Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens

I would recommend the community to others for their loved ones. There are nice, helpful, and caring staff that work here, which is important for seniors. The activities could have more options and variety. There is nothing for those that are hard of seeing for activities.

This is an excellent place and the people are friendly and good care is given. This is a good place if you need the help or your loved one needs the help.

I think that the level of caring from this community. Everybody that works there from the cook to the administration and everyone in between knows my mom's name. My mom got extremely sick, and called me to tell me to take my mom to the hospital immediately. Once she came back to the community, the staff was amazing during her quarantine after the hospital stay. The staff gave my mom the care she needed to help with her mental state during this time.

My dad is physically doing better and the location is great but the facility and everything about it is so-so. They messed up real heavily with his medication and I was very unhappy they didn't give it to him right. The doctor was upset too because he increase the medication and they cut the dosage down by half. The management took off half of the month's charges. Another issue we had was once he recovered and he was able to shower by himself and the help was rejected they were still charging us for helping for charges.

I was not very impressed with my tour of this community. They have a great ocean view and its in walking distance from the facility but that was about all I liked. This place used to be a hotel that they converted into an assisted living and everything is just way to small. The rooms feel just like dorms and do not have a lot of living space. It was just not the right place for my father.

My mother has been living at the Gardens. She is so happy there. The staff is friendly and caring. Great Food and lots of social activities. The location is great. In the residential part of Santa Monica with a big parking garage. Safe neighborhood to go for walks. One block to the beach and close to all the action if you want it.

I immediately knew that my friend would like to be a part of this community and get the assistance and safety that she needed. I was pleased when she agreed to move in next month. Thank you for your tour and introductory lunch.

My tour of this community went very well. The community looked great, everything was very well maintained. The staff was kind and welcoming. They do offer many activities. Everything went very well. They were very knowledgeable and answered my questions. It was a lovely experience.

My mother has been at Santa Monica Gardens for 3 years. The staff is happy and caring. She has so many friends because it is a warm family atmosphere. The activities are so much fun that I stay to participate. My mother is mentally sharp being a former professor. It is great that many of the residents are just like her. I am happy when I visit they have a large parking garage because I don't want to have to be stressed looking for a spot when I arrive. This is where I want to live when I am a senior.

My mother has been at the Gardens for 3 years. You walk in the community and feel the positive energy. She has made so many friends. The activities are varied for every taste. The staff is very caring and interested in the welfare of the resident. I have been there for dinner and parties. The food is great. Fresh salad bar and fruit for lunch and dinner. That is what I love when I visit. My mother is happy and cared for. That means a lot to me.

Staff is best thing about the facility. Facility itself needs new carpet, new paint. Management is unimpressive. Their goal is to get you into the facility. Once your family member is checked in, the niceness disappears. We received incorrect information from the sales director. We confronted her and she denied it. Food is atrocious. Wait staff is good, food is bad.

We selected Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens as a temporary place for our uncle following an illness so he could recover his strength with assistance. After a week, he asked if he could stay permanently so we happily converted him to permanent resident. Brookdale's staff is friendly, helpful and engaging with the residents. The residents are all friendly, happy and busy in the many activities available. My uncle calls his new home "Shangri-La" and has blossomed with all the positive interactions with everyone. His strength has improved immensely as he has participated in yoga and chair volleyball among other activities and even resumed playing piano which he had given up due to weakness in his arms. He is happy and safe so we are as pleased as we can be! He also greatly enjoys the sessions discussing "Life's Big Questions" and writing his life story so the mind is exercised every bit as much as the body. The facility is a block from the beach and he walks along the coast as part of his therapy. His engagement in life is renewed and we are so pleased - thank you Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens!

Our search for an Assisted Living Facility started out with about a dozen communities. After much research, we narrowed our search down to four communities to tour. Once our tours were completed, we selected The Gardens Of Santa Monica, as it is a beautiful community, and it offers all of the care, and all of the services that Dad could possibly need or want! Dad is in the process of moving in. Dad is excited, and so am I and my siblings! We all believe that Dad will be very well taken care of, and very happy at "The Gardens"!

With the preface that my mother and I are very new to the ALF world and don't have much basis for reference, The Gardens have been really wonderful. The staff is friendly and seem genuinely concerned about her well being, the place is kept up well and the new director Michael seems intent on improving on an already good thing. There are daily activities including movies, outings, shuttle services and live music performances in the lobby, there is a beauty salon and a library/computer room along with instruction as needed. We are grateful for A Place For Mom's guidance in finding the right place for my mother and right in our neighborhood, thanks much!

The cleanliness of the facility itself is probably a 4-4.5.....the housekeeping in the rooms ( at least in my mother's case) is substandard. I still have to go and and request things be cleaned, sheets still don't get changed weekly and when they are changed they may or not be the right size for the bed. The bathroom is still not cleaned weekly. I had to go buy toilet paper recently because they hadn't provided her with any for over a week. I still have to take these issues to the management to get anything done. The management does take care of the problems very quickly though. The staff is still otherwise very friendly and patient . I would still say that on the whole it is a nice facility in a good location with very convenient parking. You just need to stay on top of the housekeeping situation.

The best thing about GSM is the location, 1 block from the beach and 4 blocks from downtown Santa Monica. Most of the staff is very nice and genuine. The nursing staff is caring and professional, esp Jamie who goes the extra yard. The real problem here is the management, they are awful, numbers driven , insincere and phoney. They care not for the residents but only for the financial bottom line. There lack of professionalism is reflected in the near constant turn over off staff, in the past year and a half they have had 5 different drivers and at least 3 maintinence directors. It too bad because it could be a nice place.Oh yea, the food is awful!!!! If you want to be in Santa Monica consider Ocean House also run by Brookdale, but run professionally and compassionately.

The Bad: Terribly run, unprofessionally manged by insincere, phoney penny counters, who care primarily about the bottom line, not people. Also the food is awful!!! You pay top drawer prices for bottom drawer service. The good: The location and some of the staff is very nice.