Grotto Climbing & Yoga

Went to Grotto Climbing & Yoga yesterday with my kid and I’m so glad we found this spot! Earlier that morning we visited a couple of other gyms, and honestly, the staff there felt kinda robotic and not welcoming. But Grotto was the complete opposite. Hayden was awesome super friendly, approachable, and gave clear instructions without that “do it this way or else” vibe. He made us feel comfortable right away. The whole place has a really chill, laid-back Sunday atmosphere. My kid had a blast and had so much fun climbing. Everyone we met was kind and easygoing. Definitely recommend if you want a climbing gym that’s not only fun but also has great people and positive energy.

Update: happy to have Grotto staff address the issue I noticed! Highly recommend this gym 👍🏼 Honestly, I really like this gym and it’s been overall a great experience. I took two stars off because I noticed today at morning yoga that as the yoga instructor walked around the room barefoot her feet kept getting dirtier and dirtier. By the end of the class the bottom of her feet were black. Being the first class in the morning I suppose the staff is not mopping the yoga room after every day. Frankly, this is super gross. The instructors often lead the class with the air off and there is visible sweat puddles all over the floor. I would have just assumed they would be mopping at least once a day. Pretty grossed out by this because that means the left over sweat is getting all over my yoga mat. Very unhygienic. Happy to change my review if this is resolved. As someone who really enjoys the yoga classes, this is a bummer. The rest of the gym has been great, although now I am skeptical of the cleaning practices.

I can’t say enough good things about Grotto Climbing & Yoga! This place has such a great vibe. The climbing walls are well-designed, and there's something for everyone, whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned pro. I also love the yoga studio—they have a fantastic variety of classes that really complement the climbing. The staff is always super friendly and makes you feel right at home. It’s clear they’re passionate about both climbing and yoga, and it shows in the way they run the place. Definitely a hidden gem in San Diego. I’ll be back for sure!

Edit: I really enjoyed my second visit and have purchased a 1 year membership with Grotto. I will recommend this climbing and yoga gym to friends, and highly suggest you, the reader of this review, give this gym a try. I came here with a friend to try rock climbing/ bouldering. Front desk associate was very kind. I signed up for a 1 week deal which comes with shoes and chalk for the visit. My friend who has a lot more experience showed me around, then after a warm up we climbed for about an hour. It was a great experience, and a surprisingly hard physical activity, Doing "easy routes" was challenging for me, but also very rewarding. I will be back in my week membership to try the last route which kicked my butt again, but refreshed. I have not decided if I will continue my membership after the 1 week at this point. The Gym is well maintained, and the staff are awesome. I do not have much to compare to, but for me this is definitely a 5 star place to learn, or advance your climbing enthusiasm. Thank you Grotto for creating an environment where my first experience climbing an enjoyable one.

Billing is a mess. I’ve had to issue a charge back from my bank twice in the past 3 years I’ve climbed at the Grotto. This seems to be a common problem as I’ve seen other complaints online and had a friend share they had an identical issue with billing. Before I went on vacation, I requested to pause my membership through their online form 30 days in advance of the billing date as required by the gym (which is a ridiculous amount of time and looks like a ploy to squeeze one more month out of someone who hasn’t read the terms). I was still charged for two months at the full $98 when my membership clearly should have been paused. I was put on an email chain with Nate and Lawson who offered me 2 free months of climbing when I returned. However, I had been debating on switching to another gym and this issue was the deciding factor in ending my membership. After I denied the offer and requested the money I was owed, they stopped responding to any of my emails regarding getting my money back and completely ghosted me! Not the type of establishment I want to support and I’m much happier at a new climbing gym. EDIT: 3/2026 Thanks for your ChatGPT reply. I have an email chain showing proof of submission of a pause notice per the correct cancellation date guidelines on May 1st to begin a pause on June 1st, 2025. How is that not meeting the required 30 day timing? Claiming my pause request did not meet the required timing is false. The Grotto did not do everything possible to resolve this in a timely matter. They offered 2 months of climbing instead of giving me my money back like I asked. I declined because all I wanted was MY money back. And after I said no, I got no replies even after following up. I felt like the Grotto was doing everything BUT refunding me. Only after I wrote my review did I receive one (1) email apologizing about the situation in OCTOBER, and one (1) phone call from the owner in DECEMBER offering me punch passes in exchange of revisiting my review. The Grotto reached out to me only twice well after I had gone through the effort of getting a charge back in September.