The Best Independent Living Communities in Alameda County, CA

"The tour at Waters Edge Lodge was very thorough. The gentleman that gave the tour was very friendly and knowledgeable. It was very informative and pleasant. It went well. He showed me probably three or four different floor plans. They have a movie room, and they have a happy hour once a week. They have some live music in the lounge area. They have excursions for the seniors. There's a courtyard, a beauty salon, and a little coffee area. It was a nice facility, but I liked the other place better."

"My father was in Cogir of Fremont Senior Living for respite. He had a hip replacement and needed a place to recover. They were pretty good. I give it high marks. He enjoyed that facility quite a bit. While we were there on two different occasions, we enjoyed live music. He enjoyed the restaurant sitting with other residents. He made a lot of fast friends and it was very useful for him socially to go out of his room. He spent very little time in his room because he enjoyed just the community. Even though his hip was hurting, he would still get out of his room and go around. That was a very good motivation for him to get up and move. The restaurant staff and the front desk staff were exceptional. They were all very helpful and very friendly. It was a delight for us to interact with them. We chose them because they had onsite physical therapists, but the physical therapist often did not show up or canceled or didn't assist with his hip recovery. It's a third party that they recommend to provide onsite physical therapy services. It's not a problem with Cogir directly. I asked them before I selected them if they had physical therapy, and they said yes. I contacted that person and then it didn't work out."

"We enjoyed our tour. It had a nice garden area that all of the residents could go into on their own free will. The staff seem nice and caring. We were there for their Thanksgiving family lunch. So, families came in and interacted. The food was great. It was very nice."

"I toured Carlton Senior Living Fremont for assisted living; however, my husband required a little more attention, so that was one of the reasons why I didn't go through with it. He has Parkinson's, and it has gotten worse. I like the services that Carlton Senior Living is offering. I like their layout, and the staff that helped me was very informative. I also dealt with the cafeteria individuals, and they were very attentive as well. We enjoyed the meal there. You could make little adjustments if you prefer something over another dish or whatever, so it was very good. I like the setup. Everything was spread out. There was a nice courtyard. They started some plantings in the courtyard, and another side where cars were parked. I think they thought of everything for those who can go into their facility and use it."

"My life has improved since moving to Cardinal Point . I enjoy my quiet apartment, meals in the dining room, many opportunities to exercise, join reading/discussion groups, play board/card games, work in the garden, walk along the estuary and thru the lovely neighborhood. With advance planning, transportation to neighboring cities, medical appointments and local errands is provided . The laundry rooms, reading rooms and library, all public spaces are well maintained. Staff is helpful and pleasant."

"My aunt moved into Byron Park and is having the best time! Every time we visit she's busy with her new friends, enjoying happy hours, live music and all the fun and interesting programs. She loves sitting in the garden and swimming in the pool. We love joining her for meals and activities and our kids and dog get so much love and attention from the staff. They treat her and our family so well and we always feel welcome when we visit. We can't recommend Byron Park enough!"

"My mom has been living at Atria Square in Foster City, CA since October 2024...I cannot begin to tell you how happy our whole family is with the entire staff and facility. The staff members know all the names of the residents and are ready to serve in any way needed. The atmosphere is like being on a cruise ship with all the amenities and activities offered. My husband and I often spend 4-6 hours there hanging out playing dominos and enjoying not only my mom and her friends but the entire staff and establishment. The events planned are top notch and the details are definitely picture worthy! Thank you, Atria Foster Square Staff for welcoming my mom and our family to be a part of yours!!"

"I toured The Heritage Downtown. It's gorgeous from the moment you enter the property. It has lots of trees, and it's beautifully maintained. The rooms were nice. They have a washer and dryer there. I would move in right now, but I don't need it right now. It was beautiful. It's a nice community. The place is 40 years old, but you wouldn't know it. It's just kept up beautifully. They're remodeling their kitchen downstairs. They have a nice gym. They have a nice pool. They have lots of patio and outdoor space. It's nice, like walking down the street near downtown Walnut Creek. I looked at a one bedroom and I looked at a two bedroom. I just met the one lady who greeted me and the one who did the tour. She was very nice. She answered all my questions. Everybody living there was having a good time. It was like you've grown up now, and now you're in a different level of the sorority house like you're back to college. I mean, that's the atmosphere I got. I enjoyed it."

"We toured The Kensington, which we are quite pleased with. Everybody was very nice to us. The people who run the units have all been just super. We're physically pretty mobile, we still drive, and we still go to all of our doctor's appointments and do our own shopping. We're just trying to downsize a little bit and get away from many responsibilities of home maintenance and that type of thing, so independent living is what we're looking for right now. The Kensington is very good. We like the feeling of the place, and we like the amenities that they provided. It's been several months since we went out to visit it, and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to go back and revisit. The staff members were very polite. They're very attentive to the people that they have. We were very impressed with the fact that they seemed to know the names of everybody who lives there. They call them by name when we pass them in the hallway. We met with some people in the units, and they gave good reviews. They've all said that they enjoy being there. We have no major negatives other than the gut feeling that this doesn't seem like a good fit for us. We had lunch with one of the people who lives there, and he was very informative and very polite. Everything was fine. The facilities were all very nice."

"Walnut Creek Care Home seemed nice. The staff was nice, too. My sister will have her own room with a wall and a sliding door to the outside. It's small, but it's a nice room and they allow cats. They only have six beds, so they don't have a lot of activities. Cleanliness seemed OK."

"We went to Elegance Berkeley. It was extremely modern. Everything was very clean. The people that we met were nice. The facility is fairly new, so everything looked very, very nice."

"We toured Brookdale Redwood City over a year ago. The fellow followed up with us and everything. Brookdale is the only one that I've ever seen that has a full-length swimming pool. I asked the guy what the people were complaining about right now, and he said the fact that the swimming pool wasn't available because they're doing some work on it. So they need to get on that bandwagon and get the pool done. The staff was terrific. We had a tour during the lunch period, and some of the people at the tables talked to us when we went by. They're very friendly. I considered going there, but the room that we were shown wasn't as friendly as some other rooms that we had seen. I think that building has probably been in existence for a long time, and things kind of looked a little rundown. They said they're in the process of changing out some of the bathtubs for showers that you just walk into."

"Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill is the place that I want to send my loved one. My wife is there and they're just really professional. It's a place that gives you warmth. There's no odor or any urine smell or anything, and they have separate dining rooms for memory care. So, it's a nice place to go. The staff is excellent and very caring people. They have a lot of things to do, like bingo, music, entertainers that come in, painting, little handicrafts, and different things similar to that. Both the food and their dining area were excellent, and they have waitresses and waiters that clean up for you. If you have trouble eating in memory care, they have people that assist you. They're also very persnickety about who comes in. You need your COVID shot and your mask. So, they just take good care of them."

"We toured Belmont Village Albany. They had a lot of activities. We liked the programs that they had. We liked that they also had medical staff 24/7. Their place was very light and bright. They have multiple areas for eating and they’re very modern. We had cookies. They just came out for their afternoon snacks and they were really good chocolate cookies."