Independent Living Communities in Lafayette, CA

"I visited The Chateau II (Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill) where I’m considering putting my mom. I liked this one a lot and was really impressed with it. I liked the fact that they have 24-hour dining service with breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a menu you can order from any other time that you want to eat. They have a lot of clipboards set up for different activities that people can sign up for. I liked the whole atmosphere. It is a smaller assisted living, so I thought it would be easier for my mom to be able to get herself around in there in her wheelchair. Everything was good. The apartments were very nice. I definitely would recommend it. I liked the location, the area, and the little community back there. There is a creek behind it and lots of trees. It was a really nice setting back there. "

"Walnut Creek Care Home didn't have any openings, but the house was spotless. It was very, very clean. The staff there was great. There was no smell of urine or something like that. For me, this particular home just needed some remodeling. It was dated, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it was spotless and the people that were working there were wonderful. They had very caring and long-tenured staff members."

"Oakmont of Concord was very good, but a smaller facility than others, and they didn't have quite enough staff that older people would need. For younger people, it wouldn't matter that much but they didn't have the level of nursing assistance that others might need. The menu was nice and very comparable to others. They had outside activities, and go out for dinners and lunches and movies depending on how active you can be. It would be very nice for active older folks. For my parents who are both in their 90s, it would not be as good."

"I am getting ready to move into the Chateau on Broadway. It looks to me like it will be great. It is very nice and upscale, and all of the residents that we saw appeared to be quite happy. "

"Oakmont of Montecito is very nice. We have a deposit down and we are waiting for a room there. The rooms are lovely and spacious. They have options with private bathrooms or shared bathrooms. They have a bird atrium for their memory care, which is lovely. Everybody was very professional."

"I liked the location of The Point at Rockridge. The people were very nice. I think the rooms were comfortable and nice as well. They had activities to keep the residents active. The grounds were clean. The assisted living facility was homier than the memory care. I felt the memory care could be a little more updated. This place had a feeling of togetherness. "

"The staff at The Ivy Berkeley was nice and professional. The rooms were very clean. The place was very new. I didn't have any issues with that. The patio looked nice and clean. They have rooftop access. We just quickly passed through the dining area because my mom was getting kind of tired, and it was a nice size. They had just finished with their lunch menu, and so the place wasn't clean, but the staff was working on it. There was a gate in the underground parking."

"It has little individual houses, which are very nice, but I don't see any point in moving from my freestanding house here to a freestanding house somewhere else. The staff was very nice and very helpful. The community itself was very clean and well-maintained. The campus is very widespread and many of the individual houses are far from the community areas, so I didn't check that out because it would not be a convenient way to live. The houses were spacious and well laid out."

"My friend lived at Belmont Village Albany assisted living for three years before moving to their memory care area for the past year. For a long time she took advantage of all the activities on the independent side, but slowly her memory grew worse and her anxiety became inconsolable. She would call me and other friends multiple times per day in a panic and forget she had called. She became resistant to care and paranoid that people were playing tricks on her. It became clear that she was not thriving in her social group and needed more than assistance with showers and housekeeping. Her son agreed to move her to memory care and almost immediately she began to relax. There she has been able to participate in activities again and the staff is very patient. Her mood improved unbelievably and it was a big relief to me to see her smiling and laughing again. Her dementia is still progressing but she is so well adjusted in her routine. I don't know how they got her to do it but I am very grateful. "

"Lake Park in Oakland has a vibrant independent living component. I like the physical layout quite a lot. The rooms were larger than some places I've visited. It's an older facility, but it has been renovated a lot. It's a large building, too. The staff members are very positive and very helpful. I tried the food, but it was not the highlight of the community. They have a limited menu, and they aren't making as big a deal out of it as some places do. There were a lot of large and small rooms that you could use for different things, whether you were doing crossword puzzles, you were sitting in their library, you were having your friends over, or you were watching films. There were lots of spaces and different options, and you could reserve those for what you wanted to do."

"I was here for five months. It was nice. It was close to my family and close to my medical providers because I had to have radiation treatment every day for a month. They took me and they had good transportation. The meals and the food were good. We had a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, which I liked. They didn't have much outdoor space. They were kind of in an urban area. The staff was good. There was little turnover among the care providers because I was independent and I wasn't having any medications. I needed to be pushed down to the meals. I was in a wheelchair at that point because I couldn't walk very far because of my shortness of breath. They were very attentive to that and got me to my doctor's appointments. I didn't have the medical needs that they provided me. The activities were good. They have yoga and tai chi, the usual bingo, and they would take you out for walks around the block. I like the diversity and that was a plus."

"It is lovely. They have great amenities, and they have a good program for the residents with many things to do. It's beautiful. The staff was very friendly. Everyone I've met there so far was very friendly, even as I observed other guests interacting with staff. They have different levels of care. The studio was small, but it's quite adequate. It has a mini kitchen with a microwave and refrigerator. It has its own private bathroom, and it's really lovely. They have a variety of rooms. They have one-bedroom units and places for couples. They have weekly activities, a game room, a movie room, a sauna, an exercise room, a pool, and a beautiful inner courtyard. They do weekly outings, and they will take you to your doctor. Everyone eats in the dining room and it's lovely. They seem to have something going on all the time. They put them on a bus and take them around. They play bingo and other things. They have a chef and it's restaurant-style dining."

"Everything was nice and good at Marymount Villa; it looked clean and upscale. The lady I met was very friendly. The rooms looked fine. "

"Waters Edge Lodge wasn't super nice, but it was OK, and the location was great. The staff was really nice, and the place seemed happy. I saw the dining room, exercise room, a little café, and a rec room. The apartments that I saw were good but smaller than I thought."