Continuing Care Retirement Communities Communities in Oakland, CA

"Piedmont Gardens was OK. I thought they were just fine. They said they were going to take care of the services; we didn’t have to have anything done. The atmosphere was fine. They’ll supply the food for us. They had quite a few of activities for different things. The staff was nice, very accommodating. "

"I went to Merrill Gardens at Rockridge. They showed us an apartment for independent living. It was very nice. It's a brand new apartment. It had a stove, a refrigerator if you need it, a microwave, a room for the bed, a bathroom, a washing machine and dryer within the place, and their own door key lock. Whenever they wanted to go down to the other part of the building, they could just walk down to the other part. They had a beauty salon, a library, doctors on certain floors, a light gym, a bistro where they can go, eat and play music, and a common area where everybody can go and talk to one another. It was very nice, but it's also very expensive. The lady who took us on the tour was kind and considerate."

"The overall atmosphere at Merrill Gardens is very pleasant and very inviting. The place that I was showed was a two bedroom. It is basically an apartment room with two beds. It is way too small for our needs. But the place is otherwise very nice. If the two small bedrooms would have met our needs, I thought I'd probably be a lot more interested, but right now, I couldn't care less. For the appearance, it is a five. However, it is way too small, and it didn't meet our needs. So I had no interest whatsoever when I saw the size of the apartment. Otherwise, it was a very nice place. "

"I saw some rooms at San Francisco Towers. It looked like someone had moved out, and they were getting ready to sell it so they had it all redone for that. What we found is that the age difference was quite a bit different from what we were looking for so I think that that probably had a big impact on our decision to wait. I would say that the average age at the Towers was probably 85. Everything was wonderful. It could not have been any better. "

"I toured The Sequoias San Francisco. It's a wonderful, comfortable, and friendly place. The rooms were very nice, generously sized with lovely windows, and needed some updating. The staff was outstanding. He was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating. He answered our questions. The way he showed me around, he was just very good at this job. The dining area was very nice. I didn't eat the food, but I saw it and it looked appetizing. They have a wide variety and a very extensive meal program. So, I was very pleased with the food offerings, its presentation, and the dining area which is inside and outside."

"My parents have moved into Viamonte at Walnut Creek. It is a very nice facility. It's new and very well done. They are also expensive, but nice. They're brand new, modern, and stylish. They have nice amenities. The location is good. The staff is nice. It's a very nice, upscale place. They have activities. I think they are minimal, but they do have activities."

"The things that impressed me at Acacia Creek are the size of the apartments, the dining room, the menus they present, the number of the amenities, the gymnasium, and the swimming pool. They also have many activities that were appealing. They have trips, crafts, jewelry making, various lectures, card games, movies, fitness classes, and Tai Chi. The staff has been excellent. "

"I was at Bonnie Brae Terrace a little bit more than a month ago for a tour. The experience was good. The infrastructure seems a little bit outdated, but the showroom looks nice. I think there is like a $300-something mandatory for food service where it offers breakfast and dinner, and there's no lunch, so I found that kind of weird. The studio has a microwave, but it does not have a kitchen, so my father can't cook lunches. I think there is a one-bedroom apartment that does offer a kitchen, but it's a little bit more. The staff who gave the tour was very nice, though."

"It has impressed us enough that we put our name down on the waiting list. They offer everything, and it is not a rental type of thing, but you buy a unit -- whether it is an apartment or a studio or what they call the villa and I guess they are even offering penthouses -- varied in price, but you never own titles to the property, so you can't borrow against it. What you do is buy an interest, and they furnish everything. Long-term care and everything else, they have a facility for that. It is on a 48- acre plot in Pleasanton, and it is very nicely and professionally done. There is no question about it. It is secure. In fact the last time we went down there, we had more trouble getting in than anything else that I have come across. We came up to the guard house, the window was closed as there was nobody there, so we drove on up to the gate. Well, the gate doesn't open. So we honked, and finally somebody opened up the gate and we got in. They wanted to know what we were doing and who we came to see. It is very secure as far as I am concerned -- well-fenced. Stoneridge Creek has their own restaurant, they have exercise facilities, it is well-staffed during the day, and they have a very large pool that has a retractable roof on it. It is very professionally done, and we were very much impressed. It is very hard to beat, and we haven't come across anything better or have heard of anything better. You buy the place, you have your interest, and they give you one meal a day whether it would be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, which is enough for us. It is new and well-maintained. Of course being fairly new, it is easy to maintain, but we were very impressed. "

"My father-in-law is currently in Villa Marin, and it was very positive and very nice. I think it's pretty well run. The people are extremely nice and extremely helpful. The food is great; we've had dinner there several times before the pandemic. He's been there for a couple of years. So before the pandemic, we would go and have dinner there every once in a while with them, and food was always great. It's a different experience because it's independent, but they have good activities. He's very, very involved in the social activities there. They have movie nights and sometimes they have dances and he likes that. He's been involved in the resident advisory boards. It's pretty darn expensive; you have to buy in. It's not just paying a monthly rent. It's like a condo, so you have to come up with a lot of money upfront and then pay a monthly fee also. It's a nice place though."

"Webster House is a small place, and there are few residents. Everything looks very nice. It doesn't have any views. It's only four stories high and it looks onto trees if you're up on the fourth floor. But it is on a very busy street corner. The side street that it's adjacent to is busy, and that is a disadvantage. People can walk downtown Palo Alto, and it's a pleasant area. It's a senior- friendly area. We didn't have a meal. We had a good tour. The place is very nice. The units are a little smaller. They had a couple of larger units on the top floor that are very nice two-bedroom units. I'd say that if I could live there, I'd be happy at this building, but I wouldn't want to look out onto Lytton Avenue, which is one of the things to look out on. So, there's a little disadvantage with the location. But they have a pool, a nice dining area, and protected parking. I think it's important that in all of the cases, these people have parking that is protected. The staff was very nice. But the patio was not as large and it's a little more constricted."

"The people at Channing House talked less about sales and more about value, and they have everything I need. They have a pool, exercises, and trips. It's a little old place, but it's clean and it's downtown, so it's a walk to everything. The bedroom was just very small."

"At The Terraces, we were able to visit the places where you eat and have things for people to do. We saw stand-alone units or small house types. The new part however was very expensive, and we were not interested in it. We talked to a lot of the people that lived there, and they were very happy with it. They have a lot of things for people to do. "

"Sequoias-Portola Valley was an excellent place. It has a square layout with a central office, a lounge, and a dining area. The units were scattered all around, and they were all on one level. There was a swimming pool, a gym, and an arts and crafts room. The grounds were very pretty. The lady was very honest, helpful, and straight to-the-point. I really thought she was excellent. We may move to this place in two or three years."