Brookdale Santa Fe

Jan

We walked through Brookdale Santa Fe pretty extensively, and it was extremely clean. It was an older building, but they kept everything updated. They had a wonderful culture and community. We saw people out doing things. One lady was in the art room painting, and another lady was out walking her dog. It was located very close to shopping and popular stores. They were very accommodating as far as adjusting the menu for your needs. They've called back and invited us not only to a meal, but to an event. They had a library, an art room, a music room, a dining room, a snack area out on the patio, and they had a pond with light and trickling water. They had a lot of flowers and the grounds were nice. All the crew were topnotch. Most of them have been there 12, 15, 20 years. You can tell it's a nice place to work. They had outings, like if there's something going on downtown they find out who wants to go and they get an appropriate vehicle.

Judith

Brookdale Santa Fe was a very nice facility. It was clean. The rooms were nice, and I think you get a lot of value for your money there. They have activities and a shuttle bus to take the residents around to go shopping or to doctor's appointments. They have a hair salon, too. The staff who gave me the tour was knowledgeable about the place and was able to answer all my questions. He was a pleasant, nice person.

Medardo

Brookdale Santa Fe was a very nice place and they did everything they could to possibly allow us to go there. They did a good job, but it just didn't work out for us to be able to move my mom there. We had a meal a couple of times. It was not gourmet food, but it was OK. Everything looked great and we had decided that's where she wanted to go, but things happened. We didn't see anything there that we didn't like. The staff was very accommodating. Victoria, the director, just did everything. She bent over backwards to do whatever she could.

Reviewer#DT0331

I thought Brookdale Santa Fe was beautiful. It felt very warm, inviting, peaceful, and all the other important things. It was clean, organized, and was well-staffed. I was very impressed overall. I have only interacted with the tour guide, but as we went on the tour, she was saying hello and greeting other staff members as we went along. Everybody was very friendly, and it seems like there was a lot of staff support throughout the facility. The apartment was spacious and well-lit. I wouldn't say hyper-modern; it was up to date with the appliances and with the bathroom. It was clean and it seemed lovely. Apart from the courtyard, I would say the dining area was my favorite part of Brookdale. It's absolutely beautiful. The light in the dining area is gorgeous and very inviting. It seems like a really special place for elder people to socialize with each other. I was very impressed. They have a game room, a community room, and a gorgeous courtyard with a pond. They might have more that I just didn't see, or we didn't talk about. It seemed very well maintained. I had no concerns at all regarding the maintenance of the facility.

Reviewer#AS0531g

Brookdale Santa Fe is within walking distance of places like the vet, the hair stylist, the drugstore, and Trader Joe's. The staff members are extremely, extremely good. They care about everybody and they take care of everything. My room is about 450 square feet. I have a little kitchen, a walk-in area, a nice living room, a balcony off my living room, a nice bedroom, and a good bathroom. The food is sometimes really good and sometimes not so good. Now that we're getting back into things, there is exercise every single morning, and we play bingo three times a week. They clean my apartment once a week. There's a big library and a beauty salon. We have a big courtyard with a fish pond. My balcony overlooks the courtyard; it's absolutely beautiful, and my cats are out there at 6:30 a.m. They do not charge extra for pets. There are quite a few cats and dogs here. The activities are coming up; they went down because of the virus.

Phillip

I went to Brookdale Santa Fe. It wasn't clean. I met the family of some of the residents, and they said the food was not that great, and they were not taking care of them as they should have been. I had a scheduled appointment and they were not ready for me when I arrived. They need to get their act together and be more organized, as well as clean the place a bit.

Provider Response

John

Brookdale Santa Fe was very nice. The staff was very nice. However, the assisted living dining area was just a nice room with tables, but when you go into the senior care living area they have a ballroom. We didn’t like the separation between assisted living and senior care. The independent living area was nicer. The assisted living people can go and dine in that dining room, but they have to go a ways to get there. It seemed like there were two classes. Also, they were more expensive. The staff member who showed me the place was great. She was fantastic. The place was very nice. I would live there if I was in senior living versus assisted living.

Pamela

Brookdale Santa Fe had very nice people, nice programs, and nice rooms. We were there for lunch and it was very good. They have a library, a pool table, a little workout room, a meeting place in the area that they watch movies, and a dining area.

LovedOne8734

My father is not getting the care that he needs at Brookdale Santa Fe. I'm disappointed. He has Alzheimer's pretty bad, and the only care he's getting is a shower every other day. You pay a fee for different services and the only thing my stepsister is paying for is a shower every other day. He needs more full care. He gets his meals there. The director is very rude and would not tell me anything. It was in the contract not to tell me any information about my dad because I don't have the medical power-of-attorney. It's a very nice facility. He has his own little room. He has a kitchen, a little sitting room, his bedroom, and a bathroom. Outside there's a pond and flowers, and you can go out there. The people he deals with are nice, but he's basically on his own. They know he needs more care, but he's not getting it. Otherwise, it's a great facility.

Sara

Compared to others, Brookdale Santa Fe was very small but well located in the city. The place seemed clean. The rooms were small but OK. They had a very small exercise room and dinner daily but there's no breakfast; that's up to you. There was a lady staff member who took us around and was very good, but she left shortly afterwards. I'd like a larger community.

Provider Response

Santa Fe Shooter

I recently had occasion to get a tour of Brookdale in Santa Fe. Wow! what a great facility. beautiful gardens, plenty of common areas to meet people and do activities from playing cards, to bingo, to reading to arts and crafts. I also had the opportunity to enjoy a meal at Brookdale, which was healthy and nutritious and delicious. Who knew this senior living facility was right in our neighborhood!

rparrya

have been an Independent Living resident of Brookdale Santa Fe for eight years. As an artist and author, I have an active life outside of the residence in the Santa Fe community at large. I, therefore, do not interact on a regular basis with other residents, though I know faces and some names with which to exchange smiles, greetings, and small conversation. And I do not participate in the activities offered by the residence. Nor do I eat in the dining room; I pick up my meals to eat in my apartment at my own hours. My true friends here are the staff. They are purely wonderful--warm, personable, helpful. I would particularly like to comment on the food. Dining room/kitchen directors Shawn and Lee go to great efforts to present not only healthful but interesting cuisine to their diners, working continuously to improve existing recipes and create new ones--not only standard "American" and New Mexican fare, but selections from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is not easy to come up with a lunch including entrée, salad, side, soup, and dessert, and a dinner including two entrees, two sides, two desserts for 150 persons 365 days a year. But Shawn and Lee do it on a level that could compete with many commercial restaurants.

Robert54s

They will promise you the world when moving in and then after a few days my loved one hated it. I will give credit where credit is due the housekeeping, activities, maintenance, some waiters and waiteresses are great. They are always friendly and upbeat very kind and always going that extra mile to meet my loved ones needs. Management seems to be in shambles all want to be chiefs but not enough Indians. When we moved my loved on in we were promised care when needed, 24hr kitchen, and med reminders. As i looked closely after 3 months they started charging us 50 some dollars for med reminders which is outrageous. They also were charging us for escort to and from the dining room 20 dollars each time. Brookdale needs to stop the greed and care more for the residents at the facility. Its to bad some staff members do really care and they ain't the ones in charge that needs to change as well.

Provider Response

Jacobs737571

I visited Brookdale Santa Fe. They’re very courteous. The rooms were very nice. The ambience was good. The community was expensive, but the location was excellent.

ArtSTHOO

I liked Brookdale Santa Fe. It was fairly standard and had a fairly good location. It had all the standard amenities like a library, media rooms, and community rooms, which were all quite good. The staff was very nice, quite helpful, and sent me a brochure. The rooms appeared to be standard with nothing outstanding about them, but I liked them. Everything was fairly institutional. Brookdale was actually pretty good but looked a little disorganized. The community was pretty standard.

Bill108

Once one of Santa Fe's best, I believe that Ponce de Leon has grown dated, a bit shabby, and overly expensive during the several years in which our parent has been a resident. We decided that it has outlived its value for us; and we recently (March 2016) moved our parent to a far-less expensive, clean new independent community with preferred food, greater personal attention, and a much lower set price with a multi-year guarantee. Aside from the food, our parent had been happy at Ponce but is enjoying the new home more. Be aware that Ponce de Leon is owned by a large corporation that requires signing a detailed contract outlining its policies and presumably guaranteeing its profits. You will be bound by those policies; and if you don't understand them, you might end up paying for expensive services not actually received. Services such as a reminder to take a pill--which were often confused-- are priced separately and can really add to the base rate. Every January resulted in hefty base and services rates increases for us.

M. Lee

My dad moved to Brookdale of SF in July, 2015. He is coming up on a year. Frankly, for the cost, he has been very dissatisfied. The food is subpar, verging on unhealthy, the cleaning crew is overworked and understaffed, and the facility in general is in need of upgrades. The rooms are decent, but in my father's, the cooling system was underpowered for the space. Maybe it's the classic case of big business being aloof to the needs and wants of their clients because, after all, they aren't exactly going to revolt and move out. How can they? Most are physically unable. But my father will. It won't be easy, but he will move to a better place. One plus: the staff was/is generally client centered, but the administration I'm sure feels the budgetary pressures of the out of state bosses and cuts corners where they can. Assisted living has become big business.

Provider Response

seth1905

My mother has been a resident at brookdale for a few years and she loves it.The staff is very courteous she loves to go to the fabulous dining area in the brookdale Mary,Jerry always are very polite to her she always mentions them to me on our conversations.Highly recommended for others.

William107205550

I visited Ponce de Leon, and I didn't care for it because I found it a little dated, dirty, and dark. I just took a tour of the facility a couple of months ago. The people were friendly. But it seemed a little staged because I had an appointment on the tour. So they had a lot of colorful seniors in different areas. I just got that feeling. A lot of facilities do that trying to put on their best face, which is normal. It just seemed a little dated as far as the facility itself. It had that kind of an institution type feel to it to me. I'm 62 so I'm not really young, and I don't get freaked out by places like that, but I have been to a lot of different ones over the years for my dad and different people. It didn't seem that clean or well lit. It was kind of dark and dingy. They showed me a room with a huge stain at the carpet. They assured me that if they can't get the stain out that they most likely replace the carpet. I just wasn't really impressed with that facility at all for my mother. They were friendly, but when I went on the tour, there were certain staff member in certain areas almost waiting for me. They were kind of overly friendly, so it seemed to me like it was a staged tour. I went to a couple of nursing homes back east and it was like that, but as soon as you left, all those friendly people disappeared, and your father is left with different people altogether.

Provider Response

Kim101450650

I visited a friend’s dad at Ponce de Leon. I did not think his apartment was horrible or remarkable. It was just fine. I remember going past the outdoor area, and it was beautiful and very attractive. It was homey.

JPL

My Mom moved here from a larger New England duplex one year ago into a smaller (1 bdrm) assisted living apartment. She really likes it and is very happy (even though he doesn't have access to a car).. The people are genuinely friendly and the facility is open and warm. There are numerous activities and a shuttle for residents convenience (shopping, bank). She has made some acquaintances.

Caring77529650

My brother was temporarily moved to Ponce De Leon for a couple of weeks. The staff is good and they are attentive to the special needs of the patients. They have many activities there and the food is excellent.

Barbara76963950

I visited Ponce De Leon, and it definitely had the atmosphere that it was for people who were in the assisted living area. It was not for active people like my husband and myself. They call themselves independent living, but it felt like assisted living. We just didn't feel comfortable there. It seemed to have an active calendar, but I have a problem with a calendar that is made by an activities director. All of the activities seemed to just be things to pass the time, like bingo and bridge and those kinds of things. We asked the executive director how long people live there typically, and it was three years. They die within three years of coming there. It shows you that the people were coming there much older, in much poorer health. They were coming at the very end of their lives and that's not the environment that my husband and I want. I would not choose to live there.

Provider Response

N. Thompson

My mother stayed at Ponce De Leon. The staff were really positive and very nice. The dining room and food were very good. It was wonderful and everything about it was great.

Ms. A1

The Ponce de Leon had smaller rooms. I thought it was dated and they could do with fixing it up. I only visited once, but the staff was friendly though. It's a good location.

June8

I visited Ponce De Leon and I liked it very much. Everybody was very nice. They showed me an apartment and they seemed very well. I would recommend this facility to other people.

Phoebe 1

I thought Ponce de Leon was great. They do a wonderful job with the older people. My in-laws are both 92, and a number of their friends who are living there have mostly positive things to say. There's transportation and there are lots of activities. It's really nice, however, it's expensive.