Sunrise of Golden Valley

ReviewerFC092722A

My sister stayed at Sunrise of Golden Valley for rehab respite for about 20 days. For her, it was not a good experience, but it was her own fault. She didn't want to be there, but I thought the place was OK, the staff was OK, and it was a very nice building. Her room was generously sized enough and clean, but very plain. It had a bed and a chair and a bathroom and somewhat looked like sort of kitchen cabinetry, but not a kitchen. I was only there for half an hour one time. I didn't see any of the activities or anything, but it looked like they had a lot of common areas for people to go and do things. She just was not a cooperative patient there, but the staff, the meals, and the facility were fine.

Provider Response

Edzier

Sunrise of Golden Valley was comparable to the other facility. The staff are amenable and quite nice. They were very informative and provided us with a lot of information. The room was pretty much the same layout, but I think the attraction for us in going there was the location. I like the location. The facility was very well kept, neat, clean, and nothing seemed to be in disrepair. The way the steps and the move around the place seemed to function very well.

Provider Response

Susan

I like that Sunrise of Golden Valley seemed like they kind of knew where my friend was at in her memory loss. And that she could be independent, and then transition. There was just something they seemed to know how to deal with, in that situation. The amenities seem pretty nice and they have an outdoor area. And in assisted living somebody would come and check on you every day which seemed a little more intensive assisted. They talked about their menu but I haven't tried the food. The assisted living just had a refrigerator, there are no stoves or anything. The person has been in the industry and seems to know how people are when aging, so she's very good. They had a salon, they had field trips or somebody could take you to the grocery stores.

Provider Response

CE

Sunrise of Golden Valley was a pretty building and it was nicely appointed. I thought as a first-time person going in, it was very confusing. I didn't get the flow of it. The person who showed me around was someone who was filling in from some other area, so he was knowledgeable about the organization, but not specifically that location. He seemed knowledgeable about geriatric services. It was a wonderful location. It was near a park with nice big trees around. It would have been fun to watch people on the playground. There were amenities and little activity calendars. There seemed to be lots of space for people to go and maybe not be in the midst of a big crowd. The flow of the building was confusing, but the exterior areas were very appealing. The hallways were confusing. I didn't understand exactly the interior flow of it.

Provider Response

Tom

Sunrise of Golden Valley was clean and organized, but the rooms were incredibly small. The person during the visit was great, very helpful, and very friendly. We observed it in the middle of the pandemic, so nobody was doing anything. They were still eating in their rooms when I was looking. They had a barber shop and some other things, but they weren't open.

scooter's son

The most important thing to know about this place is that they are usually short staffed and have a high rate of turn-over. They only hire untrained front line staff (cheaper) who start out happy and motivated but soon wear down due to 1) management's style 2) over work 3) poor training 4) low pay. The Activity schedule is often cancelled due to under staffing. My mother often sat in wet (or worse) pants because when asked, she insisted that she was not wet or didn't have to "go". The family requested until we were blue in the face that she not be asked if "she had to go" but to simply tell her it is "time to go". Lack of staff time and training caused that problem to continue for 1 1/2 years. While we were there a woman who had lived there for 10 years (she sat at the front door reading and greeting people) was kicked out when they ran her cash out. She only had Medicare left and that was not good enough. Food is touted as "homemade" and it is not too bad but the menu is extremely small. Serving the same few choices over and over. As long as your relative can care for themselves and don't run out of money Sunrise Golden Valley is a nice place to live but beware: 50% of what the happy salesman tells you is, well, a pipe-dream.

Provider Response

Reviewer0808

The layout of Sunrise of Golden Valley works well for people who don't quite need nursing home care, but might need a little bit more than just assisted living. We chose it because it's relatively a smaller space. The facility is well maintained except for the back courtyard. They keep on saying they're going to plant things, but it's already summer. She loves her room, it's very bright and sunny, and she gets lots of light. The staff is marvelous. The activities are well attended. They have bingo, exercises, someone plays the piano, there's singing groups, movie nights, prom once a year, and tours.

Jeff

I toured Sunrise of Golden Valley. My tour person showed up 20 minutes late with coffee. It was an older building. The structure was OK and not clean. I was very disturbed to see the memory care where there was a litter box that had not been cleaned for probably weeks and a pile of cat feces that was very disgusting. They had resident pets. A dog is fine, but I think many are allergic to cat dander, and my mother would not approve of living in a place with cats. The room I saw was small and might work well for a single person.

Provider Response

K.D.

Sunrise of Golden Valley is extremely nice, and there's a reason why it's rated very high by the people who live there. When I visited, they had someone to greet you and because they're expecting you they're on top of the ball. The staff treats each other very well, so you know they'll treat the residents well. They mainly have semi-private rooms, and if you can buy out a whole suite you have more privacy. It's full of natural light, and they do have resident pets there, so there's a house cat who lives on the memory care unit, and then there's a dog who stays in the assisted living part. They have snacks and hydration available, and they go out of their way to make the place look very homey. They also have a wide variety of activities to appeal to varied interests. The assisted living place has the best outdoor area, it's really nice, and it feels like you're out in a park. They also have a place that's more like a deck for the memory care people where they can go and sit outside with little umbrellas for shade. The only drawback is that the residents still have to wait for a staff member to go outside. Their hallways all have skylights so there's a ton of natural night.

victorine

Their salesman is fantastic! Sadly the experience does not meet the promises. Due to an extremely high rate of staff turnover care is Inconsistent. Response time runs from 5-50 minutes (we were told 7min) (district manager says 12min). They hire untrained and uncertified staff who learn by experience on your relative. Staff start out friendly and caring and leave unhappy. Short staff = short care. Mother is often sitting in wet pants which they excuse because she tells them that she doesn't have to go (lack of staff experience and training). Wet pants cause urinary tract infections and breakdown of skin (sores). It is extremely difficult to get services changed or followed up on. Management response is Apartments are fine, laundry and cleaning fair. There are quite a few activities unless they are canceled due to staff shortage and food is okay but 70% the same every day. The 3rd floor is memory care which I hear has less staff turnover, This is a good place for independent people who do not need many services or will run out of money. They will kick you out when you only have to rely on Medicare no matter how many years you have been there - no exceptions. Has a nice sitting porch.

Provider Response

Kathleen

Everything about the tour at Sunrise was pleasant. However, we did not feel it was a good fit. The rooms were average and clean. There was a library and a calendar of different events organized to stay at the facility or to go out, such as shopping. The dining area was welcoming, clean, and had a vast menu with a lot of different choices.

Kat445385

Sunrise of Golden Valley was the one that we liked the best. It was absolutely beautiful inside. It looked like a mansion. At the same time, it was looking like somebody’s house, and everybody who worked there had a smile on their faces. The man who worked there and did the tours and interview with us -- we were also very impressed by him. You could tell that he really enjoyed his job and believed in what he did. If you took money out of the equation, we would be at Sunrise of Golden Valley, but it was just far more expensive than what‘s justifiable. The coolest thing we saw when we walked in was they had a café. It was a coffee area where they served treats and popcorn, and the residents can order coffee. They even had a Happy Hour, and kind of made it seem that their lives were as normal as possible. They had a beautiful garden and grounds. They also had very good activities, and it seemed like they really understood the Alzheimer’s and dementia treatment. They weren’t just treating them like any nursing home patient. It was like they really knew their stuff about caring for people with memory loss. Sunrise of Golden Valley was definitely our favorite.

Linda327413

Sunrise of Golden Valley promised a lot of things that they didn't deliver. For the amount of money that you spend, he had to share a room with somebody else. That's how they have their rooms, and it was not a very good experience. I think they have too many aides, and the big thing is that they don't communicate at all. I can tell one aide one thing, but they won't tell the next person, and it's continual. They just don't communicate at all.

Provider Response

Cynthia564576

We really liked Sunrise of Golden Valley. It was very friendly and very homey, and we would have chosen it for my sister. We really liked everything we saw. There were absolutely no negatives. The people were friendly, and all the administrative personnel were excellent at their jobs.

Bev820830

I was extremely impressed with Sunrise of Golden Valley. It was an excellent and very nice facility. It seemed like they had a wonderful staff. It was very well set up. I liked the idea that they could go from minor assisted living to hospice care without having to move. The rooms and apartments were very nice. Their grounds and facility location were excellent. The dining area seemed very good. They had choices for the meals, so that was very good.

Jay422107

Sunrise of Golden Valley was a very homey and very comfortable senior home. All of the people were so friendly. One great thing was there was that there was a nine-year-old golden retriever as a greeter. Also, they bake cookies all day long, so the lobby smelled like cookies. It would be a year or so before we move in to a senior housing. When you were going from a condo, in our case, the rooms were small, but they were very comfortable, adequate, well kept up, and well maintained. There were variations, and we saw three different apartment units depending on how much you would want to pay. We saw their dining room, but we did not try their food. Although, when we left, they gave us a coffee cake to take home.

Caring112362050

I was very impressed with my visit at Sunrise. They had a sign and a frame that said "Welcome," and it was nice to see that. The marketing manager was very personable, and you can tell he cares about the place and the people. He called everyone by their names. The rooms were nice, but they were a bit small. The view wasn’t spectacular because it was in a residential setting. They had activities, and they take the residents fishing during the summer. They do have a dog and cat, but the grandchildren of my dad have allergies to both dogs and cats.

Caring101828150

Sunrise of Golden Valley felt like a home. They let the people garden, they had little pots to make something out of, and it gives them some reason to get up and see if their plants are growing. They order off a menu, and they have a very nice dining room. Everything was very clean and very welcoming, and the people were all very nice and wonderful. It seemed the people really liked it there.

Arlyss1

I absolutely love Sunrise of Golden Valley; however, they didn't have that elderly waiver, e.g., as you run out of money, you can't stay there and go on. That was hard for us because we are guessing my mother would probably outlive her money and we don't want to move her again. Sunrise probably would have been our first pick because it is right there, it is accessible. We were there when they were under construction, but it looked like they were doing very well with re-routing their guests. They had a dog there. The residents, they all seemed to stop and know the guy that we were talking to. It just seemed a really friendly and really caring place. Each floor had its own little community. They had their own little table at the end of the floor. It seemed really small and quaint. It seemed more quiet and yet you could go into the bigger areas. The community we looked at had only like five or six little apartments on that floor and for somebody who is confused, it would be very easy to just live right there. We just really love that setting because we were thinking my mother was going into dementia state.

Robin21

The people that worked at Sunrise of Golden Valley were awesome and the people that lived there are fabulous. The rooms are very nice; they are beautiful. It was just a very nice place to go to, but mom is just not ready to move yet.

caring0508213

We just had a tour at Sunrise of Golden Valley and the place looks clean and well kept. It looks like a nice place.

Lilyofthevalley1

My grandfather had Alzheimer's and dementia and lived in the memory care unit of Sunrise. I was impressed by how much thought and creativity was put into the design of the floor my grandfather lived on. It was beautifully decorated and had "memory centers" interspersed between the rooms. These included displays of clothing, products, music and photographs from the 1940s and 50s. Residents also had personalized frames by their rooms with letters and photos of family members to help jog their memories. The residents are encouraged to spend time outside their rooms in the common areas and the floor had a very comforting and welcoming atmosphere. All in all I was very impressed with Sunrise, and would absolutely recommend it- especially for anyone in need of memory care.

commercesd

Based upon a friend's recommendation, we decided to consider the Sunrise of Golden Valley assisted living facility for our uncle. Golden Valley is a western suburb of Minneapolis off of Interstate 394 and Highways 55 and 100, so there is easy access from the surrounding areas. They have a great physical fitness center and schedule a variety of creative and social activities. The group list of trips and clubs looked interesting and included many of our uncle's interests. They provide monthly wellness nurse visits to monitor health which is important to us due to our uncle's diabetes. The private rooms have comfy seating areas with nice, big chairs, which our uncle really liked. Each room features temperature controls. The kitchenette is sufficient, however, there could be a little more counter space. Anyone who really likes to cook may find it awkward. The bedrooms all have nice sized windows with beautiful views. The bathrooms are a good size with ample counter space. The main socializing room has a cozy fireplace with plenty of outside light. There is also an outside deck overlooking the manicured grounds. The Colonial décor in the main dining room is warm and friendly with a communal feel and a lot of light from long, wide windows. Our uncle used to do a lot of cooking, so socializing over food is important to him. We used to have big family meals and we think he'll really enjoy this atmosphere. There is also a café area with smaller tables for casual dining, which is good for guests. It was also great to know that our uncle could have his cat live with him!