The Gardens WAS a thriving, happy community when my mom moved in March of 2023. Susan Griffin the person I toured the facility with was wonderful. She took a video of the apartment for me so I could show my mom before she moved. Kim at the front desk was so helpful with everything I needed and the Director of Assisted Living, Keri Giles was always available to address anything I had concerns over with my mom. Everything changed in November of 2025 when the new Director, Alexondra came on board. I decided to relocate my mom after the holidays and gave the 30 day required notice December 31 to be moved out by January 31. I receive a call from the Director on January 5 that I need to move my mom into their memory care immediately. WHAT? I inform her my mom is moving out January 21 literally in 2 weeks. She told me it didn't matter I must move her into memory care or get 24-7 care for her. She's in assisted living! Needless to say I was able to move her to another assisted living facility where she is receiving true assisted living. Be very careful if you choose this facility. After moving out I personally cleaned the apartment and it was filthy even though housekeeping cleaned once a week. I then received a bill for carpet replacement. I was speechless. I've included some pictures of how filthy it was. read more

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This community offers Independent living, assisted living and Memory care. The residents and staff are very friendly and love to talk about their experiences in the community. There are a lot of food options so it is able to have a variety of meals daily. The care staff is very caring and want to care for their residents, they do their best to make every resident feel special and happy. It is a very relaxing environment. read more

My mom was in The Gardens of Ocotillo for 1 1/2 years, with a recent move in early 2026. This community makes an excellent first impression. The building is attractive, the fireplaces and cozy seating areas are inviting, and the residents themselves are friendly and neighborly. Most of the care staff were pleasant, and the front desk team was consistently welcoming. Unfortunately, nearly everything beyond the lobby failed to meet even basic expectations. Communication and transparency were persistent problems. Caregivers often did not seem to have clear instructions, and changes in care levels were not communicated or discussed appropriately. Housekeeping was unreliable and inconsistent. Weekly cleanings were frequently missed -- sometimes for three consecutive weeks -- with no adjustment to the monthly fee, despite housekeeping being included in the monthly rent. When staff did come, the work was inconsistent: vacuuming was skipped, trash was left unemptied, and overall attention to detail was poor. These ongoing issues, in our opinion, ultimately resulted in an additional move-out charge for carpet replacement that the facility claimed "could not be cleaned," despite the inconsistent housekeeping throughout the stay. Billing required constant vigilance. Several times, incorrect charges appeared on the bill and had to be disputed. After moving my mom out, charges were applied for items that should reasonably fall under standard wear and tear, and apartment preparation for the next resident. Dining was another weak point. The food was of poor quality and offered a limited selection, falling short of what families expect from a community at this price point. During my mom's time here, there were changes in management and administration, but these shifts did not improve communication, consistency, or accountability. Based on our experience, we strongly recommend avoiding a Spectrum owned community. While the building may look warm and welcoming, the operational issues, lack of transparency, inconsistent care, and questionable billing practices overshadow everything else. Families should be prepared to scrutinize every bill and follow up repeatedly -- or, better yet, look elsewhere. read more

Do not move here; Management was the worst. Makes you feel bad for residents that didn't have family support to stand up for them! They argued with my mom about what took place, FOS. Firing or laying off staff for good reason. Not to mention how bad the food was. Lack of transportation etc. Moved our mom to a much better happier place thank God!! read more

PLEASE READ THE MOST RECENT REVIEWS as you will see how unhappy residents and families have been in the past few months. The management is terrible. This place is run by Spectrum and most of their facilities have similar complaints. My Mom was initially in Assisted Living but ultimately didn't need care after the first month. Despite not needing care, she decided to stay in Assisted Living but within a year they added an add'l $500 per month (Level 1) without any written notification that her rate would be increased. Here are a few more of the negatives: Management- Turnover has been very high. Staff consistently leaving, upper management, nursing director, etc. being laid off. Housekeeping - Extremely inconsistent. My mom didn't have housekeeping for 6 weeks when she first moved in, and it was never consistent after that. She went another 6 weeks without housekeeping just before she left and this was all within a year. Food - terrible. My Mom was not a picky eater by any means but the food was awful. Service was very slow, often times they were out of certain menu items, food quality was poor as well. Transportation - the shuttle they used to transport residents for shopping excursions, etc. has been "out of service" for over 6 months. My Mom moved out of the Gardens a few months back, along with at least 4 other residents, to an independent living in the same vicinity. I can't say how much better it is for her and all of her friends!! read more

Starting with the good: Beautiful facility and grounds. WONDERFUL caregivers, very kind and friendly. The not-so-good: Routines are very INCONSISTENT. Staff seemed too small and turnover frequent so sometimes room was cleaned, sometimes NOT. Sometimes sheets were laundered, sometimes NOT. Very frustrating! The food was fair at best. While a safe environment, I cannot recommend Gardens at Ocotillo because the care my parent received was not careful or consistent. read more

Management is the problem. Lack of leadership, training and accountability. Residents have no one to count on for their legitimate concerns. "We're working on it and be patient gets old and meaningless after hearing it over and over with no results. i was a resident at Gardens for 13 months and had to make the difficult choice to leave. I feel very relieved now though to be in a more welcoming, sparkling clean, efficient running senior community where the food is incredible and residents are told everyday in words and deeds, "we are here for you". read more

Do not move your love one into this community. The executive staff & Spectrum Retirement Corp are thieves. My mother became ill the end of November 2024. She was in and out of hospital until the end of March when she passed. I paid for her meal plan for the months of December 2024 & January 2025 thinking that she would return to Gardens at Ocotillo, unfortunately she didn't. I asked for a refund but the executive staff and Spectrum Corp are playing games and will not refund the money. These people are thieves and could care less about returning funds that were given in good faith and services that were never used. read more

There are areas for independent living, assisted living (at several levels) and memory care. As a resident in the assisted living area, I can say that I'm happy with the quality of the service. The physical space is very, very nice , the staff is friendly and supportive and come quickly when you use your emergency button. I had some experience with summoning emergency services. It was all very fast and efficient. The fire station is literally next door. The dining room is well run, the food is usually good. I have gained several pounds in the months that we have lived here. There are lots of activities and nice spaces to meet in. The 'back office' seems well run, billing is clear and timely. They offer support for insurance if you have it. read more

This organization and facility is one of the best I have seen. They really take a personal interest in the residents and the place is beautiful. read more

This place is a total disaster with people leaving constantly including the director who was there only 6 months. People who work here do not stay. I unfortunately moved my father in here about a year ago but will be moving him out. Very inconsistent services like room cleaning and promises made for new things that never happen. *NOT recommended.* There are far better places near here. read more

Well, since they really didn't do much to improve the quality of the food or the service my dad will be leaving! We're looking for another senior place for him to live because he is fed up with the pot quality of food and the poor waiter service! He says they often run out of items on the menu, the servers come to your table once and then disappear, they often have to wait 45 minutes for their food and once the food arrives it often cold and the quality of the food is poor! It's a crying shame that he's paying close to $4000 a month to live there and they can't seem to run a kitchen properly! The residents pay too much money to be ignored!!! read more

When touring this facility online and talking with them over the phone all seemed good. Made an apt for tour and eval of my mother for memory care unit. Showed up & director showed my mother an assisted living apt when I was touring for memory care. They told her she could not have the apt after her eval and then showed her memory care. She was not happy. Director sat my 93 yr old mother in a chair with wheels, convinced her to select memory care. She got up and chair rolled out from under her scraping her arm, skin tear on elbow, bruising bottom. Then offered no care. I made them get her Band-Aids. What a bloody mess. She moved in receiving many promises of activities, swimming aerobics, music and transportation to apt for Drs. Also promise of food choices. All in all, lousy care, lousy food, no activities. No swimming in the pool. Had to pay for physical therapy just to get her in the pool once. When inquiring how I could get her to the dentist was told I would have to provide it for her as they were shorthanded and could not help with transportation. I live out of state. Had to come down to Az a second time to try and cheer mom up. She constantly complained and wanted to move. I was going to try a group home, but this did not workout. Finally, after about six months we found a more suitable place to move mom. It was a lot of work and extra money, but she is very happy now. I gave the 30-day notice and moved out in 28. They did not give any refunds and charged us a bogus late charge of $80. We decided to pay only to be rid of them. Very upset at all they phony marketing promises. They do not care about their resident's happiness. Only Thelma and her team did what they could to help my mom. But they are stuck with low help. The house keeping was poor. Please review closely befor choosing this facility. Moving is hard on the residents. read more

We love this care center. The staff are fun, friendly and dedicated. We've celebrated many holidays and birthdays at this facility with our family, and we just love it. As a long time Registered Nurse I have been exposed to many care facilities, this place is top notch and the facility is beautiful! There is always some fun engaging activity going on for loved ones! read more

We recently toured this facility while looking for a place for my father. I worked with Dave Hatfield and he couldn't have been more helpful. Unfortunately, my dad needed a very high level of care and ended up being hospitalized so this option didn't work for us. Dave was compassionate and supportive and gave me numerous resources to navigate this uncharted territory. They continued to follow up to make sure my dad was doing well and that meant the world to me. I highly recommend the Gardens at Ocotillo, not just for their beautiful facility, but also for the kindness I witnessed being shown to their residents. read more

My mother lived at the Gardens of Ocotillo for 1.5 years. When she moved in, she lived in the AL, but was very independent. All was well until she had a stroke. This community wasn't there for us at all. They made our situation more stressful then it already was. They asked us to buy a hospital bed, hire our own private caregivers, etc. The Gardens caregivers complained (even in front of me) because they wanted to do the least work possible. Accompanying a resident to lunch or reminding them its dinner was probably their best work. Turnover was constant (the place was only open for 2 years), but heck, their dining staff was better trained then the caregivers or their company directors. If your parent just needs a pretty place, where someone can do their laundry and cook meals then all is well. DO NOT think your parent will age in place here. They will age, but they will soon be out of a place if anything real happens to them. My family was treated poorly after mom's illness and the only way for her to recover was to leave. The Gardens of Ocotillo pretended they cared, but two weeks after mom's illness made it very apparent they did not. Look at the contract closely. There are all types of ways for them to not care for your parent or pretend they require more than they need. They can also give you 14-day notice. Just try to find a loving community and make the switch that quick. This is why the Gardens cost less than other communities. It is a big bait and switch. We left for a new community and mom is thankfully doing great. She is healing and the caregivers are knowledgeable and professional. EDIT Dear Samantha, Mom was completely in the "scope of care," but unfortunately the Garden's caregivers were not educated or as capable as other professionals have explained to me. You cannot have a loved one come back "home" from an illness and after 2 weeks have caregivers frustrated and unhelpful when assisting in an assisted living. Sure, the place is pretty and mom is just as photogenic today as when she left. The difference is her new community helped her whereas the Gardens (her home) did not. Our leaving had nothing to do with "safety issues" since mom was paying a private caregiver thousands of dollars on top of the thousands of dollars paid to the Gardens. Understaffed caregivers is more like it and with what these residents pay it is unacceptable. I agree with the professionals I've talked to and as much as it makes me sad, I still stand by my review read more

As a business owner myself I have continued to be impressed with the level of service, the quality of care, cleanliness of the facility and the constant communication that this senior living facility provides. My Dad has been a resident there for almost 2 years and things continue to get better and better. We researched and visited many facilities here in the valley before deciding on this one as my Dad has previously been at another community that was not a place I would recommend. Gardens of Ocotillo stand far above the rest and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place for their loved ones. Even through the crazy Covid year they have been absolutely AMAZING and their transparent communication has been greatly appreciated. Each time I am there it is so obvious how much they love each one of their residents. I have several friends who's parents are in other communities in the valley and unfortunately they don't have great things to say and it's such a shame. I am so great full for everyone who works there and cares so much for my sweet Dad. 5+ stars all around to them. read more

Please don't place your family members here. The place is full of covid as they use staff between facilities further spreading the infection and placing fragile residents at severe risk. The acuity is too high for a single minimally prepared nurse LPN who doesn't seem to have a clue or even care about the residents. The place is filthy, the food is poor, and it's impossible to know who's in charge of what or if there is any follow through on care issues or quality standards. The staff is overworked and underpaid and a few disgruntled ones take it out on the residents. Items brought by family members don't get to the residents. The worst decision was to entrust a family member to this low budget operation that charges astronomical fees for horrible care. Keep looking...stay away from Spectrum they are horrible. read more

My mother has lived here 4 years; was one of the original residents when the place opened. Prices go up 4% per year, and services and quality of life declines rapidly. Much of the funds go into 'window dressing'...lots of pretty decorations for each holiday/season, while investment in retaining long term employess, training, and food service is abysmal. While we were assured before moving in that there was diabetic, gluten free, low salt and other diet accommodations made, these have had to be fought and negotiated for persistently. Menus are still very carb heavy. They ran out of eggs at breakfast this week!!! really??? There are plenty of grocery stores nearby. To cover for the disappointing food service, management is encouraging more group meals in local restaurants, at resident expense, with no adjustment in monthly fees. Two employees in Assisted care unit with doctors verification of work related injuries were advised by management to quit rather than be put on lighter duty. This place is pretty to visit, but not a place to call home. read more

My father left a $500 deposit to reserve a unit here for my mother. The final price was to be determined by a medical evaluation. As such, the agreement was to hold the deposit until the final monthly rate could be determined. Reasonable enough. However, the monthly rate came back much higher than expected, so naturally my father asked them to return the $500 deposit. He was told the deposit was "accidentally" banked and is now in the hands of corporate. So now we are burdened with chasing the deposit. The agent is now questioning the amount of the deposit and claims to not remember telling my father the deposit would be held. Very unprofessional to say the least. We will no longer consider entrusting our loved one into the hands of this facility. read more

Circumstances prevented my parents from moving into the Gardens of Ocotillo, but the staff exceeded my expectations for the support and care they provided my family when my mother was moved from home to another Spectrum property in Illinois. Dan Carter in Sales was particularly instrumental in helping us in the transfer of paperwork and support toward her move to Lombard Place in Lombard, IL. Both the Gardens of Ocotillo and Lombard Place have shown our family to have compassionate, caring people on staff in clean facilities. My mother is well-cared for at Lombard Place, but if it had worked out for her to live at Gardens of Ocotillo, it would have been a positive move for her, I am sure. The Spectrum Company offers quality senior living for its residents. read more

My grandma recently moved in here and after visiting a couple times I can tell how great it is. All of the staff seems to know her and it's great seeing her actually enjoy living there. The food is pretty good from what I've had and the whole layout of the building is great. The staff has always been friendly to any visitors as well. I would definitely recommend this over many other homes in the general area. read more

My father in law resided at this home for a year before passing away. Be very careful using this facility if you care at all about the person. They talk a good job but are understaffed and do a very poor job in all aspects of care. Plus once you have signed the contract prices seem to go up every single month. They just don't care as they have a waiting list and just roll them in and out. Very very disappointed in the entire experience and would not wish this place on my worst enemy. read more

My mother-in-law has been at Gardens at Ocotillo for about 6 months now and she loves it and we do too. From the constant choices of activities like attending Diamondbacks games, dinner outings, and shopping trips to the activities in house, like bingo, happy hours, a singing group and the theatre, she is never bored. She has made great friends there. But, really, it's the staff that are always going above and beyond to help the whole family that makes this place so special. It is a great relief to us, to know she is surrounded by kind, good hearted people, who really do care! read more

This is a very hard step to take. My mother is such a vital part of our lives and now I'm giving her the freedom to take steps and enjoy her aging year's. Eric showed me around and I immediately saw how happy and cheerful the resident's were. Although I'm just beginning my search I can see my mother fulfilling her year's here. The staff and cleanliness make you feel like your in a resort. So many fun activities and healthcare consultant on site. This will be at the top of my list. read more

Our family was one of the first to move in. From day one, it has been a positive experience. The staff is friendly and professional. Rides are easy to arrange and the cleaning people keep everything beautiful. When my dad had a medical emergency, it was taken care of immediately and I was called as soon as it happened. I am grateful for all their help. I feel VERY fortunate to have found this beautiful home for my father to live and HIGHLY recommend it. read more

My dad has lived at the Gardens for almost 3 years. Recently he was hospitalized and sent to an assisted nursing facility. Upon return to the Gardens he was met by all of his caregivers, nurses, and friends. It was so, so touching the love they showed. They made the transition so easy; Teresa especially took care to make sure all his meds were up to date. I am so grateful to know he is being so well treated. The staff is very attentive and agreeable to meet any and all of his needs. read more