comfortable atmosphere. The A/​C is turned on super high and its very cold but it’s better than too hot. The music is very new age and the spa waiting room lighting is basically sitting in the dark and a bit awkward. The fountain in the front is very nice and the place is very large. Parking get fulls all the time unless you go really early.

Mitch Goldman is a very, very rude and immature man. A dear friend of mine attended a workshop that she paid top dollar for and he was the instructor. Rather than teaching, he chose to belittle and ridicule his attendees. The company reps were there and saw his behavior, were so embarrassed they hired him, and refunded their money. I don’t know about his qualifications as a doctor but who would want that kind of a person working on them? UGH! How about some beauty from the inside Dr. Goldman?

Having just read a chat about tanning, it reminded me of going to La Jolla Spa MD. I had some breakouts after I stopped using BC pills and went in to see Dr. Goldman. I had tried to get my family practice doc to get me a derm referral, but they kept telling me it wasn’t bad enough and tried to treat it themselves. I wanted to see a professional derm, even if I had to pay out of pocket. I liked Dr. Goldman a lot– he is very personable and he likes talking about random stuff like statuary he bought in Europe. There was a free consult, which I believe they don’t have anymore. He recommended a laser treatment with blue light, after which you can’t go into sun for 24 hrs. He also mentioned that he had used it on himself to get rid of sun damage and that his kid had used it too, with good results (showing me pictures). That’s what reminded m– if you’re a tanner, you’re gonna have to get your skin lasered off for precancerous cells eventually. Oh, and it was supposed to «turn off» the oil glands in my face.
The treatments make your skin peel and puff up, but the only down time is one day, which you spend inside with the blinds closed– it wasn’t such a big deal. They do not use pain gel for these treatments, though other places do, and it does hurt like a giant rubber band pounding against your skin, only more like a burn.
I got two of these treatments and it did make my skin quite porcelain for a year. After that, my problems returned and I demanded that my insurance give me a referral to a dermatologist in my insurance group. My new derm told me that while the laser was great and all and that he *could* also do that, the acne-​clearing results DO NOT LAST. This info would have been nice to know before I shelled out the money at SpaMD. I was in there twice for the same problem, so there was opportunity to tell me how long this would really last, instead of hinting that it would solve my problem. I mean, the lasers did reverse sun damage and freckling, but I mainly did it for my problem skin, which finally got resolved through medication prescribed by my new derm.
After I went to Dr. Goldman but before I saw my new derm, I used SpaMD’s spa services and was appalled. The facialist was a bit rough, the products she used irritated my skin, and she recommended some products my new derm was horrified about, like stuff that makes rosacea worse. I did not leave a tip, which I think pissed her off.
Goldman and his wife do have a nice line of skin care products and makeup (not what the facialist recommended, by the way).
I gave it three stars instead of two because the doctors administered my treatments and they do know what they are doing medically; but I also felt like they were in it to get my return business and bank on my non-​knowledge of dermatology. I cannot say anything about the plastic surgery side.

First of all, I saw the ad and i walked by the store when I visited San Diego. I walked in to the store around 2pm and made an hot stone massage appintment with the receptionist at the front desk at 4pm. After checking in the host left. My thearapist told me the computer showed that I should have signature massage not hot stone. However, they told me that they did not know I was having a hot stone massage and it was impossible to heat up the stone.
All in all,
1. Customer service and problem solve skills are really really terrible. Especially, in this kind of high end area. This is totally not acceptable.
2. I felt backache after the deep tissue massage and still hurting for 2 days already.
3. PLEASE DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY IN THIS PLACE.

I would NEVER recommend this place! It’s way overpriced and the customer service was lacking! First, I wasn’t warned over the phone about the parking situation and once I got to the spa, I realized there was spa parking next door-​which would have been nice to know in advance. Second, their «tranquility room» is the same room for all spa patrons, so someone who is there to get a quick eyebrow wax is in the same room as someone who is getting major spa treatments (facials, massage, etc.) So, when I was trying to relax before my facial and massage, there were 2 women waiting for waxing and they were talking on their cell phones and carrying on a conversation. Plus, the door to the room always remains open, so you can hear other people’s conversations in the hallway. Needless to say, this room was anything but tranquil!
I spent close to $ 300 on both of my services, including tip. The massage was unremarkable and the facial was over way too soon. Each service was only 45 mins. The esthetician was trying to convince me to sign up for more facials and buy their expensive products and the masseuse talked to me the whole time.
I had 2 treatments back to back and was there for close to 3 hours. There is only tea and water in the waiting area, which I felt they could have had some quick treats (apples, crackers… something!) for those who are making it a spa day. I was starving after my massage and had nothing to tie more over before my facial began.
This was supposed to be a day of relaxation for me. This was the first day I’d been able to get out of the house without my newborn and all I wanted was a calm, serene spa where I could relax and be pampered. Spa MD certainly was NOT the place.

I do not like to give poor reviews, but this place is EXPENSIVE and I have had better experiences in random dirt-​cheap nail salons. The only reason I give it a star at all is because it is clean, smells good, and they have good tea. But really… save your money and go somewhere else! They don’t just give you service… they give you a huge advertisement. All places give you advertisements… but, come on…
I went there for a pore cleansing facial. I’m not sure what happened, but my skin was breaking out the next day… and it sure as hell wasn’t before I went in.
Even worse… as I was lying down for my $ 115 facial, she started telling me that I should be using this product and that product and THEN… she suggested microdermabrasion… and not only one session but she wanted me to agree while I was on the tabe with my eyes closed to a package costing over $ 1000. Like, sure, while I’m trying to relax. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, she insisted that I do 15 minutes more of extractions… as though a 1 hour facial wasn’t enough… that added another $ 30 onto my bill, making is $ 145. Maybe if she had stopped talking she could have done her job in the hour alloted. Then the rest of the time it was about all the products I should buy from them. I thought this was my hour to relax! Well, the facial was just terrible and and so was the experience. I had such high hopes for going to a salon that I thought was high end.

I am all for fake boobs. If you want to lift your face, tuck your tummy, shrink your nose, I’m all about it — I wish you happiness and safety in these endeavors.
But maybe do not do it here. Spa MD is owned by rich, rich, people. They can afford to advertise anywhere and everywhere.
Therefore they can charge what they want, have a beautiful facility, and kind of slack off the rest of the time.
I know quite a few people who have had procedures here, and while there are rarely truly horrible outcomes, there is also rarely exceptional service and quality. Not everyone looks good with rock hard DDs or a nose the size of a button.
If you want personal attention, seek a more intimate surgeon.
If you want plastic surgery, DO YOUR RESEARCH.
This is not a decision to be made lightly!
But if you are filthy rich and this is your 8^th plastic surgery in 24 months, or you are all about the casual scalpel wielding bonanza, then swipe that credit card and enjoy your journey down Stepford Wife lane.

Let this place hate your blackheads as much as you hate your blackheads.
Expensive but worth it with great professional service.

Disclaimer: I don’t fancy plastic surgery; but a lot of people do, so here goes my review. Spa MD is a no brainer, and I like that. I enjoy the fact that no matter what one’s needs may be, you’ll find the treatment and the doctor or beautician for it. It is one of the most complete spas in San Diego, and I especially like it for facials. Although I went in there once with a complementary gift certificate, and the lady who took care of me tried to talk me into this newest dermabrasion technique that she claimed sensational. Well, her skin was redder than red, and I asked her if she had it done and how long it had been since then; she did, and it had been over 2 weeks. I declined the offer within the next second!