The Best Independent Living Communities in San Luis Obispo County, CA

"My mother-in-law will be moving into Avila Senior Living at Downtown San Luis Obispo. They're still remodeling. They have independent rooms, they also have assisted living. We toured the studios and the 1-bedrooms. The only place we didn't tour was the memory care because they're remodeling that. It's very homey, very comfortable, the remodeling that they're doing right now is very beautiful. The staff came up and introduced themselves, even when they're going past us in the hallway. They were very, very welcoming, and it seemed that's the way they are with the residents also. It was very nice. The rooms are very nice, roomy, and seemed to have everything that you would need. they had a couple of different models with the showers that we like. The food was excellent. We had a chef's very good salad, my mom tried a meat dish which she said was very good. We had a very good meal. I talked to the residents who ate there also, and they said that the food is really good."

"The independent living of Las Brisas in San Luis Obispo was great. I like all the amenities that they had, including the beauty shop, the barber shop for men, and the laundry room. I like the meals, too. I like where the facility was set up, because it was beautiful. They also allowed pets, so I enjoyed that and thought that was a good plus, because I have some pets I need to take with me. The person who took us around wasn't the one that I needed to talk to, but she was gracious enough to do it. The man who normally does the tour was not there that day, and we also just walked in. Everybody else seemed to be very friendly, and the recreational person was just super nice, answering all of my questions. I also liked all the common areas and the patio. She explained that they have special events sometimes where they have barbecues there, and I thought that was nice and interesting."

"I went with a friend to visit their father. The rooms were homey and clean. Staff very caring. My friends Dad said he was happy here."

"My tour of The Oaks at Nipomo was very helpful. The staff members were excellent. We met with the executive director who led us on the tour, and then she introduced us to the person who's in charge of the program in the memory care center who was also really impressive. We also bumped into different staff people all the way through, and all of whom were friendly, helpful, and engaged with the folks that were there. It looked like a really good place. We were not able to go inside of any rooms because none of them were empty at the moment, but we peeked through the door. We were only looking at memory care, so we didn't look at the other rooms at all. And at the memory care, we were looking for a shared room, and from what we could see, it looks like a good plan because shared rooms are actually two separate bedrooms, each with their own door, and they open into a little corridor, and then they share what looks like a nice, large bathroom. We walked through the main assisted living portion on our way to the memory care portion, and the assisted living is quite elegant. It was very beautifully decorated and it looked really pleasant in there. The memory care is more institutional looking, but still nice and pleasant. We found several different clients sitting there at the table drinking coffee mid-morning. They always have coffee and snacks available for the people if they want to just sit with their friends, so this was a really nice one. There's a little courtyard area. The place is designed around it so that you see windows all the way around. Even if they're indoors walking around, they can look outdoors, which is really nice. There are benches and things out there. They have a pleasant outdoor area for memory care. The grounds looked quite nice. It's obviously a fairly new building. Everything is clean and neat, and I think designed it to be a really pleasant environment for people. They had a special meditation time for the memory care people, which they were all gathered together to do. And then after that, we ran into them getting on their special van bus, and they were heading out for a picnic up in our area. They had their little picnic things with them, and they were going to the Dinosaur Caves in Pismo. The staff member said they do this weekly possibly where they actually have an actual outing, and then another time a week they will have a driving outing where they go touring, but they don't necessarily get out. When they have a real outing then they have extra staff members along, and they can get out and walk around and sit in public. They look very excited about that."

"My parents have moved into The Villages. They're at The Oaks part, and the food is excellent. The gardens are beautiful. The staff is very good and nice. They have a good variety of activities. Unfortunately, my parents don't want to participate in them. The rooms are spacious, and they keep them clean. They have a small gym room. They've got a heated pool, and they have an outdoor jacuzzi, although it's not terribly warm. It could be warmer, but they probably keep it down on temperature due to the elderly there. There's a good variety in their food. They have a good choice of alternative items from the specials of the day. They have a great salad bar. I think it's expensive, but that's California, too. They have transportation. They're in the independent living. You furnish your room yourself."

"We toured Atascadero Christian Community and are waiting for a room to become available. We chose it because of the friendliness of the staff and the perfect accommodations. Overall, it was the best we’ve looked at. They had an exercise room, arts and crafts room, a beautiful outdoor facility with big deck chairs, Wi-Fi throughout the place, and private dining rooms for visiting families. "