The Best Assisted Living Communities in Marin County, CA

"I went to Pinole Senior Village. We were only there for a half hour or so, but I thought it was a pretty good place. It’s close to where we live. It was like in a suburb out there. I thought it was good. The rooms were clean and tidy. They were pretty much the same -- nothing hit us either good or bad -- but it’s a place close to home, and they had a friendly staff. They had the movies, the games, and you can travel once in a while. I would recommend anybody that’s looking to consider this community. "

"I like where it's located. So I did looked at different places, but I'm not at the point where it would have to be a decision that is needed to be made right away. The only place that really matched for what I wanted was this facility. The staff is fine. I talked to them on the phone and they answered some of the questions I had. They also sent me the information I needed. I talked to a couple of people who know the place; it has a positive reputation. So based on that, I thought of all the places this is the one that I could see myself at. I think they're excellent, they have a lot of compassion, and there are more positive things than negative things compared to other continuing care retirement community. A lot of what I looked at was the location, reputation, and if I could see myself there. That's why I went to visit the place. "

"My friend lived at Belmont Village Albany assisted living for three years before moving to their memory care area for the past year. For a long time she took advantage of all the activities on the independent side, but slowly her memory grew worse and her anxiety became inconsolable. She would call me and other friends multiple times per day in a panic and forget she had called. She became resistant to care and paranoid that people were playing tricks on her. It became clear that she was not thriving in her social group and needed more than assistance with showers and housekeeping. Her son agreed to move her to memory care and almost immediately she began to relax. There she has been able to participate in activities again and the staff is very patient. Her mood improved unbelievably and it was a big relief to me to see her smiling and laughing again. Her dementia is still progressing but she is so well adjusted in her routine. I don't know how they got her to do it but I am very grateful. "

"I liked that it had really beautiful gardens that the people and visitors could walk. Their gardens were inside so nobody from the outside could be part of it. It's a very nice size outdoor garden and there's plenty of room for people to walk or just sit and meditate. It was more of an intimate facility. It's a smaller space. The dining area was fine, but I think they use the dining area for both activities and dining and then there's a small living room. So, they're limited in space. The person who helped me with the tour was very nice. Just that I wasn't too thrilled about the location."

"The memory care at Coterie is incredible. Christina’s team is well trained and all so loving and caring to their residents. My mom has lived under their care for the past year, and it has been so helpful to have support during this challenging time of her memory decline. Not only are the caregivers, med techs, and nurses amazing, but also the organization of activities and amenities are well planned. My mom always has lots of opportunities to enjoy music, create flower arrangements, or even practice tai chi. She has been really happy living at Coterie. We are so thankful we found a safe and loving home for my mom."

"Aldersly Garden has lovely surroundings, and when you go out your door, there are gardens. I like the staff. They are very courteous. I visited a one-bedroom apartment, and it is nice and big -- very adequate. They have three dining areas; one is for active seniors, one is for assisted seniors, and the last one is the nursing unit. The meal hours are quite extended, they are very generous with the time, there are about two choices every day, and they put out the list ahead of time so you can make your choice. They have a bus that takes you various places if you want to go out. They have card games, a nice library with quite a lot of books, physical activity, a gym, and an instructor, so you have a class, which is very nice. "

"My great uncle resides here and I highly recommend it. The Staff is kind and responsive and have made the difficult transition very easy for my uncle. He has been there 7 months now and I visit him at least once a week and he is doing very good. He is very comfortable and has made many friends. I am very happy we made the decision to go. "

"Cogir of Vallejo Hills Senior Living has both assisted living and independent living, but they don't have memory care. The appearance was very nice. The staff was very sweet. They have a nice restaurant. The only thing, in my situation, where the room that was available, you had to go down the hall, down an elevator, down another hall, so somebody who's confused would be hard to find the restaurant, but to a regular person, it'd be fine. They had a lot of games and activities, they had bingo, and they had movies. I saw a studio and it was very large and you can have a pet there. They provide three meals a day. From what I was told, their chefs are from the culinary school in Napa. The facility was nice."

"It was very clean and new to me. It's a very nice place. The staff were very helpful. It looked like they were very knowledgeable and very friendly, too. The dining area is almost like a restaurant, and it's very formal to me. All of the staff were wearing masks. To me, it's a high-class range, more or less. It's very impressive. The rooms are pretty good size studios, and the bathrooms are equipped with safety devices and a hidden bar. I feel safe when I go in there. They showed me the amenities. At least whatever you need, they have it over there. They have the theater, the exercise room, the salon, and the laundry. I'm very happy with it as long as the staff keeps up with what they are doing. I met three people, and they were excellent, very helpful, and courteous."

"Benicia Angel's Home I was amazing. I felt that it was exactly what I wanted my mother-in-law to be. The grounds were lovely and the house inside was lovely. Each bedroom had its own bathroom or a shared bathroom. It was very nice and very clean. The workers there were very kind. The owner took us on a tour and she was lovely as well. They had a backyard where they encouraged people to go out daily to get some fresh air and stuff. I had no complaints about it, except for the price."

"My dad is very happy at Elder's Inn as they are doing exceptional work for him. He is being well cared for. Their medical care for him is just excellent. The facility is beautiful, and it is clean. I have told some of my friends that I like to live there. I like that they treated me like family and like they wanted my dad to be there. They were able to answer every question that we had. They just were very, very helpful and professional. "

"We've lived here 3 years. We find the accommodations we live in, the apartment, 2-bed/2-bath, with sitting room and so forth is very comfortable. We have a little deck and the property is beautifully landscaped. In our area we have some roses and in-season azaleas. Lots of roses and quite beautiful flowers. Our apartment is relatively modern. We're in the Salem Woods building. Has a kitchen. The food is ok. It's nourishing, there's plenty of it. You live in an institution with 100+ people; it's not like going to hotel. There are plenty of activities. There's music, art, puzzles, history, walking outdoors. All kinds of activities. You can do it or not. The activities are good. I do some; others I don't. They have a bus that will take you to the doctor. The same bus will take you shopping. They offer amenities, excursions, such as a drive to the Port of Oakland, or to the observatory in the hills. For people who have a car, there's parking (garage and street). My daughters come over; there's handicapped parking. When I first came here, I had 2-3 good caregivers who were really helpful to me. "

"We ended up placing my mom in Bellaken Garden in Oakland's assisted living. We were able to visit and we went through her Medicare health plan with them and they did some sort of contract regarding the health care service part. The other residential fee and stuff we would be paying out of pocket. It was a very good fit for her. When we called, the staff was very responsive to asking initially what we were looking for, and then the application process was done with them. Plus, they worked with my mother's Medicare health plan and that was very useful. My mother was also looking for a place where the staff could speak the Cantonese language. She speaks Cantonese and a large number of the staff there are Cantonese-speaking. My mother also needed a certain level of care, she's wheelchair-bound, she needed a place that was willing to accept and have staff that was qualified to help her at her level of care. There were a few places that we spoke to that basically could not accept her. She's in a shared room. It's okay, it's not great but it's good for the price we're paying. I know there are some nice ones, but they were so expensive. We spoke to the administrative staff about the meals and actually, the place has a lot of residents who are Chinese and a lot of staff that is Chinese. They cater to Cantonese and Chinese food and my mother likes it. So, it was a good fit. Right now, during the pandemic, there are no group amenities. The residents are pretty much still confined to their own rooms and stuff. I believe they have an exercise program and there is a community area, like a communal area. The building itself, the facility itself is in the center of the inner city but when you go there, it's actually very secluded and it's kind of in a cul-de-sac and it's very quiet. So, we were very surprised. It almost feels like it's not in the city so that's why we liked it."

"My mom was at Dimond Care, and we had a good experience. The staff was very pleasant and helpful, and I would rate them very highly. The food was good, but I think they need to pay more attention to the individual patient's dietary needs. The rooms were a little run-down and dated. They play bingo. I think they can improve on modernization and have more privacy, like instead of a curtain, they can have a partition when there are two patients to a room. "