My father is in Dominican Oaks. The people are really friendly. It's a nice place physically. The food is really great. So far, he's happy. He has a nice one-bedroom with a balcony and a kitchen. It's very light, clean, and spacious.

I have a Degree in Social Services and Gerontology. I retired to Santa Cruz in 1987 Living in a Mobile Home Park on the ocean. My Husband passed away in 2012. At that time I remodeled my home and my daughter and her husband moved it. I was very active in my community, singing, writing, and socializing; however now at age 82, being a cancer survivor, and needing more care, I've decided to look into becoming a resident of Dominican Oaks. My husband provided me with a wonderful Long Term Care Insurance:Genworth, which would financially cover me in their Assisted Living area. In the past I've been a Peer counselor there in a support group I've been a counselor in many other Independent Living facilities; but for myself, I choose Dominican Oaks. The quality of life, level of activities, caliber of residents who are mainly retired professionals, and total surroundings really appeal to me at this stage of my life. In the past I've managed facilities of this caliber, but for my needs at this stage of my life I am confident Dominican Oaks is the right fit for my needs.

We were favorably impressed for what Dominican Oaks was. They're rather small units for the independent-living section, but I like the layout of the structures. I like the exposure to natural hillside and woods. The staff was certainly very friendly, and we met a number of people that we know already living there.

I ended up going to Dominican Oaks primarily because they have a lot of Jewish congregants from the local Temple. There was a Jewish Couple Club, which was a strong factor in choosing to place my mom in that particular location. I had a good lunch there. The people were friendly. A one-bedroom is $4,500 a month, so it’s pricey. They have a salon, a restaurant, a country store, and a nice library. It’s a nice facility. The dining area was very nice and had a view. They actually have two chefs working there that have worked in two very nice restaurants in town, so I was expecting the food to be really good.

We went to Dominican Oaks. It was very nice with a very nice staff that took their time with us. The only issue there for us was that my aunt had dementia, and they were not a place that accepted people with dementia. The rooms were lovely, clean, and inviting. They were not depressing. We saw the food, and it looked good. The dining room was nice and seemed like a nice restaurant. I saw that they did a lot of activities, but my aunt did not do a lot of those things, so that was not our focus.

Dominican Oaks is a wonderful place. It is well run. Everything is good. I just do not know if it will continue to fit my mother-in-law’s needs anymore. They are great. They are doing a good job of taking care of her, being in communication, and working with the girl that I have hired to run her to her appointments. It is a good community. It is pretty and clean. The food is good. The people are nice, the staff is excellent, and the director is awesome. They set up lots of occasions at different times throughout the year where families can come and participate.

At Dominican Oaks, I like the fact that you have your own apartment. They have a one-bedroom apartment with a balcony, or you can get a two-bedroom apartment if you're rich. I like the fact that they have all these things that you can do. I have a friend that lives there. She is working with a group from the University of California; they meet there, the retirement home gives them a nice room and brings them refreshments, and I thought oh, that is so nice. The people from the entire community in Santa Cruz are welcome to come to the Dominican Oaks, use the same rooms, and whatever else they got. They always have beautiful refreshments for a group. They do this for anybody who walks in. Every Friday, they have a speaker come in, and also entertainment comes in from outside the retirement community. They're not isolated, and that's the thing that I like. The restaurant is run just like a commercial restaurant. They have a menu, and you have three choices. You can have breakfast from like 7 a.m. to 10 or 11 a.m. They take you to plays that are in town, shopping, and anything that you want to do. You can bring your own car, or you can use their transportation. Also they have gardens, so if you want a garden plot, you can have garden plot and grow what you want. They have lots and lots of entertainment; the calendar is just stuffed with stuff. By the way, Dominican Oaks has a full kitchen in their apartments. Their rate is over $5000 a month, but everything is included. I have had a lot of interactions with the staff, and they are wonderful.

Dominican Oaks is a lovely facility. It's wonderful. They got a little small individual apartment with a little bedroom, living room, and a kitchenette and that was what I liked about it.

My mother used to live in Dominican Oaks. I know it pretty well. I thought it was wonderful and very nice. I helped when she first moved in and stayed with her for about ten days until she got acclimated. The people there were just wonderful and the services were very good. The food was also good. The activities were good but my mother's very shy so she didn't participate in any of the activities. I know several people who were my neighbors and now they're living there at Dominican Oaks and they love it! I'd love to go there but I could never afford it. It's pleasant when you go in there and it doesn't look like a nursing home or an assisted living home.