The Watermark at Cherry Hills

We placed my mom (89) in this lovely Assisted Living facility in [date removed] I chose Watermark because of the friendliness of the staff, residents, and the volume of activities offered. The overall feel is modern and efficient. The apartments are very nice and large enough to feel like a true apartment. Mom feels very independent while also safe and attended. [name removed] was invaluable in helping me place mom in this facility. Just about everything promised has been delivered. No place is perfect and all senior care facilities have staffing issues. That is just the nature of the beast, so to speak. [name removed]and [name removed]keep the residents occupied and [name removed] at the front desk knows all and sees all. Nurse [name removed]keeps everyone healthy and [name removed] makes sure things run smoothly. They and the office staff are the backbone of the facility.

I chose this community mainly because the room sizes were good, the price was in the medium range, and the staff ratios were good. They have had a lot staff turnover. The food is good and they are trying to accommodate dietary restrictions. I would recommend this community to other families.

All of the community spaces at Elan including the hallways and tables were kept very clean, however, a little more attention to the resident rooms would have been appreciated. The community staff had a consistent culture of love. Our family when they visited were also very impressed by the care here. The assisted living side was a little more sophisticated than the memory care side. They seemed to have better care and communication on the assisted living side. We would have appreciated if they had paid slightly more attention to the smaller details about my mother's care. Compared to her previous community, for the same money we were able to get my mother into a much higher level of care and she got a lot more attention here. They also assisted with getting her to her desired off-community events. The activities director was also good about getting my mother engaged in activities. The executive director is also amazing and very responsive. All the key staff were very accommodating and communicative.

Best to run, not walk, from Elan Santa Monica.

[name removed] did a great job and has moved up nicely at Elan. This is a nice, new inviting place. My husband said "I could live here!"

I toured this facility today for my Mom. It was really nice and clean. I think Mom will really like all the smiling faces and activities. Their residents look well cared for and happy. They even gave me lunch. I was pleasantly surprised how good the food was. Not at all what I expected from facility type food. I met with the nurse and she helped me understand what all my Mom will need as far as care and I feel very comfortable moving forward with this facility. [Name removed]

Let me start by saying that [name removed] and [name removed] who are the marketing employees at Elan Santa Monica are great and awesome to work with, and they will definitely answer all your questions and win you over. (Since I can't give zero stars to this facility, my one star is given entirely to [name removed] and [name removed].) The facility itself looks good from the outside, however when we viewed rooms there were dead cockroaches in two of the three rooms we viewed. Granted, they were dead, but still scattered all over. The shower never got warm and was cold whenever we tried to test it. The food was terrible. Extremely bland and even my elderly loved one said they disliked it. Now, to the important aspects of my post. I DO NOT recommend Elan in any way shape or form and I DO NOT recommend you put your loved one at this facility. We went to Elan because my family member needed memory care. We met with [name removed] and [name removed] who were wonderful and completely won us over in choosing their facility. As this was a very stressful situation for me and my family, they answered our millions of questions and addressed any concerns we had. However, we quickly came to learn that things on the front side of Elan, are perfect, and way too good to be true. Once my family member was actually at Elan, that's when things drastically changed. The care my family member received by the head "nurse" [name removed], was terrible, in that she did not provide care at all. We were told our family member would be checked on every 30 minutes around the clock and any instance that happened would be reported to us immediately, such as any falls, behavior issues. Anything. And we were adamant that we wanted to know what was happening as this was our loved one and this was a very difficult decision for us. Not only did we have family visiting the center daily, we called to check on our loved one at least 3 times a day to see how things were going. Every time we called or asked in person, we got the same answer, "Oh they're doing great! We love them! Nothing bad to report." Come to find out a week later that they were kicking my family member out of their facility for "bad behavior" such as walking around too much and going into other people rooms, and incontinence issues. This was absolutely ridiculous! For around $6000 a month, they were NOT doing their job of keeping an eye on my loved one or providing the care they promised. We later came to find out that they only checked on our family member about every two hours, if that, and they had fallen multiple times and we were never told. Unfortunately, my loved ones ankle started to swell up and we later found out they had almost broken a bone at Elan and no one there knew what had happened. The "nurse" [name removed] had horrible things to say about our family member's behavior, but when we asked why we weren't told about things as they were happening she couldn't give us a straight answer and eventually stopped answering or returning calls. I don't believe she ever actually worked directly with my loved one. She manages the techs and aids at the facility but never interacts with the residents herself. The director of the facility is just as bad. She stated Elan would give us $500 back and another $1000 since they kicked him out and couldn't provide adequate care on their part. We received the $500 however we NEVER received the other portion. She stopped returning our calls after we tried multiple times to reach her. They ended up pocketing thousands of our dollars after having our family member for barely over a week. Obviously they care more about money then their residents. Overall, Elan seems great in the beginning, but the care your loved one will receive once there is terrible. They don't keep to their word, the head nurse really only manages people, and the overall director has horrible customer service skills. And if that's how the director is, then to me that's a reflection of how the place is as a whole. Again, I DO NOT recommend this facility and instead they exceedingly disappointing us. (I do however recommend [name removed] located in [location removed] if you're looking for a facility that truly cares about your loved one and keeps their word. Look them up as they truly deserve your business.)

A beautiful new facility ...exceptionally clean, and a friendly staff... too large, too institutional looking tho. Extraordinary staff.

A lovely place with great ammenities. Even though my tour was scheduled and confirmed, no one knew I was coming and the person available to take me on the tour had only been there a short while and so couldn't answer all my questions. I would have selected this facility except that it was too far from my home.

A brand new facility...everything was open and bright. They have the same activities as the other senior living options; however, their location within a manufactured home park was a distraction. There is crime in that area. The costs were generally better than expected, but their location...

Rates go up annually 2-4% which means we could pay as much as $2700 more annually. The memory care floor was newly built, decor beautiful and contemporary but quite sterile. One main gathering area only. Rooms small with no closets only one small armoire provided.

This place is very new and very beautiful. However, when I took a tour they were still growing so they weren’t as established as I would’ve liked for my Mom. The management looked like they were on the right path with hiring the right people and the person that took us on the tour was able to answer all of our questions. The rooms didn’t come furnished and the residents would have to provide that, which is something I didn’t like. Overall, it was just a question of their newness and if they would be able to provide exceptional service from day one.

I am so thankful that I have this opportunity to have moved my dad from Florida to here it truly has been a blessing. I chose this facility for many reasons but the main factor was that it is brand new. The layout of the building is very similar to the community where he was in Florida. Right now the memory care unit only has 7 residents which are beneficial to my dad because he is getting that one on one attention that is needed.

Beautiful facility and nicely equipped rooms. Lovely amenities, dining area was spacious and open. Lots of light throughout. Will definitely bring my mother here for a visit when the time comes for me to move her. Prices were comparable to other facilities that provide the type of care. Nice staff and the few residents I met were very friendly. Definitely at the top of my list.

Very nice facility and friendly staff, extensive cruise ship-like amenities available but possibly way more than what my dad would appreciate. Very costly