I gave Friends House a "fully refundable" $1000 deposit to be put on their waitlist. Two years later, I decided to move out-of-state to be near family, but Friends House kept my deposit. It was only after I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against Friends House that they refunded my $1000. I would not recommend Covia who runs Friends House to anyone under any circumstance.

The staff at Friends House was really helpful and nice. They have a garden. We got to see the apartments, and they were great and of a nice size. I didn’t like the dining room, though. The general atmosphere was good, and the people were friendly. It looked like they had fun things to do.

This is a continuing care community started by the Quakers. I am familiar with the skilled nursing portion of it, and it is great. But I've heard Friends House is planning to close down the skilled nursing part at some point. It's located in central Santa Rosa, near shopping and markets. Many of the residents are politically and intellectually active and there are many organized activities. The skilled nursing part of the facility is kind of institutional looking, but they offer really good care. They have a great staff, wonderful medical care. Even though it's a bit institutional, it's nice, clean, well run. The food is good, and there's music, activities, and crafts to keep the patients engaged.