Continuing Care Retirement Communities Communities in Palo Alto, CA

"The Sequoias is part of Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services. It is an excellent facility. I like the fact that they offer three levels of care. They have independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing. With regards to accommodations, they have one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. They also have what I call individual living units. If you're going to move there, you have to realize that it will involve downsizing and it will be a tremendous change. The only obstacle I have with this place is that they have a two-and-a-half-year waiting list, and not only that, they also have this entrance fee and monthly fee concept that I don't like. "

"We went to the rooms at Sunnyview, and they were very spacious. The dining area was good. The staff were very courteous and everything you would expect them to be in a pretty difficult situation. "

"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 The infrastructure seems a little bit outdated, but the showroom looks nice.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."

"We visited Acacia Creek. The tour was exceptionally well done. They had a large memory care program."

"It was a very difficult and emotional decision to move my grandmother into an assisted living facility. She had recently lost her spouse of 60 years and was no longer able to care for herself alone in the home they shared. We wanted to find an assisted living facility that could meet her level of care, but many we visited that offered dementia level care had an institutional, hospital like environments. When we found Saratoga retirement it was a huge relief. We did have to wait for an opening on a list, but it was worth it. The facility is similar in feel to a nice, residential hotel. The rooms and halls are carpeted and the furniture is well appointed. Most residents have their own rooms of various sizes, depending on level of care needed. My grandmother had to start in the "special care" level, bit was soon able to move into a lower care level. The lounge areas and recreational facilities were comfortable and had a feel of sophistication. The campus has a wide variety of care levels to meet all stages of elder care. All of the staff was warm and seemed to genuinely care for the residents. They also seemed happy in their workplace. I also appreciated that they spoke to the residents, even the ones with dementia like adults, they never "dumbed down" the words they used. This allowed my grandmother to retain a sense of dignity, which was important to her and to our family. The food facility was as close to a restaurant as one could expect given the many levels of food needs that had to be met at each meal. Residents on a non restricted dietary plan could select from a menu of healthy choices. They could also have guests at meals. Our family ate many times with my grandmother and found the food to be homey and quite palatable. Saratoga retirement is definitely not the least expensive option in the area. Fortunately, my grandparents had planned ahead and had good long term care insurance. For people in this position, I would strongly recommend visiting Saratoga retirement. "

"Everything was very nice about the Terraces. The only thing wrong was that they didn't have enough of the little single houses. It's very well run, and I was treated very nicely. I like them. I looked at a lot of places, and it certainly is the top. "

"Glad that we made the right decision to move from Santa Rosa after living there for 45 years to the Stoneridge Creek Retirement Community 2 years ago with its ideal location within walking distance to many shops and restaurants. We were lucky to have a blend new 3 bedrooms unit up on the 3rd floor facing a courtyard and the outdoor swimming pool. Within the campus, there are many sport activities you can do. For us, we like to play tennis, pickleball, shooting pool and ping pong. If you want to be active in the community, there are 64 clubs and committees you can join, not to mention the many classes, lectures, concerts and outings that you can participating in. According to our friends who have visited us, they were amazed with the food we have in SRC. They said we are like living on cruise ships, except it is on land. With the continuous care facility right on campus, it gives us a peace of mind in case we do need that in the future. However, the thing we treasure the most is the many new friends we have made here. It is like living in a summer camp with your friends everyday!!!!! Finally, I have to say the management team in SRC has done a fantastic job in keeping all the ~1000 residents safe from the COVID19. Our daily meals are delivered to our unit.You can order groceries to be delivered without service charge. They even tried to entertain us with a dance troupe going around the campus, gave us thoughtful gifts and treats and called us on the phone to see how we are doing from time to time. That really showed that they really care for the well-being of their residents. Just can't say enough good thing about living in SRC!!!!! Ed"

"We went to St. Paul's Towers. They don't admit you to an assisted living situation. They assume you are independent, and then as you continue to age, when it's time that you really do need assistance to get through the day, you have to move to the so-called assisted living unit. We toured the independent living unit. It has beautiful views. It's just a lovely space. Everything about it is very well thought out, appointed, and taken care of. It seemed a little more upscale than the other place. They took us to two occupied apartments that were comparable to a studio, and they took us to two that people are currently living in, and they had agreed to let people taking a tour pop in and see their space and what they had done with it, which was pretty fancy. But you have to do it yourself, they don't appoint any furniture or anything to you, you have to bring your own. One thing that was kind of unfortunate, the day that we went to St Paul's, they were almost at the end of the lockdown because one of the residents had COVID. What places like that usually do is just bring your food to your room and you don't socialize, but they have a lot of socialization spaces when you don't have COVID. So we didn't get to see what it would be like with people milling about and having lunch together and so forth because of that COVID incident. I have heard the food is really good, and they have a very extensive menu. They have a lovely little garden. It's not very big. So, their outdoor spaces were not as big as the other place, but they were landscaped nicely. It's a tall building, and my aunt would have been on the 16th floor. So I said, what does it matter if you're not going to go outside from there? They actually do have little balconies. You can put a chair and a little side table out there and that's about it. But there's not as much outdoor space there. It's in a high rent district. It's church affiliated. The staff member was just lovely, accommodating, she spent a lot of time with us, and followed up. She's pretty special."

"My experience with Piedmont Gardens was positive. I was always surprised at the number of staff members who were available for assistance. My friend was a very finicky eater and was often unhappy with the food. A staff member overheard us talking about this issue and she immediately tried to address it. She brought my friend milk shakes, soup, and juice--all foods that she liked. There was also an employee who brought my friend her mail and--since she was blind in one eye--read her letters to her. The facility had musical entertainment on certain days, and people who were available to help my friend walk to space in which the performances took place. I've been in some facilities that were poorly lit and not too clean. Piedmont Gardens is spotless and comfortable. People who live there have created clubs and participate in outings to local shopping areas, etc. There seems to be a strong community. "

"I’m putting in an application at The Sequoias. It is a nice, pleasant place that seemed to have lots of activities. The staff was very nice when we spoke to them. The room looked quite nice. I would recommend them to others. It is in a pleasant, convenient part of town. "

"San Francisco Towers is very elegant. It's an urban setting. They have an indoor pool and available parking. It's very nicely done and very nicely maintained. However, it was much more old school. You can add assistance as you need it in time, but they have a large financial buy-in and their policy is that you have to be independent initially to get in. The person who toured us was very pleasant though."