Kore Pilates

The program at Kore Pilates changed my life; the strength I gained gave me my dream back to compete once again in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship!
After a back surgery in 2007, and chronic back pain, I signed up for a series of private lessons with Pablo, then went on to attend Pilates classes 3 times per week. I have been attending classes at Kore Pilates for 2 ½ years now, and I credit this program for my eliminating my back pain and dramatically increasing my core strength and flexibility. The owners, Pablo and Stephanie, run a great business and are always supportive, friendly and enthusiastically share their passion for health and fitness. All of the instructors are excellent, professional, energetic wonderful people that truly care about your well being. The studio has a great vibe and the classes are always fun and challenging. Get fit and strong at Kore Pilates and live your dream!

This Pilates studio is amazing! All of the instructors are very well educated in Pilates and the classes are both challenging and fun. There are only 4 reformers so the classes are always small and very personal. I started out a beginner here and they were so helpful with teaching me how to use the machines and the technique of breathing and stretching. After every class I feel like I got a great workout and my strength and flexibility is constantly improving.

I love this studio.
It’s a super small room tucked away above Lululemon with four reformer machines and an amazing instructor. I purchased a deal online for 5 classes and actually went to my first class on Friday (3 weeks ago) without signing up online. Luckily, there was room in that class to squeeze me in, but normally that’s never the case — classes will be completely booked so don’t ever think you can drop in. Always sign up online!
Tips for newcomers who may have or may have not purchased a deal:
1) Always buy classes first.
If you have a voucher, e-​mail or call Taranco Wellness (it’s the same place as Kore Pilates). Stephanie, the owner, will get in touch with you to redeem your voucher so that you can sign up for classes online through mindbody. If you don’t have a voucher, purchase classes or packages online through mindbody and THEN book your classes. You MUST book your classes in advance because there is limited space (only 4 people max per class!). The class can only accomodate 4 people because there are 4 reformer machines… but this means that you get a lot of personal attention and love from the instructor!
2) Book classes in advance.
I hate to tell Unilocal this juicy info, but because I’m feeling like Mother Theresa today, I will share it with y’all. You can only sign up for one week of classes at a time. The next week’s class schedule is uploaded on mindbody by 9 AM on Sunday mornings — so if you want to snag a spot in your favorite class time/​day, you should probably be on the computer on Sunday morning and book your classes then.
3) Let the instructor know that you’re new — for the first 5 classes.
He/​she will make adjustments to your machine or let you know how you can move differently so that you won’t die alone and helpless :) I like telling instructors that I’m new, because they give me a little bit more specialized attention (ex: show me how to do something correctly, adjust my machine for me, etc). It’s always good to have a little more help in the beginning!
Now — onto the place itself…
* Stephanie
I don’t know why people are so retarded on Unilocal.Not all business have a customer service rep at the end of the phone line DYING to answer your call in their chirpy little voices. Especially for small businesses, you gotta cut the cost somewhere. Just be patient! Every time I call this business, I get forwarded to voicemail and THAT’S OK. I know that if I leave a voicemail, Stephanie will get back to me within the next 12 hours and my life will be good again! I think leaving a voicemail is faster than e-​mailing her; it seems like my e-​mail got lost at one point. Bottom line — If you have a question, just leave a message. Don’t rant on Unilocal.It’s unbecoming.
* Class
I love the reformer! I’ve been sweating like crazy and have been loving class. I’ve done a few with Nicole and she’s a great, laid-​back teacher. I absolutely LOVED Gabe’s class — but he’s leaving for NYC in a week or so, so he will no longer be teaching here :(
I practiced yoga quite a bit before branching out to other forms of exercise (barre, hot yoga, ashtanga, spin, pilates) — but Kore Pilates hits the spot. After I finish my 5 classes with my online voucher, I will be enrolling in autopay with Kore for $ 125/​month so that I can come unlimited! I’m so psyched to have found Kore and can’t wait until I get even stronger!
The only con about this place is that it’s located right above lululemon… which means that if I’m not in the early morning class (7 am) when lulu is not open, I’m in big trouble. I always stop by lulu downstairs and always always get something. Kore, why do you do this to me?

I have been coming to Kore Pilates for 2 years now, starting out with a living social deal. In those two years I have noticed a complete change in my posture, strength and flexibility. I have scoliosis so was always tight and the classes focus on strengthening these areas. Anyone who is commenting below is obviously not commenting on the quality of the classes, because they are amazing, and so are the people who teach them. I am on an auto pay plan so have never had any issues with the business side of Kore.
Prior to pilates I dabbled in tons of different exercise classes and styles, looking for something I could stick with and get results and I have found that at Kore! Each instructor has their own style so you are always being challenged in your work out and never get bored. I have always been very pleased with every work out that I have received here. The small class sizes (up to 4 people) make it to where you get specialized attention and the instructors make sure you are completing each exercise with proper form. The pilates reformer machines are much better quality than what I have used at other studies and everyone here is very knowledgeable on pilates, the body and personal well-​being. Thanks to Kore Pilates I look forward to each work out!

I’ve been going now for 4 months. Tried on Groupon first. Love this place. With the monthly membership you can take as many classes as you want and customer service is great. The teachers are fantastic. The classes [physically] cannot be more than 4 people, so you get amazing one-​to-​one training. Each instructor is very unique in personality and the way they teach. So I would recommend trying different ones. I am sore leaving the class every time and I can feel my abs getting stronger every week. Stephanie the owner is so friendly.

I had an amazing time. Great workout.

I have been working out at Kore Pilates for about 6 months now and have had a fantastic experience. I am healing from an injury and Daniella has tailored my private workouts specifically to my condition. I tried other places in town that seemed to put me through the same workout as everyone else but Kore is much more specialized. Daniella is knowledgable about the muscle groups and mixes things up to keep it fun. I have seen a tremendous change in my body and how I feel. She is fantastic!

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT give this place your business! They are not worthy of receiving a penny of your hard earned money. The people who work here are so arrogant and disrespectful towards the customers, especially the co-​owner, whose name is STEPHANIE, is an extremely stuck up and snobby woman who doesn’t know the first thing about customer service. If you use a voucher you purchased at a third party they will most likely not even honor it! (as was the case for myself and two people I know on separate occasions). They NEVER answer the business phone or return messages (go ahead and call them youll see). If you go here you will be treated like crap. And they claim on the website that you can book massage appointments online but after going through this process you will usually get an error message, what a joke.
All the 5-​star reviews that appear on this site are from friends of the owners, notice how there arent any 3 or 4 star reviews at all for this business? How Sketchy is that? Thats because all the REAL reviews are the 1 or 2 star ones and the FAKE reviews are the 5 star ones. Its actually pretty obvious if you look into it. Highly unethical business behavior by highly unethical people.

Found Kore Pilates on Unilocal.After going by several Pilates centers in La Jolla that did not have the right feel, we made the right choice in choosing Kore. The owner Pablo’s enthusiasm, personality and depth of knowledge made our first time Pilates lesson a nice experience for my wife, daughter and I. Pablo zeroed in on any physical issues and clearly explained how Pilates would reverse any of our muscular and skeletal problems. We all felt great after the session! Highly recommended.

I had the best experience at this studio. I was aprehensive to attend after reading some of these reviews post purchasing a living social deal. I was shocked at how this place could have recieved a poor review.
–I was one of three students– LOVE! Got the personal attention I needed being a first time student…
–The instructor was young and doing the workout with us encouraging me to continue on.
–everyone was friendly and nice (first name basis with classmates and instructor) which I have never recieved at a studio like corepower.
Lets just say that I was soooo sore I couldn’t sneeze the next day and was so proud of myself. Seeing the instructor, who I believe to be Danielle, count and push through as the class continued, gave me the strength to carry on.
This studio is not for someone who is looking for a slow paced older crowd. There was great fast current music to get you in the mood to workout and an awesome relaxing yoga bit at the end.
I tore a ligament in my ankle two years ago and have found it difficult to do workouts on my feet still to this day and was looking for something low impact. I did an hour workout without stopping from being in pain for the first time in 2 years.
Lets just say that I loved it so much I went back to buy the living social for all of my friends and the deal was gone… sad face. I am making this studio my primary as of next month! Can’t wait to get fit with nice and encouraging people! Thanks Kore Pilates for getting me back in the game ;)

Jenny–
I also had a bad experience with Kore Pilates. I’ve been trying to use my Living Social voucher for a month. It was good for a private session, a massage, and a month of unlimited classes. I’ve called and left 3 different messages and also emailed them about the private session and massage. I have not received any response. I thought about going there during one of their scheduled class times so I could talk to someone, but if the customer service is that bad, and I couldn’t get a hold of anyone for a month, is this some place I would want to go regularly?
If you advertise your business with a deal on Living Social or Groupon, you should really try to impress, not drive people away. But that’s just my opinion. Good thing when I called Living Social to complain, they gave me a refund immediately.

I had a HORRIBLE experience with Kore Pilates. I bought a Living Social voucher for one month of classes. I’ve bought vouchers from Living Social before for similar places that use an online schedule system for clients to sign up for classes. From my previous experience, the vendor wants the client to email them the Living Social voucher and they will give permissions on the online schedule system for the client to sign up for classes free of charge. I emailed Kore Pilates and to this day, have not received an email response.
Two months after my first email, I finally called them. I was set up with a private session for the following Saturday. When I showed up, my instructor was not there. I ended up waiting in the the lobby area for 45 minutes for my instructor to show up. During these 45 minutes, the pregnant front desk girl was sitting the entire time in the back room with another lady and a small child gossiping. After waiting for 20 minutes, I knocked on the back room door to double check that I had the right date and time for my appointment. There was silence for 2 minutes until a voice on the other side of the door said that she had just texted my instructor. So I sat back down and continued to wait. 10 minutes later, the front desk girl appeared from the back room and said that my pilates instructor had hit traffic but was on her way. When my instructor finally showed up, I found that she had not been notified that she was scheduled to train me. She rescheduled me for a session on the following Monday evening. I was unable to make the session due to a work conflict. I called the studio twice and finally got the answering machine where I left a message to state that I would be unable to make the session and that I would like to reschedule. I did not receive a call back, so I called them again 2 days later and left a second voicemail. I have not heard from them to this day.
I tried using their online scheduling system to make an appointment but it just kept trying to charge me.
I am extremely frustrated! Furthermore, I did not appreciate the way I was treated while I was waiting for my instructor on Saturday — I felt like I was talking to a door because I was.
I contacted Living Social to complain about their service and they provided me with a full refund.

I started going to Kore Pilates in October of 2010, never having attended a Pilates class before. I have been hooked ever since. The instructors are awesome. I get an amazing workout and have seen a tremendous improvement in my strength, flexibility and endurance.
I injured my knee about 8 years ago training for a marathon with a friend. I haven’t been able to run since– at least, not for more than 10 – 15 minutes. I went out 2 weeks ago for a run and went for more than an hour– with no pain in my knee at all. I’m a very active person, but have never been able to strengthen my legs enough to run. I know that attending Pilates was a major factor in being able to start running again– and I can attribute it to the workout I get at Kore Pilates. Thanks to Pablo, Paige and Ashley, my regular instructors, who have helped me reach the amazing goal of running again.

I always had wanted to try pilates but just didn’t know where to go and was nervous due to my lack of experience and muscle inflexibility. Luckily, I choose Kore Pilates!
Being an athlete most of my life I enjoy training for marathons and attending group classes at my gym. I also work as a therapist in physical rehabilitation, so I felt like I had a good understanding of my own health and fitness.
BUT these classes challenge my body in a different way than the other exercises I have been doing forever! After my first class I loved it! The instructors are knowledgeable about the kinesiology of the body which enables them to provide quality training towards your fitness goals. They grade exercises to individuals’ skill levels and provide appropriate feedback to facilitate proper biomechanics for each tasks to achieve maximum results.
In just 3 classes my flexibility has increased which has had a significant impact on decreasing my chronic lower back pain. I’ve enjoyed the classes here and would recommend it to anyone. I’m excited to continue classes at Kore to see the great changes it’s going to make in my strength, flexibility, and overall wellness!

I’ve taken 2 yoga classses, which I would give 3 stars, and had 1 massage, which gets 0 stars.
The yoga instructor was very positive and nice, but wasn’t good at explaining the movements (I’m a novice). Also, it was supposed to be hot yoga, and the little space heater in the big room didn’t make it warm enough.
The massage? I will say it was the WORST I’ve ever had in my life, and I should’ve gotten up and left, but I didn’t want to be totally rude and I kept thinking that it would get better. I did my best to communicate that what she was doing was very uncomfortable for me, and the areas I needed work. But to no avail, she just kept digging away on very weird points, like right on my spinal column. It hurt soooooo bad.
You would think a trained massage therapist would notice when you’re flinching and gasping in pain, and take heed when you ask straight up for lighter pressure and on muscles — not bones!

I have never taken a Kore Pilates class here before, which is what they are known for and judging from the reviews, quite good at. I did, however, go try out a yoga class last week, and it gave my body some much needed loosening and my mind some much needed tranquility.
I took Daniela’s class, which is offered every friday I believe, and she is AMAZING! I’m still a beginner, so the class was challenging, but she was understanding and made sure to adjust me so I was maximizing each stretch, and really push me to reach my potential. I was sweating and shaking during the session, but my muscles felt the benefit for days. When it was done I couldn’t believe it had already been an hour, and she concluded it with a nice short meditation to really allow the focus of the practice to sink in.
I would definitely recommend taking Daniela’s class, whether you’re a beginner like me, or a practiced yogi. She really makes the effort to get to know each student’s body and each student’s potential.

I toook a Zoomba class at Kore Pilates this week and I have never had SO MUCH FUN working out in my life!!! Gabe was extremely energetic and had a wonderful philosophy about life and working out!
The massages at Kore Pilates are wonderful and the staff is very personable and seem to really care about the well being of their clients.
Parking is easy (2 hours free on the street) and the size of the studios lend to a lot of personal attention!
What a wonderful place to find peace and fitness!

I just had my very first pilates class this afternoon at Kore Pilates and oh my god was it good!
I had always been interested in pilates, but those reformer machines and the ballerina-​esque women using them had intimidated me. I was scared of being the class clown… unintentionally. But, after a much needed kick in my own butt, I decided «what’s there to lose, except love handles?»
I had a private session with the owner, Pablo, and he really knew his stuff. Before beginning the actual physical activity, he gave me an overall assessment. By doing these slow rolling spinal curls, we was able to tell that my back was twisted slightly left and this was putting undue stress on my right leg — not the best news. But he said he would help me work all that out — great news!
We worked out every muscle group — back, core, knees, legs, you name it — and worked out all the kinks while we were at it. Muscles I had never heard of before (which were appearantly gettin’ no love from my intermittent Yoga classes) were wound up like springs, so we stretched ‘em out.
All I can say is: I floated out of this class.
And I can’t wait to go back for more this Wednesday!

Have I not reviewed Kore yet??? Major mistake. Kore is amazing! All of their trainers are extremely knowledgeable and professional! A great atmosphere as well! I always feel like I’m part of the family when I’m in there. They use a traditional form of Pilates that is far superior to anywhere else I’ve been. I highly suggest you choose them first over anywhere else.

Kore Pilates is in a great location, and has an amazing staff. I have worked with Pablo with private lessons. He is really educated and informed on Pilates. I have alot of back issues, and have had a hard time finding an exercise program that will work for me. Piliates is the answer! Pablo really ensures I do the exercises correctly and can see where I am needing the most work just by watching how I move. Pilates is life changing, and I recommend Kore Pilates for anyone wanting a great Pilates studio, at a beautiful location, with a wonderful, friendly staff.