My mom is living here and one of the most beautiful features is the size of the rooms. We visited a couple of others in the area but they didn’t even compare to the rooms here. The natural light that floods in is wonderful. The staff is very caring, the housekeeping staff go over and beyond and while I’ve never eaten here, the aroma has been wonderful every time I’ve been in. I am truly impressed with every aspect of this facility.

El Cerrito Royale was recently upgraded, and it's very nice. The meals are good. Everything seems good. The staff is very friendly. My mother's room is very nice and large. It has a bath and shower, and a little kitchenette with a microwave, a small refrigerator, and a small sink. It's spacious, and it has an outside window and a patio door. These rooms are directly near the office and very close to the dining room. The building is quite large, and her room is right near the community room downstairs. There's a music room right near the kitchen, which is large and very nice. There are nice paintings on the walls. The motif is 1930s and 1940s jazz musicians, and 1950s rock and roll. They have a group that does Zumba on the first floor. It's very festive. They have other exercise classes, reading, questions and answers, and bingo. There's a lot of social networking there, but because of the virus, there's not as much right now. The chief administrator is a little less personable and she's not very good at small talk, but the rest of the staff and the CNA are very nice and very accommodating.

We found a place. It had memory care; we need that for my father. Basically, we got the location we wanted, the services for the center, and the rest of the things. It was very close to my brother and me. There’s part of the room that had a higher ceiling, making it more spacious. It had a small balcony too. The staff is very good. They’re very responsive. My mother is there too, and she’s not really in a state where she needs assisted living so it allows her to not feel isolated. She actually participates in more activities than my father does. There’s a grocery store within walking distance and a walking path. They have day trips, a bus shuttle service, and some physical therapy on site. Meals are provided. They showed us the menu. The food is pretty healthy, and there’s flexibility with what they can choose to eat. We were hoping to find a place with a pool or more and a larger kind of recreation center.

The caretakers are very nice, knowledgable and truly interested in the residents they take of there. Theiving units are range from 500 -530 square feet which is enough fort father to have his things and feel not confined . He can feel like home once he gets acclaimed to the the new living arrangements and people escorting him to different activities. Administrative are vet cordial and care about the well being of the resident . I didn't feel like they were just in it for the money which is very important to me. The love I have fort father is to make sure he can be himself and be safe too. I don't want any place that would feel like an institution and just leave him sitting in his room by himself.

I have friend living at El Cerrito Royale and it is a very nice facility. The staff is very friendly. Their rooms are very spacious and the people there are very nice. However, my friend said the food is not healthy enough. They need to have more vegetables in their food choice.

El Cerrito Royale isn't quite as appealing as pricier assisted living facilities, but it's affordable and it takes SSI (which is unusual and a real plus). The facility itself is nice, and it's in a residential neighborhood, close to BART (the Bay Area's rapid transit system). It's clean, safe"”and the staff seem caring and attentive. Overall, it's a bargain. --Angela O'Brien, MSW, is a clinical social worker and geriatric case manager in Berkeley, CA. She has worked with seniors for almost 10 years providing case management, support groups, and counseling.