I am so thrilled to have Art Me in the neighborhood! I've had a hard time finding great, innovative…read moreclasses for my two young children and I'm happy to say Art Me offers just that! My 2-year-old daughter recently attended a toddler class and she created three lovely, age appropriate (ie, not too complicated for little hands) art projects that I am thrilled to display at the house! She loved her experience and we can't wait to go back. They offer a range of classes for all ages (including adults) and have an event space for birthday parties as well. It looks like they're still in the process of building their schedule, but I can't wait to go back to see what is in store!

My friends and I had so much fun this past Saturday at a Paint n Sip event at Art Me San Diego!!…read moreThe painting direction was clear and we all were able to let our artistic free birds fly. All art supplies were included and drinks and snacks too (which was expected). Thank you Art Me team for a great time!!

This is a smaller aquarium, but it was a lovely one to visit. We picked the Birch aquarium as one…read moreof the spots to visit using our City Pass & it was quick and easy to get inside. There is a short walk from the parking lot to the aquarium, but the walk itself isn't that bad. There are two sides to the aquarium to explore, an outside area where you can see some adorable as can be small blue penguins and another outside area with touch pools. The area with the touch pools has a gorgeous view of the beach & ocean as the aquarium sits up higher so you'll have a great view for photos. We thought they had a great selection of sea life to view. They had several different types of Jelly fish & several different species of Sea horses. I absolutely loved seeing the Sea Kelp Dragons, they are so cool to see. The bathrooms were clean, the gift shop was nice, and all of the staff we interacted with were friendly. I would say we were here for 45 minutes altogether?

This is a tiny aquarium that you can easily clear in about an hour. I would recommend purchasing…read moreyour tickets online and checking to see if they have any discount promo codes available. Otherwise, you'll be paying around $40 per person, unless you have an EBT card, which brings admission down to only $3 per person. There are about two sections of aquatic animals to explore. There is a penguin section, a small shark section, and a variety of other marine creatures. There is also an outdoor section with a nice view of the ocean in San Diego, which makes for some great photo opportunities. I've been to many aquariums, and I felt slightly underwhelmed by this one, mostly because of the price. Other than that, it's still a pretty nice spot to check out at least once. Parking: Plenty of parking, and it's free!

I went to the Kalabash Studio in La Jolla for a Monday morning yoga class. This studio is charming…read moreand comfortable. There is a faint smell of cedar in the air, and children's toys and instruments strewn around. The wood-panel flooring and wall-to-wall mirrors give the main room a rustic feel and makes the space feel open. Our instructor, Janice, was kind and encouraging. She was also conversational and polite, making sure we were comfortable and checking in with us to make sure we were reaching our full potential. The yoga incorporated pilates that engaged our cores and arm and leg muscles, so that we could find that sweet-spot combining challenge and comfort. We left the workout feeling invigorated, rejuvenated and ready to start our day!

I love this place. The musicians and events they have are incredible. Such a talented and diverse…read moregroup of musicians. I look forward to their music event nights whenever they have them. And the space looks like an amazing environment to learn music and the arts.

Courteous and great staff, amazing, smart instructors, fun and safe learning surf experience!read more

I was really disappointed with our experience at San Diego Surf School. My husband and I booked a…read morebeginner surf lesson because we had never surfed before and wanted to learn the fundamentals from a professional instructor. Unfortunately, that isn't what we received. Our instructor told us he was just visiting from out of town, and it felt like he wasn't prepared or invested in teaching. To start he was late, when he did show up we received very little instruction before going into the water and were never taught many of the basic skills that beginners should learn, including proper paddling technique, how to pop up on the board, or even how to safely fall off the board. As beginners, that was especially concerning because safety should be the top priority. Once we were in the water, we were practically left on our own. Instead of receiving coaching, corrections, or guidance throughout the lesson, we were left trying to figure everything out ourselves. We paid for a surf lesson, not just a board rental. After the lesson, I reached out to the owner to explain our experience. To their credit, they responded promptly and admitted that our lesson was not taught according to their beginner curriculum. They explained that beginner lessons are supposed to include ocean safety, surf etiquette, how to safely fall, paddling technique, popping up, and active coaching throughout the lesson, all of the things we expected but didn't receive. However, the resolution they offered was only 50% off another lesson. While I appreciate the acknowledgment that our lesson fell below their standards, I don't think it's reasonable to ask customers to pay again even at a discount to receive the instruction they already paid for the first time. They also mentioned that they couldn't offer a complimentary lesson because they wanted to ensure their instructors were fairly compensated. As a customer, I believe it's just as important that clients receive the quality of service they paid for. We chose this school because of its great reputation, which made this experience even more disappointing. Hopefully this was an isolated incident, but I think future beginners should know that our experience was far from the comprehensive lesson that was advertised.

Wanted to take a moment to update my review of YMCA's Summer Camp experience now that our youngest…read moreturned 5 and has joined her big brother (10 year old) at camp. The YMCA Dan McKinney location continues to be rockstars when it comes to their summer camp experiences for the kids. There is a reason we come year after year and it has to do with the quality of their high interest, highly engaging camps. The counselors continue to work hard to ensure all campers are having a blast and be so patient and kind in those moments of overwhelm. As an educator myself, I greatly appreciate the care and effort of each counselor we've met this summer. I see the effort and it doesn't go unnoticed. Our oldest (10 year old, autism and ADHD) continues to love the different camps he's been a part of this summer. Slime, Harry Potter, Adventure (I mean....they're going on amazing field trips to Petco Park and Safari Park!), and soon Parkour. Our youngest (5 year old) has loved gymnastics, Disney Jr, and coming up Little Gardeners. It just feels good as a parent (and special needs parent at that) to drop off your kids knowing they're safe, going to make some new friends, and thoroughly enjoy each activity each day. Registration is straightforward, communication each week is clear and helpful, checking in and out also a breeze. 10/10 So, thank you YMCA Dan McKinney for continuing to provide amazing camps for our kids and kudos to all of the counselors who are gems in bringing these camps to life for these/my kids.

I recently joined this YMCA as a member through my insurance to try some of the exercises classes…read moreoffered. I have been happy with the facilities, the host/hostess of the classes I attended and the friendly atmosphere overall.

Family trip to San Diego and my cousins and I did some research online and found Surf Education…read moreAcademy as a solid choice for first-time surf lessons around La Jolla. Our instructor Luca met us at the beach right on time after giving us clear directions at the shop when we picked up our wetsuits. He provided detailed instructions and guidance on the sand before we got in the water, which made everything a lot less intimidating for beginners. We all had a great time during the lesson and highly recommend this business to anyone wanting to try surfing while visiting San Diego.

Great experience, highly recommended. Staff was very kind…read moreand professional. Prime location

Our 5-year old really enjoys this camp. We signed him up for ski week and he had tons of fun during…read morea very rainy week. Coach Brooks is amazing! We get funded through San Diego Regional Center and she was really great in accommodating our request and even offered an additional week of Spring Break camp because our school district had a different timeline than the other coastal schools. Coach Brooks and Coach Zora introduced our kid to lots of fun activities such as building forts, tide pooling, building and flying kites, hiking the slot at Annie's Canyon, and even encountering rattlesnakes. This was such a great outdoor activity for our kid in a safe and supportive environment. Being an only child, his exposure to interacting with multi-aged kids has been a tremendous experience. Thank you, Coastal Kiddos, for helping us build one of our child's best core memories!

My son just attended two weeks of the tide pool camp and LOVED it!!! He was eager to go to camp…read moreeveryday and came home with a big smile. I originally signed him up for one week and then added the second one because he had so much fun. He loved exploring the tide pools and playing in the ocean. The owner Brooks was great with the kids and the other staff were amazing as well.

Fitness gurus and weekend warriors rejoice! Mesa Rim (San Diego) will make you feel like a…read morebad-arse and then humbly remind you who's in charge. If you know me I always love a challenge! (see back muscle pics LOL) Haven't been to indoor rock climbing in a minute but this location is what got me started. This is one of the bigger climbing gyms in San Diego with tons of wall space for both top rope and bouldering. First timer or seasonal climber, you'll fit right in. The staff are awesome - helpful, motivating, and great at walking you through the basics. We opted for belaying lessons and I recommend that for first-timers! The front desk was polite and efficient but may be a bit corporate than warm. Tip: sign the waiver before you arrive. The gym is clean, routes are reset often, and there's a slab wall full gym, sauna plus a small shop with gear and snacks. They also have a Mission Valley location closer to my work! Tempted to check that one out! Overall: 4 stars - solid climbing, great workouts, even yoga, and good vibes. I'd recommend a membership if you really want to commit. They have several options on their website. HSA/FSA eligible too! Great for a group event and birthday outing in my opinion! Just be ready to get humbled (and sore).

Updating my review from 10 years ago! Still a great gym with lots of fun routes, bouldering, a slab…read morewall and full gym. They have a sauna and a shop with gear and food/drinks too. Very convenient. It's clean and routes are reset often. I'd recommend getting a membership here :)

Lots of fun, I would recommend this for friends/family or even a date!…read moreThey're very informative as well on how to kayak

My kids enjoy their classes and if there is any trouble, Amanda, the manager, is wonderful and she…read moredoes her best to be accomidating. Thank you! Anastasia

While Oh La La appears to have great reviews for group classes, I would NOT recommend them for 1st…read moredance lessons for a wedding. First, I did not find the scheduling/payment process to be professional. We negotiated for a package of 10 lessons for $700.00 (1 per month up until our wedding). Suzie, the owner, asked us to pay this entire amount upfront via Venmo. I informed her that having never met her or the instructor or even set foot in the studio, I did not feel comfortable paying up front via Venmo b/c if they were running some sort of scam, they could run off w/ my money, & I would be SOOL. I said that I would gladly pay up front via credit card b/c if they ran off w/ my money that way, at least I could dispute the charge. To Suzie's credit, she was understanding of this concern, & she allowed me to pay for each lesson, one at a time, 48 hours in advance via Venmo. Thank GOD, I had the foresight to be concerned about this b/c as you will read below, our instructor abandoned us after lesson 4, without ever completing our dance, so if we had paid the $700.00 up front via Venmo, he could have run off w/ our money. My 2nd issue was the lack of organization & professionalism in scheduling. Because we wanted to do 1 lesson per month up until our wedding, we asked our instructor, Mehmet, several times if we could book all of our lessons in advance on the same day of the week each month (e.g., every 2nd Wednesday of every month). Every time we asked this, he just brushed us off & told us to text him whenever we wanted to schedule, which just made a lot of extra work for us to have to text him the week b4 every time we wanted a lesson rather than already having it planned. Next, on our 1st lesson, Mehmet spent several minutes trying to talk us out of the song we picked for our first dance, which frankly, I very much did NOT appreciate as I put great thought into selecting it. Thankfully, I stuck to my guns & did not change the song, & eventually, it won Mehmet over, & even he liked it. Given we purchased 10 lessons, I expected we would spend more than 1 lesson on the basics, but by lesson 2, Mehmet informed us he had decided to be a flight attended again but assured us (1) it would not impact our dance, & (2) we would leave that day w/ the 1st minute of our dance complete (which seemed rushed for lesson 2 of 10). He even offered to fly back for our lessons, but we told him that was NOT necessary, & if he needed to, he could pass us off to another instructor. Lessons 2-4 seemed pretty rushed, & frankly, seemed like we were going to finish our dance way too quickly, with way too many lessons left, but we figured it would be good to have lots to polish the dance. We had lesson 1 in Oct, 2 in Nov, 3 in Dec, & 4 in Jan, but we never ended up having lesson 5 in Feb b/c Mehmet was not responsive to our texts. This could have been resolved had he agreed to see us on a consistent night each month like we originally requested. He finally responded after I followed up 3x & asked if we could do Wed, 3/2. Even though it was a bad night for us (we had my mom's birthday dinner), we said yes b/c it had been so hard to schedule w/ him. It was also a little disappointing that he asked us to send him the video he took of our dance b/c he apparently, forgot the choreography. 1.5 hours before our lesson, he texted us that he was sick & had to cancel. While are 100% glad he would cancel if sick, he said nothing about re-scheduling & merely asked us to call the owner, Suzie. My fiancé called her, & she said Mehmet had told her the choreography for our dance was done! We still have over a minute of our dance left that has not been choreographed!!! My fiancé asked if she could complete the dance, & she said she had too much on her plate to fulfill Mehmet's obligations. While she did offer to try & find someone else to finish the dance, we informed her that we have been so disappointed w/ the whole experience that we would rather go somewhere more professional. Now, we are behind on our scheduled lessons & having to find a new studio. We have a 1st lesson w/ another studio this week, where the lessons will be $15.00 more per lessons, but we are fine w/ paying more for a studio that is more reliable & trustworthy. Long story short, Oh La La seems to have great reviews for group clases for children, but planning a wedding is stressful enough. We thought our dance lessons would be something fun to do together, but thanks to Oh La La, it's turned out to be one of the more stressful parts of wedding planning. For anyone looking for private lessons for a wedding 1st dance, please heed our cautionary tale & go elsewhere! I'm giving 2 stars b/c we mostly like the 2 minutes of choreography we do have but are very disappointed that Mehmet not only lied to us when he promised to complete our dance but then also lied to the owner, Suzie, by telling her he completed our dance when he never did!

My 5 year old Just started going to Ooh La La. She loves dance and had begged me to be a ballerina!…read moreWe did their summer camp and are now taking classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and a part of their competition team, Mini Mob. I was looking for a studio that was welcoming to a child with little dance experience, but still willing to give them a chance and work with them to perform on stage for competition. A competing dance studio said their try outs were demanding and wasn't sure my kid would cut it. They also played music that wasn't very age appropriate. At Ooh La La, the owner's biggest belief is to provide a welcoming place for all. She made all the parents sign a commitment form stating there is no drama at this academy. She said we applaud every dancer's successes and help those who need some extra TLC. It is exactly the right philosophy for how I wanted to introduce my daughter to her first sport. And a couple of weeks in, I already see. The teachers are working with me to help get my daughter her extra TLC and my daughter is learning from older teenage dancers that she thinks are just the most beautiful ballerinas. Thank you for having a great studio!