My parents moved to Merrill Gardens shortly after it opened. My mom was independent, my dad needed…read morea lot of assistance, and they wanted to share an apartment, which they were able to do easily with the flexible levels of care. When my dad passed, my mom moved to another beautiful apartment and continued to thrive. She loves to play daily games (bingo and rummikub) and share meals and social gatherings with her close friends. In the rare cases that she needed extra assistance medically, the staff was attentive, kind and caring and they communicated well with me. The activity directors have been wonderful and creative, making everyday life fun and active for the residents. We've also enjoyed and developed relationships with many of the staff members.

Our family decided to put my mother into residency at Merrill Gardens when she was 85 years of age…read more She was a resident there until her death last November at the age of 96. Throughout her time at Merrill Gardens, she experienced nothing but amazing care and attention, wonderful relationships with other residents and staff, and a comfortable apartment and vibrant lifestyle. I cannot recommend this facility more highly. Merrill Gardens is a nurturing, safe and incredible living community!

Everyone at Lafayette Gardens is the best at what they do. The caregivers perform their work with…read moreskill, attention to detail, and compassion. My mother, who is almost 97, and in need of a lot of care, receives that diligent care, with love. The caregivers know my mother loves music and often sing to her and with her. The owner of Lafayette Gardens is excellent, knowledgeable, and has helped us through many difficult steps along the way. She has many years of experience in this field and always has made us feel like mom's welfare, and ours is very important to her. I definitely recommend Lafayette Gardens.

Our mother has been a resident of Lafayette Gardens for over a year now. We have been very pleased…read morewith the care she has received there. The home is cheerful and always impeccably clean. The staff makes an effort to get the residents up and dressed, not just in their rooms. There is a nice deck surrounded by trees & plants that is a very enjoyable place to spend time with your loved ones. Meeran retains very good caregivers who are actually very sweet. Would definitely recommend to anyone in need.

I am a Social Worker at a Skilled Nursing Facility in Walnut Creek, Ca and I have been working with…read moreBill K. from Always Best Care since I relocated to this area. I can wholeheartedly say that this agency has been a true blessing. I have had patients discharge home with little to no notice and Always Best Care has started care for me within hours of a patient going home. I've received nothing but good feedback from the families regarding the care and wellbeing of their loved ones while under the care of Always Best Care!

Absolutely terrible experience, beware of using this company! Our 91 year old mother who needed…read moreovernight care in her final days was left lying in a soaking wet bed by the caregiver, and the rail on the bed was found down by the facility CNA in the morning after the caregiver left. The primary reason we hired an overnight caregiver was to assure she didn't fall out of the bed! This was sheer negligence. In addition, the company has no formal method of providing updates to the family. I asked early in the day for a report from the overnight staff and was told by Bill Kammerer that a report would be provided to me. Never heard another word until the CNA from her residence told me the condition he found our mother in when he started his shift. This has caused considerable stress to me and my family during already very difficult times. The lack of professionalism from the poor staff training to the absence of communication is below a one star rating- it's criminal. Bill's comment about HBSC finding the complaint unsubstantiated doesn't erase the fact that his staff left my mother lying in soaking wet clothes and the bed rails down when they left their shift in the morning. The only reason it was "unsubstantiated" is because records showed his staff had been through required training, however, licensing could not confirm the violation of my mother's rights because according to their report to me, they hadn't witnessed the neglect. However the Nursing Director of my mother's residence DID witness the neglect by the staff of this agency and she was also appalled and as disturbed as my family and I were.

My husband and I just had a tour and presentation at Byron Park. Our Presenter was Maria and she…read morewas wonderful and answered every question we had and gave such a wonderful tour. Maria explained every aspect of living there so thoroughly. I certainly recommend her as someone to contact if you are interested in viewing or needing assistance in looking over Byron Park as a possible place to live. Just ask for Maria when you call for an appointment.....

My grandmother has been living here for about seven years and we all love it! My kids and I visit…read moreoften. The staff all know us by name and are incredibly friendly and helpful. They take such great care of my grandma! The food here is great! We love visiting for meals. And they just held a family carnival that we all enjoyed. My kids call Byron Park "Oma's Castle." Its always clean and comfortable here. But what makes this place extra special is the amazing staff. They're the best!

I am so happy for the professional care and thoughtfulness of the Atria staff. Their genuine care…read moreis truly the best and most amazing! Especially noted is Olga and Pamela who are the most caring and kind staff that truly do the absolute best in taking care of the residents/patients! Thank you so very much- you are the best!!

Don't bring your loved one here. The care is OK but their billing is all jacked up and the…read moreinterface with family members is poor. We pulled my dad out of there on December 10th due to a change in his condition that required higher care. We paid our bill in advance through auto deduction on our bank account on December 1st. We were paid to the end of the month. Today, December 26, I received a "Final demand for payment" for over $1000. I did not receive a bill previously and it doesn't say what it was for. They received full rent from us, and he hasn't been living there since December 10. if anything, we should be getting a partial refund because he was not fed nor cared for from December 10 to the present. This company is full of crooks who will mercilessly squeeze out every dime that they can I feel sorry for the Caretakers who work there, no wonder the turnover has been so high in the 5 years we were there. I cannot recommend Atria Park of Lafayette or any Atria facility.

Moved here 6 months ago. Wife had been diagnosed with MCI and we wanted to get situated in an…read moreenvironment that could take care of any needs in the next 15 years. 3 nutritious meals a day and maintaining our home of 47 years had also become an issue. The Kensington met and exceeded expectations. Thought we would use our well equipped kitchenette, but so much easier to walk down the hall to the dining room instead. Staff is very accommodating.

We are so excited that our parents are going to be moving into The Kensington in Walnut Creek!…read more When my sister and I went with our parents to visit we were so impressed! It had such a warm feeling from the staff and the people who lived there! I hear the food is amazing which we will find out since we will be visiting our parents often!

We had a family member living at Tiffany Court for seven years, and we truly could not have been…read morehappier with the care she received. Tiffany Court is a wonderful place, and it gave our family great peace of mind knowing she was so well cared for. What makes Tiffany Court special is how genuinely the residents are treated like family. Patti does an incredible job staying closely involved with every resident and keeping family members informed and updated. Her dedication and compassion are remarkable. The staff is outstanding. Enrique always went out of his way to accommodate our family member's many special food requests with kindness and patience. Marie, although she works in the business office, consistently went above and beyond to help and support our family member as well. We are deeply grateful to the entire Tiffany Court team for the care, compassion, and support they provided over the years.

Nope, nope and NOPE. Walking in and was hit with a stong, pungent and definitely not easily…read moretolerated stench of something foul. Even with the covid mask and doing my best to breathe in thru my mouth, it finally got to me and I had to walk out. I was going to gag into my mask. I couldn't imagine putting my loved one in here and coming to visit. I couldn't conscience the thought. Just nope.

My mom has been at Carnelian for over a year. We have been very happy with her care. Don't let the…read moreAL name fool you. Most of the 30 residents have severe dementia. Technically a board and care, but more on the level of a memory care with great staff, excellent food, almost daily live music and tons of activities. Priced accordingly on the high end of MC...and worth it if you can swing it. Carnelian is 3 houses with a big combined yard. It's been family run since the 70s. We're so grateful for Carnelian staff. My stress level has come down a lot knowing my mom is so well taken care of. My aunts have all been amazed at the care and atmosphere. No MC I toured even came close.

My family has been performing music at the Carnelian for over 10 years. We play in a lot of senior…read morehomes and see the difference. Staff at the Carnelian really provide personal attention to the residents. They are warm and caring and we've never seen anyone who needed attention left alone. They handle moody residents with patience and compassion. It feels like a big family atmosphere instead of a corporate run warehouse like a lot of the bigger places do. I would place my own family members there. Nothing we've seen compares to it.

Transitioning our parents into senior care was a difficult, major life shift, but the team here…read moremade it not only manageable and reassuring. From day one, they have shown patience, flexibility, and a genuine willingness to tailor the care plan as our parents' needs changed. There's never been judgment or pushback--just a calm, solutions-focused approach centered on comfort, dignity, and quality of life. Communication is good. We have the director's cell number and can reach out anytime. That level of access and transparency has made us feel like true partners in our parents' care. One of the most meaningful aspects has been the relationships the staff have built with our parents. They've become not just caregivers, but friends--often their main source of daily interaction and connection. It's clear the staff care deeply, and it shows in every small, thoughtful gesture. This level of personalized care and attention isn't inexpensive. We're incredibly fortunate that our parents had the foresight to invest in long-term care insurance. We are not saying it's overpriced, rather, the cost to run and staff a care community is significant. We're so grateful to the entire tea and for treating our parents with the kindness, respect, and warmth every family hopes for.

I am leaving an updated review on this facility. When I initially placed my mother in the Aegis…read moreMoraga facility in May 2021, I believed it was a highly skilled environment with strong, honest, and educated management and care teams. However, this could not be further from the current reality. Recently my mother's care costs were randomly and dramatically increased without proper communications or justification. This egregious occurrence was met with management silence and non-communication. Upon the advice of my legal counsel, I immediately moved my mother out of this facility. This situation has placed an immense mental, physical, and financial burden on my family. In addition, my earlier Yelp review was truncated and a portion was posted on their website. Unacceptable.

Anna is one of the warmest, most caring people I've ever met. Her knowledge and dedication to…read morecaring for the elderly really shine through. My mom is pretty particular, and I honestly didn't think she'd let anyone else care for her, but she absolutely loved Anna and her team. I always felt like I was leaving my mom with family, which made it so much easier to relax when I had to be away. We're so lucky to have met her, and I can't recommend her enough

The proper and detailed care you'd provide -- but better…read more Let me start by saying that my profession had me working with caregivers for ten years, supporting them through the rehabilitation of their loved ones with brain injuries. I, too, was a caregiver for a loved one with two, severe brain injuries. As he aged, dementia, secondary to the injuries, set in. So no easy case to manage. To state it politely... I had been caring for him for over two decades but it was time for him to be placed where his needs could be better addressed as he was about to be wheelchair-bound. A year living in a conventional, assisted living facility was a disaster (the place eventually went out of business), which was similar to the experience my mother had about a decade earlier in another facility. I worked with David Cohen of Exceptional Senior Placements (ESP) to find Moraga Retreat on Woodford Drive, in Moraga. We had finally found a *real home* for my loved one! It was a struggle for my loved one as he wanted his independence and wanted to go back to his home. Both things were not possible because of the damage to his brain and his increasing fragility. This is what Moraga Retreat owner Ana Blaj and her dedicated staff were tasked with overcoming, in addition to dealing with all of the medical and physical challenges he presented. Ana and her staff patiently and painstakingly softened his resistance, worked diligently to enhance his comfort in every way he asked and needed, and addressed his food preferences. It was heroic! No exaggeration. My loved one liked living there, knew he was cared for as well as possible and bonded with Ana, Donna, Wayne and the other caregivers like family. It was mutual affection, more than I ever thought possible. Oh sure, I was in the middle of things too much thinking I knew better about his care. Ana is an expert, certified care manager and she is locked down on the details and managing the staff and the home. It turned out no one knew better what to do for my loved one than *they did.* Period. After so much time devoted to my loved one's care, *I* could finally stand down and let people I trusted take care of him. What a relief for both of us. Moraga Retreat gave both of us our lives back. There are no words to thank them for five years of unwavering service as much as they deserve. I strongly suggest if you need help caring for your loved one, make an appointment to visit Ana and the staff at Moraga Retreat. I don't know what I would have done if I'd never met her. Truly.