Savant Senior Living

I did not tour Meridian of Riverside, I just drove by it but when I got a look at it, it did not have curve appeal at all. It was a huge old building that looked like an old skilled nursing center with multiple levels. It looked scary and I would never put my mother there.

Choosing work over caring for a parent at home is an excruciating decision. This is the place we chose for our dad and where he eventually passed away within 7 months. He deteriorated health-wise and I believe all the staff and aides did the best they could for him. He was legally blind and that was an added frustration to him as there are no activities for the blind there. And no one-on-one, unless you pay for it, of course. He became very aggressive and fearful as his illness took him toward dementia. A couple of situations with roommates hightened his fear and distrust of the staff. One thing I noticed is that my dad's legs were very painful and the aides would forget and use normal force to move or adjust him and he would cry out in pain. I appreciate that the place was always being cleaned, though it's an old building. I recommend this facility; however, I personally don't like the idea of having to share a room with a stranger, so if you can afford it, it would be best to rent your own room. My sincere thanks to the staff and aides.

Nice grounds and good food

It's an okay place. Initially it was good, but I have heard that the quality of the dining room, both the food and the service, have declined in the past few weeks. To the point that it is unacceptable. The staff has been rude, and quality of the food has also declined. I believe there was a change in the head chef recently, but that doesn't justify the waitstaff. The cleanliness is okay, and the rest of the staff is okay as well. I don't think he has participated in any activities. The dining room isn't big enough for everyone to eat at once, so they have assigned meal times. They have assigned seating at the tables as well, so you have the same meal partners all the time, which was a surprise to me, and can be difficult if you don't get along with your assigned table mates. This was the nicest of the ones he saw for comparable price range, and he chose it himself. It's okay, and well maintained.

My mother is happy and well taken care of. It's a clean environment. Most of the staff are very pleasant and efficient. Some of the receptionists could use charm school. My mom loves her nurse practitioner. She is getting better care and better results in her health.

The staff at the Commons is very friendly and helpful. The food is generally pretty good and varied and the facilities are well maintained. A criticism my mother has is that the evening activities are not well attended. Sometimes she is sitting alone in the activities room watching a movie (or as was the case- the Academy Awards). Movies seem to be the only after dinner activity. The location is great - there are restaurants, a drug store, a bank, markets, etc. in easy walking (or wheelchair pushing) distance. I think this has great value for the cost and I particularly like that aid costs can be re-evaluated as needed, both up and down.

Lupe incredible. Sam nice in emails. clean attentive. great location. not stylish enough? price perfect

It seems like they're short staffed. That's the main issue my mom has. It takes a while for her to get a response when she presses her pendant. You can wait 8-10 minutes for someone to show up. The care services appear to be okay. The other problem is the bathroom - the shower is a bathtub. It's not large enough. Those seem like small things but they really make a difference. It seem like they have enough activities but she doesn't have a lot of interaction with a lot of people so she's not really motivated to go. They have bingo - I think she's gone once. It's seem like if they had more caregivers or if the pendant worked better. she liked her room she like the accommodations except for the shower situation. it's not very wide. I think she likes the community.

For retirement I think I would give them a 3.5 or 4, for people who are pretty active but for someone who needs more care, like my mother and there are a ton of people there that do, I would have to rate it at the low end. It's a retirement community but more than half the people there seem like they should be in assisted living or a nursing home. It didn't work for my mom because she needed more care and it was going to cost way too much to add that on. The people there are very positive, particularly the people that work in the office. My mom would stay in her room a lot and when she would come out she would be smiling so they though she was adjusting really well. Really she was very sad and depressed and they had no clue.

They are an average community that does what they can with what they have. They are pretty budget friendly for what they offer against comparable communities. Overall it's an ok community that could be better but could also be worse.

The people are very nice and caring at the facility. When they don't forget the schedule or to bring items their care is good. I feel if I'm paying for a service to look after my father I shouldn't have to remind them to give him his medication. They have lots of activities for the residence, but at times they tend to lock them down as punishment or send them to the rooms if they're having special events. Their dining situation is a challenge because they've undergone new management and drastically increased pricing because that is their main focus instead of taking care of repairs and cleanliness which is what needs to be done. It seems now they're only doing leaks and things of that nature because individuals from the city and inspectors have come onto the property.

The staff is amazing! They are extremely helpful, friendly, but sometimes they do need to pay a little more attention to detail. Things tend to not get done as quickly as they should. The facility is very nice. The price is exactly right for what you are getting - you are not getting top notch. It is not the most amazing place, but it is a very nice facility.

They are having quite a few staffing issues, and continue to keep changing weekly or every two to three weeks. They need more staff that stays on board and would be better for the residents. The food is sometimes good but at other times is not. Consistency is not great in the kitchen.

beware of promises that aren't kept. this community could improve on several things.

We had a good tour at Villa de Anza. I liked that they had a very large dining room. And the gentleman who gave us the tour seemed to be up-to-date on all of his information. But it was just too far away from where we live.

The staff here were good and the level of care of the staff were great but overall cleanliness was lower than what we expected.

The food is terrible. They just have really inexpensive cheeses, and they'll serve cheese dishes three days in a row. The housekeepers are friendly and nice though. Really it was the Santa Monica weather and the cost that got me to move in here. I got one of the bigger units, so I'm really happy with it. They do offer activities here, although I haven't participated in much.

You get what you pay for here. The administration makes up for the poor quality of staff. There were multiple times that my loved one didn't get the care they deserve.

The convenience is a plus, as well as the value for the cost.

The community is well staffed, clean, there are a lot of Chinese speaking residents and care staff and meals. The billing is a nightmare due to broken communication from the community to their corporate office. This seems to make it more of a nightmare for the families as well. There is limited parking; however, the community is willing to work with you during the move in process.