Las Brisas

I visited Las Brisas. The appearance was nice, and the sanitation was good. The staff was very friendly. He reminded me of a car salesman but extremely over the top. They were eating lunch when we were there. We did not eat there, but we walked in their dining room. It has the options of the day out on the table. It’s not that you order from the menu; it’s this-or-that-for-the-day kind of thing. The dining area was nice. They have a private dining area that if you have a special family dinner that you want to do very privately. I felt that Las Brisas was the most institutional looking of all the places we looked at. The rooms were small. They probably used to be a hotel with just kitchenette. That’s the drawback, that they cannot have full kitchens in any of the unit. I don’t have any suggestions because the things may be true for us, I think, cannot change. One is having no full kitchen in the unit; they were all kitchenettes, and the fact that it’s very institutional. It was one building and one elevator. The dining room and food were a little bit more institutional too. For an independent-living place with no assisted living, I found it interesting that it was more institutional. They did not have a swimming pool or a jacuzzi. They were lacking amenities that some of the others have.

We took my parents to see a few places, and Las Brisas was a high enough caliber to suit them. Their room is spacious. They have a large bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a large bathroom, and their own private deck. They have a chef on staff, so the meals are very delicious. They aren't participating, but they have a lot of activities like exercise classes, crafts, outings, special lunches out, and movie nights. They also have a library. They are safe there, and we don't have to worry about them.

I also visited Las Brisas, and it was nice. The food was nice; it was small amounts, but apparently that’s preferred by the residents, and the staff was nice too. There’s game room, I saw a nice library, and schedule of activities. They have a beautiful garden in the back, one of the residents invited me in her room, and it was very homey and felt personalized. All her stuff is in there, and she got furniture in it.

We like Las Brisas because my mom is 94, but she is very cognitive and independent, and she didn’t really need to go a place where there were a lot of people with dementia. She really appears that she could hang out with people a little more like her. The rooms were very nice, and they seemed really nice to her. Everyone is very attentive. They have a great dining room with a great chef. But they should get an extra elevator; there are four floors, and they only have one elevator.

Las Brisas is a residential area upon the hill, and the managers are very nice. The apartments are beautiful; everything is all inclusive. They’ve got a lot of things going on, and she is just really happy there. Mom has her own apartment, and they give her a Lifeline that she wears around her neck. She loves the food there; they have 3 good meals a day, plus they have a place upfront in the dining room that they can go get snacks, foods, and water. If you can’t show up for a meal, they will come check on you to make sure that you are OK, which is nice. They have activities all day long. You could do it or not do it. She likes the food. The management live on site, they are very nice and caring, and it is kind of a large facility, but it’s not too big. It’s in a beautiful setting, and she has a nice view out of her living room. Once a week, they had room service that comes in, changes the sheets, and cleans their room. They have movie nights, games, and brain teasers that actually help her remember things. They take them to Trader Joe’s and to the supermarket, and that’s all inclusive in the price. It’s beautiful inside, and the apartments are clean, very nice and roomy. She is happy, and she has meet a lot of friends.

For me Las Brisas was too big. They accommodated a hundred people. The facility was quite large, and that was OK, but it seemed to be very cold. I thought because there were so many people, I could see people through the hall going to the elevator or just walking, and I hadn't heard anybody say hello to anybody else. I thought it was just too large. However, it was very pretty. They offered a lot of things to do, but it was just too big and too impersonal. I saw a couple of rooms, and there was another one that was still occupied that the staff thought suit me better, but I never had gone back to see that one. The dining room looked a restaurant, and it was huge. They allowed small animals, and I saw ladies walking their little dogs. You could choose what you wanted to do. I was sure they had cards and the normal things. It was clean and very pretty. I thought it would be perfect for a lot of people, but I just didn't feel quite comfortable. However, I didn't have anything to compare it with since I hadn't visited anything else. I thought they were probably very pleasant and very nice for a lot of people.

Las Brisas was great. It was excellent. The staff is very accommodating. The chef even gave us a fresh loaf of bread that they made there at the facility, and it was really good. The manager that walked us around was so helpful. He called and checked up on me. I liked that they offered three meals a day versus only two. We were able to look at different units and different floor plans to see what would suit my mother's needs. I met and saw a lot of residents. The rooms were clean and spacious. Their kitchen part was definitely a kitchenette with a small fridge. Everything else was really nice. I liked how they had outings for their residence a couple times a month. I also liked that they include internet, cable, and phone. They had a really beautiful view.

I don't live far from Las Brisas. This facility was nicely cared for. Its ambience was pretty nice. The staff was very nice and very helpful. The food and their chef were very good.

Las Brisas was too small, it didn't have a swimming pool. There's a whole generation of people, baby boomers now, who's starting to look at these things a little bit. We're a much more active situation. I'm not even sure you can get involved in something where the average age is 80 years old, no spa, no swimming pool and some 900 sq. ft. room. You might as well be in jail. They have bingo, all the old people stuff, Bible reading, but no alcohol is allowed. People are looking for places that have a bistro in it or a coffee bar or something like that. I had been extremely disappointed in what's out there. I guess if you're 85 years old and you want to be cramped in a little tiny room, that would be fine but if you got a spark in your life, you sure wouldn't want to be there.

Las Brisas has just been a blessing for my mother. She was turning to get a little bit of depression and they made sure her transition was good. The location is excellent. They are on top of a hill and the view is incredible. That's been really nice for her because she was able to watch the sunset at night. The people were really helpful and accommodating. Mom is very thin and had a hard time cooking but she has just loved the food there. The meals have variety and are just great. There are a lot of homemade breads every day. It's not an assisted living facility, but in the event she needs help we can have somebody come in. We are not committed to any service as well. Hers is half the cost of the services compared to the others so it's one of the better deals. She is really enjoying it there.

The rooms at Las Brisas Independent Senior Living are all very nice and clean; it seems there is nothing ragged or torn. They asked us to have a lobster lunch there on Mother's day. It has the nicest dining facilities and the best menus we've ever seen. My folks are really pleased with everything they've had so far. All the staff has been very nice. They have plenty of things for the residents to do. It is just a very nice place.

The entire place was very nice and comfy. Many of the employees were very polite and the residents were very nice as well. The managerial staff was not as helpful (and sometimes a little rude). The place was still very nice and I am considering it for my grandparents.

Both my father and my uncle (brothers in law) currently reside at Las Brisas. I am there 4 - 5 times a week.The facility:The rooms and apartments are spacious and well maintained. Most have balconies or patios. The once a week cleaning is unreliable - there is such a high turnover of staffing that they are often short handed. The dining room is spacious and bright. There are fewer common rooms than at other facilites: a single "activities" room that includes the theater and excersize areas. The theater is simply a big TV around which they arrange stacking chairs. The excersize is a single piece of equipment. There is a pool table outside the room in a lobbyt area adjoining the dining room. The only other space is a small library area on the second floor that doubles a card room. The dining and activity room are on the third floor. The building is built into a hillside, so the first two floors have dark, long hallways, but the rooms are bright. The third (main) floor opens to a large outdoor patio where they have occasional group parties such as wine tastings. There is only one elevator, which can make it difficult at mealtimes as there are many people who are in wheelchairs or power chairs. It is a glass elevator, which makes it feel less constrictive, and although it has age problems, they are about to replace it . Building maintenance is excellent and they are constantly making improvements. There is a beauty parlor and an office where you can hire private caregivers. There are weekly outings of various kinds.The food:Extremely inconsistent. It can be good, but is most often barely edible. There is a dearth of fresh vegetables, which is ridiculous as we are a farming community with many farmer's markets through the week. The mealtimes are set at 8am, 1230, and 530pm. Everyone assembles and is served at one time, which makes for a lot of waiting. Other facilities operate more like restaurants. Again, there have been many chefs and cooks through here in the last 2 1/2 years.The Management:When I moved my father here in early 2010, we toured all the places in the area. We selected Las Brisas because the rooms were larger for the money, you could stay here as your health deteriorated and bring in whatever care was needed (some even have had live-ins ), even to the end of life, and mostly the managers. There are two couples who live in the building They personally ran some of the activities with the Social Director and supervised the meals, pouring drinks and making sure all needs were met. The main managers were perfect for this kind of facility - gregarious, genuinely "up", and very helpful. Unfortunately, there has been a constant turnover in management since 2011. I believe 18 or so as various couples have been forced out or driven away. Each new set has reduced services, and seemed more focused on cutting costs than serving their residents. Silly things like limiting drinks to one glass at meals (except coffee!), reducing the bus hours, outings, and activities, pulling keys to the front door from those who don't go out, etc. Where the previous managers were always offering carpet shampooing, a change and choice of window coverings in the rooms, etc., none of that is available. They will no longer allow the private caregivers to use the break room to eat their lunches.The rent has been reasonable for the area, but goes up automatically each year by about 4%. This happened even when Social Security and VA benefits got no cost of living increases for two years. This is not the case at other local facilities.Overall I would move my family out to another facility if they were not settled. Moving an 88 year old is difficult and would be disruptive.