The El Dorado

Deborah

I visited The El Dorado's independent living community, and I liked it. It was smaller than a lot of them. It was only 100 units, and the people were very friendly. I liked the grounds, too. They had a nice walking path in their yard around the building, and I liked that. I like the dining situation, too. You ate three meals a day in the dining hall, and they had lots of snacks and coffee at any time. There were a lot of things that I liked about it. I felt that the rooms were really small, but at least they had a balcony. Each of them had a balcony or a way to walk out, and I like that about it. I just felt like they didn't have any room that had a little den or an office space. The kitchenette was also just simply a little sink with a little counter and barely big enough to hold a coffee pot, so I thought they were way too small. I didn't mind that they didn't have a stove, but they had no place to put a microwave or something, and you'd have to bring in your own shelving and furniture to hold anything else for that kitchen. The minute you put the microwave on your own furniture, you were already going into the living room because it was so tiny and so close. That was the only thing I didn't like about it. We were not able to sample the food, but they did show us a menu, and it was really extensive. It was very good, and they had choices. They had the nightly one that they would publish that they were going to have, and then if you didn't like any of that, you could have a choice of other things, like a hamburger or something like that. They had a lot of really good amenities, and the lady who took us around was very good.

Patricia

I chose The El Dorado for myself because of the location. I liked how it's laid out. The atmosphere suits me quite well. The rooms are very nicely sized. The studios are big. I felt like I belonged there. The dining area is very much like an upscale restaurant.

Tanya

My dad moved into The El Dorado. Everything is very well kept. He was able to move into a freshly painted room, and they had just redone the floors and everything. But I think the biggest thing so far has been the people, the concierge, and the director. Everyone we have encountered has been wonderful there. They're bending over backwards to help us, even going as far as to help us recommend different companies we could work with to assist us with the VA benefits. So, they've been great. The whole community is really nice. They have 24-hour care if needed. He has a monitor that he can click, and there's somebody on hand 24 hours. They serve three meals a day and snacks. They have scheduled activities every day. He's already gone to a casino with the group. They go to the grocery store a couple of times a week. They take people to their doctor's visits. They even have somebody come in and clean once a week. So, he's loving everything about it. I have not tried the food, but my niece and nephew did. My dad has said that everything's really good. It's a nice variety. He says they give you a salad every day with your lunch. And they usually have a couple of different choices. I think he may have skipped one meal there. He has a refrigerator in his apartment as well. Everything so far is so good. He enjoyed it. The food has been good. It's an older building. I'm sure there are some repairs that they could do, but they keep it very well maintained and clean.