The Best Independent Living Communities in San Diego County, CA

"We toured Belmont Village La Jolla. They were nice. It's too expensive and too much of a commute for my brother. They had activities. The food was great. They had a courtyard. They had views. They had all kinds of interactions with the residents. They had outings for the residents. They were just wonderful. The rooms were big and spacious, and the studios were wonderful."

"I visited. They gave me a lot of information. They were very nice. I didn't try any of the food, but I did see it and it looked good. The rooms were decent. There was no smell. They were clean. I saw a salon, swimming lessons, an art studio, a place where they held bingo and stuff, and a game room."

"The Christmas brunch was excellent. The food was delicious and a nice variety of dishes."

"We went to Belmont Village Cardiff by the Sea. We were very impressed. We made an appointment for the tour and the gal that took us around was excellent. There are no separate areas. If you go into your independent care and then you find that you're going to need memory care, you stay right in there and they bring the memory care people to you. You can get a studio or one-bedroom, or you can even get a two-bedroom. They had a gorgeous swimming pool. The staff sat with us first and went over things, and then she gave us a booklet to bring home to look at more, so she was wonderful."

"Our Dad had a stroke in early May 2023 and at 94 lost his ability to walk and take care of himself. We live in Encinitas, so wanted him to be close to us. After going to look at several Assisted Living/Independent Living Facilities we were quite surprised to find that Westmont Of Encinitas was far superior than all the others and actually was quite less in cost. The facility is just slightly over two years old and the staff is friendly, food is great and the activities are plentiful. Just in a short 2 months he is walking on his own, living in his great bright 1 bedroom apartment and going to Bridge 3 times a week, going to Ice Cream socials, and exercising and building his strength up with their great Physical Therapists. We brought him down from Costa Mesa to Westmont of Encinitas on May 25, 2023 and he is thriving in such a short time. I would highly recommend Westmont of Encinitas for any loved one. Our father is happy and social and healthy now. This facility is a 5 Stars for sure."

"The rooms are terrific, the staff uniquely committed and engaged and the food is excellent. My parents went there from Mass, after 55 yrs of marriage with my father as a burned out caregiver for my mother's parkinson's and their admissions/support team brilliantly handled Dad to assisted living (no more cooking!) and Mom to memory support with daily visits with Dad. The clinical nurses were fabulous, with a smart caring medical director. Hospice helped both transition at the end, with the superb staff."

"I visited the Waterford Terrace Retirement Community. It was much more of a grand entrance. The entryway was quite grand. It's a three-story building with access to outside gardens. They have rooftop gardens, and there are cottages at the top level. There's more outdoor environment on the top level, but the first two levels were all indoor-like hotel-style apartments. It's a big facility, and it has a huge dining area. Activities are provided. It's an active community there. Food is all included. They also had a couple of food stations that were available throughout the day for the residents to get snacks and things that they want. Then they have their regular dinner and breakfast time slots. Everything is very nice, and it's comforting to know that the residents are happy, and the staff is friendly."

"I toured Atria Collwood. I liked all of the programs that they had, the different levels of care that they offered, and the way it was structured. It was like an a la carte menu. They had it in such a way that it was very transparent like that. You could see what you were paying for, and the facility was really well kept up. It's a really nice facility and the people there all seemed really on top of everything. Everyone there was very friendly. One of the directors of something was really helpful. She took her time, showed me the different places, and answered a lot of questions which some of the places did, but she just did an exceptionally good job at that. I thought that's why I like that place so much."

"Oakmont of Pacific Beach is outstanding, but it's very expensive. It is outstanding in terms of what it offers. They have a special floor for memory care. They have the state of the art just up to date with Alzheimer's. They work with the Alzheimer's Association. They offer good food and balanced diets for the patients. They have a lot of activities and a lot of care. You have your own shower in your room. There's a lot more personal care there. The staff members were very attentive. They have a restaurant that is open in the morning until seven at night. There's no rigid schedule. It is very flexible. The facility was pristine."

"I visited the independent living community of Lantern Crest Senior Living, and it's nice. The people were also very nice. They have different layouts. One building is newer than the other, which is the only difference, but they are all nice. The upkeep of the place was very good. The dining area was very nice, and they had a good selection of food. The parking area was fine."

"Grossmont Gardens is a 5-star facility. I have no qualms about that. I looked at both assisted living and independent living. It was friendly. The place was clean and nice. I met with the residents there, and they were very friendly, too. The staff was exceptional. They were very helpful. The tour was nice. The facility was exceptional, and everything was like that. They showed me one unit that I was interested in, and then they found out that that unit was not available. They had given me a lesser unit, but I didn't want that. So that was where the glitch was. It was just that somebody got there before me. The facility was excellent. I have no negative comments about the facility or anything like that."

"I visited the independent living community of Westmont of La Mesa. It was very nice. My dad preferred that place, but they wouldn't take his dog because it's too big. The upkeep of the place was excellent. They had multiple dining areas. They were nice, and the size was good. The rooms were good, and they had high ceilings, so it made them seem a lot bigger, which was nice. They all had washers and dryers, which was a nice touch, too. The staff members were super friendly. They knew the names of a lot of the people and the residents there as we were doing the tour. We didn't try their food, but I looked at the menus and it had a good selection."

"I like that Oakmont of Escondido Hills had wide open spaces. They had a lot of interactive programs going on with large groups. And it's well planned and managed."

"We chose Splendor Valley for my mother. They'll do anything she wants to do. They take really good care of her. I've gone to see her several times, and I've been very happy with it. This is a small house with, I think, 6 people. And they have caretakers and the owners, Mark and Marissa, live on-site. So, there's always a lot of people around. They get her dressed and she goes and sits in the family room combination kitchen. She always gets to watch people, which is what she likes. Other people have families come and go, and she just gets to see everything. They get her up, they help her shower and get dressed. They give her her meals and her medication. They do everything for her. The place is very, very nice. They have a gazebo where she can go outside. And if she has guests, you can sit outside with her. I looked at a lot of places, and this is by far the nicest. She just has a small room. It does have a door that she can open out to the gazebo, which is very nice. She has her La-Z-Boy chair and her hospital bed. She has her large TV, but she likes to go watch TV out in the family room. There's another lady that sits out there and watches TV with her."