Sonoma Hills Retirement

Virginia

I found that Sonoma Hills Retirement was peaceful and quiet. It didn't seem to have as many people buzzing around. It was a little bit older. The rooms were very well kept. It looked like they had a lot of variety in size for your furniture. The staff was very pleasant and showed us around. It was a shorter stay. We were able to just look at the two-bedrooms, the ones we thought we'd like. They had a restaurant style dining area. It was empty at the time because of the time. I believe they had assigned tables, and the staff said that if you didn't like who you were assigned with, you could change, so that was flexible. We didn't try the food there. He said it was a family-owned facility, rather than corporation-owned, and so there were some different amenities. Some of the apartments had washers and dryers in the apartments. There seem to be many amenities. They had a special day where they piled into a bus and had a surprise drive a certain day of the week, which I think is pleasant to look forward to. They had almost all the activities.

Jim

Sonoma Hills Retirement was one of the first we visited. The visit was pleasant, our host was friendly and helpful. The pluses were, one, the apartments were all one level so that was a big plus, no stairs. Two, the price for 2-bedroom accommodation included a stacked washer and dryer. There is a one-time charge of $600 for a dog permit. Installation for a cable cost was about $50-$150. Reserved parking was free. However, there were several minuses like they only had independent living. Therefore, if we require assistance in the future, we would need to find someone who would come to the apartment and provide the needed service. And I thought to myself, we might as well stay at home and have the service brought to our home. The plus with Sonoma Hills is that we would not have to cook, because our meals were included in the base price. But there was no storage available; this was a big minus here. The walls between units were shared and were not double wall insulation materials in between, to reduce the noise. Room lighting was very poor fluorescent, and one gets a gloomy feeling because of it. The electrician would need to rewire for LED, which could mean some structural change at our cost. The total square footage was 856, and we felt compressed and depressed. The kitchen was outdated. We just do not feel comfortable. The walking paths were not on Sonoma Hills property. You needed to cross a street with traffic to get to them. Restriction on dog size was 40 pounds or less. The outside of the building looked OK, but a couple of fences needed work and paint. This raised a question about viability of organization's finances. The staff was accommodating, she was a plus and she was way above average. We spent about 25 minutes there, she was very good. I also met the executive director. I was impressed that the director of the overall accommodation here just met with us to greet us. I thought that was also a plus.

Al220067

I did visit Sonoma Retirement Homes (Sonoma Hills Retirement). They had 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units, and they’re all nice. They had nice patios. They had a workout room. They had laundry care. They had two meals a day and light meals for lunch. They had housekeeping too. We only met one staff -- the person who showed us around -- and she was very courteous. A very detailed lady, she knew what she was talking about.

Carl745341

Sonoma Hills Retirement is a clean, nice, and well-run facility, and I’ve had a relative there for about 4 years. They have good meals and good supervision, so it’s a nice facility. The staff seem very polite, caring, and quite thorough in their jobs. It’s independent living, people have their own apartments, and they can dine in the dining hall or they can cook for themselves.

Joy R.

Sonoma Hills Retirement was perfect in every way except for the location. It was too far away from my daughter. If it moved closer, I'd move there in a heartbeat. The tour was great. They gave me lunch, and the woman was very gracious and friendly, but they charge for things like laundry. They had different trips and events, like a party where they made fancy hats, plus picnics, bocce ball, Gin Rummy, and Scrabble.

Shirley055772

I like Sonoma Hills Retirement and how it was centrally located. The community itself has a small-town atmosphere. I like a lot of things about it, primarily the views, the location, and the cleanliness. The food was absolutely fabulous. They had daily exercise and bingo and piano players who come in every afternoon, and it's very relaxing. They offered arts and crafts classes. The staff was extremely friendly and nice.