SG F

My husband and I accompanied my dad on a tour of Deer Park. This review is about Deer Park, but it's also about Lance, our guide, who is such a warm, honest and genuine person and I hope that Deer Park knows what a gem they have in him. Deer Park is located in a lovely setting (which my "city person" father found too "remote" even though they have a van to take you to any public transit and he takes public transit ALL THE TIME), bucolic and yet near to downtown Novato. The studio apartments we saw, while small, were of an adequate size (unless a person is going to be spending most of their time in their apartment). There is a restaurant with plenty of options and one can even get snacks from the restaurant 24/7. Like all independent senior living facilities, "rent" includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, which, if I recall correctly are ordered from a waiter (after you make your selection from the menu) who then brings your meal to your table. (We weren't there at mealtime, but were invited to come back when it was mealtime, so that my dad could see if he liked the chef's cooking). There's a small movie theater, a library, a genuinely sweet and caring activities director and I believe there are cultural outings (you will generally find all these features at comparable residences, but, again, they will cost a lot more). The other amenities are comparable to other independent senior housing complexes that are priced significantly higher. In our particular case, I liked that the apartments have a cord on the wall in the main room and the bathroom (and, I would assume, the bedrooms, but we didn't see any 1 or 2 bedroom apartments) to pull in case help is needed. Since my fiercely independent 90 year old father (who was an academic and is completely intellectually sound) refuses to wear a pendant for summoning help around his neck, this would have been a particularly good fit for us. Lance, my husband and I did our best to show my father that Deer Park would be a good fit for him, but he was stuck on the idea that he could not get into San Francisco entirely on his own at any time that struck him as opportune and for him that was a deal-breaker. I also want to mention that all the employees (to a person) that we met at Deer Park seemed genuinely happy to work there. I have learned from experience that you can tell a lot about a place (be it a retirement community or a doctor's office) from how happy the people who work there seem to be. If staff are disgruntled and act like you are bothering them, that is a definite red flag and not only were the people (and again, I want to be sure to single Lance and the activity director out for special praise) not like that, they stood out for seeming authentically enthusiastic about Deer Park and their work.