Mount San Antonio Gardens

Martf

I’ve read all of the reviews and, since I’ve lived here for 4 years, I feel qualified to add some comments and correct some misconceptions. Mt. San Antonio Gardens is, unquestionably, a high quality place to move to when you reach a certain age. It is not cheap, but it is a life-care community, which means the fee you pay when you enter covers all levels of care you may need until you die. You pay a Founders fee, based on the unit you select, and a monthly care and service fee, also based on your unit. There is a discount if you’re under 75. There are 1 and 2 bedroom cottages, about 5 houses, and numerous 1-2 bedroom apartments in various areas around the Gardens campus. There are also studio apartments available in 3 buildings. All services, including dining, housekeeping, use of the wellness center, programs, gardening, are included in your monthly fees. All units are renovated, painted, etc., before new resident move in. Any special renovations—recessed lighting, special paint colors, additional bookcases, are paid for by residents. The monthly fees have NOT suddenly started to go up $1,000:a month. Increases are made annually, and are generally 5-7%. There is a very attractive Social Center in the center of the Gardens that houses the dining room, large living room, library, and a large Assembly where the numerous programs take place. A recent program featured nationally known, local boy, Rod Gilfry, in concert. The dining room offers 3 meals a day 6 days a week. On Sundays there is a lovely main meal offered at noon. Sack lunches are available to take home for supper on Sundays. Residents have the option of reserved, served tables, or a buffet meal at lunch and dinner. Breakfast is a buffet, but you can place special orders for omelettes, etc. Dining Services offers several special receptions and dinners on holidays throughout the year. These are included in your monthly fees. You can also plan your own special dinners with the Chef that is served in a private dining room, or in the kitchen, for an extra charge. Probably the most compelling reason to move to the Gardens is community. It is very easy to become isolated if you remain in your own home as you age, whether you are single, or have a partner. Once you retire, you lose that daily interaction, and you have to make an effort to stay involved with friends and in the community. When you reach your 70s and 80s, it’s also more challenging to take care of a yard and the many demands of maintaining a house, not to mention cooking 3 decent meals a day. It’s remarkable how freeing it is to suddenly have none of these responsibilities and to have someone else dealing with all of the cooking, cleaning, gardening and repairs where you live. But, the social interaction is the best part. You can spend time with an amazing variety of very bright, engaging people at the Gardens at meals and various activities every day. Or, if you are less social, you can enjoy the benefits of the Garden—meals, programs (on TV)—in your own unit when you decide you need some down time. You are in charge when you move to the Gardens until you need a little, or a lot, of support. That is when the different levels of care are available, and you have already paid for what you need. Your children don’t have to step in and care for you. That is your gift to them, and to yourself! All it takes is planning ahead! Come for a visit and check it all out.

James

We looked at a two-bedroom-two-bath cottage at Mount San Antonio Gardens. You can cook, and you can do whatever you want there. It's in an architecturally distinctive community. It's immediately adjacent to the city of Claremont, and the other place we visited is adjacent to the city of Laverne, but both of them, being from the same time period, are not nearly as congested as the San Fernando Valley or the San Gabriel Valley. The person we worked with had almost as many years' experience as the lady at the other place, except that she was about 20 years younger in age. She is working with seniors, and she has tried to do what she could, but I was more impressed with the overall staff at the other place. Mount San Antonio Gardens is a full-service retirement community inclusive of anything and everything that you could hope for. It is also a fully secure facility. I met and dined with the staff members and the residents who have been there for 10 years, and also those who have been there for a year.

Books

This place has gone down hill over the past five years while during the same years the monthly fee has increased by $1000 a month. The food quality has dropped - we were told because of a decrease in the number of residents due to having to tear down a four story building that was not up to earthquake code despite structural remodels over the years, and had to rebuild from the ground up - and for 20 less residents- so the food contract was renegotiate due to 70 less residents .... and the quality of food dropped. The number of served meals dropped. First the monthly brunches were downgraded to significantly less -- often no cutting station with prime rib, no sea bass... I guess more basic. On these brunch days there was no evening meal but instead "a box lunch." At least a small breakfast was served 7 - 8 am for the residents ate early and could not wait til 1030 to eat something. That too is gone - now replaced by only donuts and pastries - no protein or nutrtional or substance. AND recently there is no longer an evening meal on SUNDAYS. At least residents can pick up extra at lunch and take home - but socializing at dinner in the restaurent style dining room is gone and if they forget to grab extra food ar Sunday lunch - they must order and have a meal delivered. Meals are complicated. Residents ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, frozen fish sticks, hot dogs (some fish and other inexpensive meats were served and if all else failed there was a decent salad bar. Put simply the cost has increased $1000 a month over the past five years, the number of meals served has decreased, the quality of food was cut, although there are some improvements now that some new residents are moving into the new building now that it is finished. However, this place can no longer afford to have prime rib every week - they cut it back to 2x a month and then tried to cut back to 1x a month. At the holidays residents are asked to pay a lump sum $1000 - $2000+ to a staff appreciation fund instead of tipping staff during the year. $450K is raised each year from the residents and distributed among the staff. BUT there is another $500k in "savings for staff retention bonuses" - apparently for the executive staff. But this place has cut so much for residents- this reveiw only covers meals. I will add a few more services lost even as the fees went up, up, up. 1. Residents had an hour a month of IT support if needed. That is now gone. 2. Assistance with assembling furniture is now provided for a fee. It's that $500k for retention bonuses for executive staff in the middle of all these cuts these increasing cuts to residents services that is so glaring as monthly fees continue to increase exponentially.

Linda

Mount San Antonio Gardens was way beyond my means. It's way too big and way too expensive for me, but it was very nice. It's basically like country club living. They had very nice people. They were very willing to help and show you around. They got a swimming pool, a putting green, tennis courts, a big library, a beauty shop, and a barber shop. They have just really about anything you'd want.

Karen

Mt. San Antonio Gardens was really nice. I liked it a lot. We talked to a resident and the security guard who told us about all the different activities, which sounded like a lot. They have Bingo and day trips where they take people shopping. They take people on different field trips or on little outings. They have a nice cafeteria, a library, a gift shop, a music room, one-bedroom apartments, and they have separate houses for independent living. We saw the dining room. It seemed more like a resort area.

Adrienne

Mt. San Antonio Gardens is near where I live. It's a lifecare community and it is very pleasant. It has a central dining hall, library, and community dining room. They have apartment type facilities and a lot of small duplexes/cottages. The grounds are very clean. They have a couple of open houses and information sessions a couple of times a year and I've tasted their food. It was delicious. The dining area was clean, neat, and didn't smell at all.