Assisted Living Communities in Sarasota, FL

"The people at Heron East were very friendly and gave us tours of the different types of rooms. We went over the pricing and stuff like that. Overall, it was a pretty good experience. It was beautiful, nice and cheery, and the residents were pretty happy with what they have. They do arts and crafts and have nice grounds where they can go outside to spend the day out. They have transportation services to doctors, shopping, field trips, and salons. You have to eat in the dining room. They had large studios but no separate bedroom spaces. "

"Mom went to Alderman Oaks Retirement Center for respite. It was small and quaint. People seem very attentive. It didn't smell. I found it quite charming, because it was kind of like in a neighborhood. The main person that got in touch with me was very, very good. He made sure he kept working with me to get her in. Because it is a small facility, they didn't have a lot of space. But he just happened to have some at the time and we kept in touch for two or three days and then he got us in. Her room was small but adequate. It was more like a studio. It was small. It didn't have any type of kitchen facilities at all, just a bathroom and a bedroom that was open to the living room. But it was right across from the nurse's station, right next to the elevator, and close to the dining facilities. My mom's in a walker, and he wanted her close to all those facilities. She likes puzzles in her own room, so we set up a little table for her. I think the room she was in was more for when family comes to visit from out of town."

"My father was in Harbor Chase, which is superb in every category. The facility is great and new, the people care about the residents, and they promote a kinship among the residents. They pay attention to detail and treat my dad as a person, not just a piece of meat. They have a great chef and menu. They provide meals for the relatives in a private room or the residents' rooms room-service style. The head nurse is top notch, and the staff go the extra mile. It's not the cheapest and not the most expensive one, and is good value for your dollar."

"I liked everybody in Emeritus and the place is very nice and clean. Everybody seemed real happy there and my mother feels really comfortable there. "

"The Fountains of Hope Assisted Living and Memory Care was more institutional than the others. There were a lot of people, a lot of rooms, and a lot of hallways. My dad would have been confused and walking all over the place. They're really sweet, though, and all of the staff was great. They were smiling at us. Just as far as the establishment goes and how they run the business, it was more institutional to me. It was just too large so my dad wouldn't have gotten the personal care that he deserves. We toured their memory care and the person who assisted us gave us the information we needed in a concise fashion so we were appropriately pleased during our visit. The rooms were nice too but there's a thing where you had to bring your own furniture. I think that was another big thing for us. It wouldn't have been a big deal because I have plenty of furniture but there are criteria for the furniture you bring in because they don't want the residents falling or tripping on them. They also have a thing where when you first go in there, everything is treated as though it's infected and everything you bring is going to be cleaned."

"I like Angels Senior Living at Sarasota. I like its location and cleanliness. The staff members were nice; I liked them. The facility itself was very clean."

"We also really liked Savannah Grand of Sarasota, but my mom has a dog that they will allow to have with her, but to walk her dog she would have to go out the front door, which is on a busy road, and go around the corner to a little patch of grass. It was more contained by other buildings and busy roads. One of the things that was going on when we were there was they had therapy dogs coming in to visit, which was a nice thing. My mom has her own dog, but for other residents who didn't, it was really nice. One thing my mom really likes is having a lot of windows, and they had more windows there. "

"DeSoto Palms was lovely. It was like a hotel. The rooms and the lobby were beautiful. Their dining area was like eating in a 5-star hotel. I really liked that. However, my brother decided that he needed more care than what they could offer because they had nurses there, but they were like 7 to 7. They would put you in bed, but there's nobody there at night until the morning expect for the resident manager, who was always there, and my brother might need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. So, it was not an appropriate facility for him, even though I liked it. "

"I went to Brookdale Palmer Ranch. The tour was very nice. The people were very nice. The place was clean. Very nice studio apartment. I also saw the one-bedroom apartment, which was very nice. It had a pretty outdoor patio area, and it seemed like the residents were all very happy. I had some questions about the food service aspect of it, and they did call me back about that. The director of the place was very nice and gave me all the information that I asked for. But, I didn't care for the salesperson's tactics. The person that I saw in the dining room who was a server seemed very nice, and he was talking with the residents and smiling. That was nice to see. They had a common space that seemed very small to me, and they didn't have very many amenities. It took me 45 minutes to get there, and it was too far for me."

"Heron Club was fine as well. The activities were fine. It was just that we didn't have the best tour, and we certainly didn't get as much information. They weren't prepared even though we made reservations. We had someone who only did a tour once before. No literature and no cost information were provided. If we went back again, I'll probably talk to the person we should have been seeing, and I would suspect it would be a better experience. The gal was very nice, and the facilities were nice. The rooms were a little smaller. I would definitely recommend this place. "

"We chose Elan Manatee Assisted Living & Memory Care for my mother. She will be moving there. The room sizes were nice. The kitchenette area was important to us. It seems that everybody that we saw and all of the residents there were very happy and very active in their day. We use that as a barometer for how my mom would feel in that community. The person that assisted us was very professional, very nice, very helpful. They just had a nice array of different activities that the residents could participate in. They were doing some exercises. We like to see that. They had some people reading in the lounge area and some people were playing cards."

"Inspired Living at Lakewood Ranch was a very nice community, but it's more expensive than others, starting at $4,300 a month. The place looked beautiful, more modern, and newer than the community we picked. They had similar activities as other places, a swimming pool, and other amenities. The staff members were nice and very professional but not as warm."

"We looked in Brookdale Bradenton Gardens. It’s an older building, but they showed me all the updates they were doing. They did outings, and there was a whole calendar of things that they offered. I believe they had 3 meals; I think they usually had drinks and fruits. I was very pleased with it. "

"Woodlands Village was very nice and a fairly new retirement center. We even spoke with some of the people that live there and it was all positive. They said they enjoyed living there, and said it was like a family place. You don't feel like you're stuck in a nursing home. They're nice, friendly, and cheerful, and the people that live there mingle with the people that work there. They have movies and Bingo, and they have an area where they have card games too. We enjoyed this place a lot. You live on your own, but they furnish you with your meals and if you need help with your medications, they do that too. Everyone we saw seemed to be very happy."