Gardens at Ocotillo Senior Living

My father originally came to Gardens for 30 days of respite care in June of 2018. In October the same year he decided to make it his permanent residence. I have great peace of mind having him there and close to my home in Chandler. Tami, the director obviously loves what she does and has always been there to answer my questions and help my father when I’ve needed something special. She is just one of the great assets to Gardens. Irene, Andrea and Leah are also solid caregivers that never hesitate to answer my questions or help with any requests as well. They all take the time to make my father and the other guests feel welcome and individually important. There are numerous activities available for all residents, shuttle service to shopping if needed, two restaurants to dine in, a lounge and a bistro to enjoy any time. One of the best features that gives me comfort is the emergency button all residents wear, he has used it many times and received the assistance he needed as soon as possible, this is so important as our parents get older and need additional help at times. We had numerous choices of where my father wanted to move; he chose Gardens, and I am glad he did.

Had a family member here and while she needed moderate assisted living, they were great. As her health declined, the level of care and the coordination of communication between family, physicians and caregivers also declined. Would not recommend for advanced assisted lliving and be sure to also read the residency agreement so that termination billing and charges are not unduly assessed. Easier to get in than to geet out without penalties.

My mother has been in the Gardens for two years. She started in independent and now she's in assisted living. The place is very clean, and the staff is experienced. The rooms are pretty spacious with a wide variety available, but the food is horrible. They give seniors too many carbohydrates.

We spent six months looking into facilities that offered assisted living choices for our 95 year old mother. We looked online and visited many facilities in the area. We chose the Gardens at Ocotillo for a number of reasons and have not been disappointed. There was never a hard sell, which we appreciated. The facility is gorgeous and there are beautiful seasonal touches throughout the common areas. Mom’s apartment is perfect for her. She even has her own washer and dryer in the apartment! The caregivers and staff are incredibly kind to Mom and truly love what they do. If Mom rings the buzzer, somebody promptly shows up to assist her. Our goal is for Mom to get the help she needs, but to do as much for herself as she is able. The staff has made that happen. She gets the help she needs, which might be different one day from the other. We have been able to specify what daily and weekly needs work for her. Mom is very sharp, so if something isn’t working, she would tell us! Mom loves to dine. Cloth napkins and a beautiful dining room with a full menu is available. She can order off the menu or from the two specials of the day. The dining staff seems to know just what special touch is needed for each resident. Activities are numerous! There are special events on a regular basis…singers and professional groups come to the facility for seasonal entertainment. Once each month there is an extra special dinner that is focused on a certain color. Residents dress up and seem to love the special evening. Mom goes to exercise class during the week, and has a standing appointment at the hair salon. When she needed physical therapy, she was able to get quality rehab at the facility, which was very helpful to her. The facility is large enough to find people who Mom enjoy, but small enough where the caregivers and staff know Mom. We have had great communication with the caregivers and administrators. Our extensive search has been successful! Mom has now been at the Gardens at Ocotillo for 16 months. She originally told us she lived at the “Meadows”…and we’d know she was home when she called it the “Gardens”. It’s been the “Gardens” for over a year!

Nobody seemed really happy at the Gardens at Ocotillo. The residents weren’t smiling or saying “Hello” to you. It just didn’t seem that they had a lot going on for the residents. Like they have a café area, but nobody was sitting in there, and that’s only open during certain hours. I didn’t see any of the residents out doing anything. The only ones that we saw were sitting in the hall, in the main entry way, either just sitting and watching people or waiting for a ride; nobody was really doing anything. The receptionist was nice, and the person who showed us around was nice, but it’s very pricey. Whether it’s a single bedroom unit or a two-bedroom, it’s very small. I think they need more areas available for residents to meet and do different projects together, whether it would be playing games or something like that. They just had pretty much one standard room and that’s the room they use. The choices you had were either the dining room, a crafts area, and your apartment. Those are the only places where you could really go and have some kind of creativity going on.