The staff at Chapel of the Highlands went above and beyond for me and my family. I believe the…read morefirst time I attended a service there, I was around seven years old. Being part of a large, multi-generational family, I have unfortunately found myself attending services there at least once a year for much of my life. As an adult, I've had the responsibility of taking a more hands-on role in funeral planning, and I'd like to share three experiences. The first was for my uncle--while not related by blood, he was absolutely family. There was significant family drama leading up to the service, including a grandchild sending threatening messages. When the staff became aware of the situation, they handled it with professionalism and care, arranging for support to be on standby if needed. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary, but Paul was fully prepared to take care of it. The second experience was a little over a year ago, when I was making arrangements for my own mother. Paul, the owner, sat with me through the process. He and his staff were incredibly professional and compassionate. Paul made sure I understood all my options and gently reminded me to take my time--he made it clear he was there for me, without rushing me at all. The third experience was about two months ago, when I was there in my professional capacity as a minister. I was asked to support a husband making arrangements for his wife. I watched as a man, in deep grief, struggled to process what was being said. For the first time, I wasn't the family member making decisions--I was observing. The staff at Chapel of the Highlands handled everything with patience, professionalism, and genuine care. Walking through these difficult moments is never easy, but it brings comfort knowing that Paul leads a team that is caring, hardworking, and professional. While I wish I never had to return under such circumstances, I know I will continue to trust and recommend their services to anyone going through such a difficult time.

Yesterday, I had a terrible experience at Chapel of the Highlands in Millbrae. I arrived around…read morethree in the afternoon to visit my mother, who was to be buried the following day (today). Nick H and an unidentified female office clerk were unfriendly, unprofessional, and disrespectful. The facility was messy and unorganized, and the employees appeared unkempt. When I finally got to see my mother, I was horrified to see how she looked. Her face was not my mom. Her clothing was completely different from what she would normally wear. There was a scarf around her neck that seemed to be hiding something. I was so upset by the time they finished arguing that I couldn't see my mother. I felt like I couldn't properly say goodbye to her. It turned out that my siblings had an unannounced visit planned with my mother that they didn't want me to attend. The office girl apologized several times to me, for making a "terrible mistake" by telling me about the 5 p.m. viewing. But it wasn't the mistake of telling me about the viewing; it was the mistake of not letting me see my mother when I arrived and then making me stay in the lobby, telling me I couldn't see her. I would never, never, ever recommend this place, and I believe both Nick H and the office clerk should be fired immediately. **************************************************** Thank you for your response, Paul Larson. I understand that you may not agree with my review, but I encourage you to focus on the actions of your staff. I arrived at 3:00 PM and was informed that the viewing would be at 5:00 PM, which I accepted. However, when I returned at the scheduled time, I was denied the opportunity to see my mother and was asked to leave. This was extremely distressing. I made it clear that I would have contacted the police if I had not been allowed to see her. Nick H. asked me to state that I would not call the police, but I want to be clear--I would have done so if necessary. This situation was unacceptable. She is my mother, and I have every right to see her. I also find it inappropriate that your response focused on criticizing me and referencing my family rather than addressing the issue at hand. Please stop talking about my family--you have no right to do so. You don't understand our dynamics, and it's not your place to comment. Your attempts to address the situation were unhelpful and based on inaccurate assumptions about me. I stand by 1 Star.

I love this cemetery I find it peaceful…read more Extremely Beautiful and animal friendly. I definitely would love to end my life here and be part of this amazing cemetery.

Everyone can see Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos from driving on Interstate Highway 280. It is…read morea serene and beautiful park. I treat this place as a place to unwind and relieve my stress of commuting on the craziest Bay Area thoroughfares 85/280/680/880/101/17. Few decades ago, we laid our dad in the ground. At that time, it was a new area. Everyone in the family had a job to do. My older siblings were dealing with finding a plot with good Feng Shui, negotiating and purchasing a family plot. Since I'm the youngest, I got to design the headstone. I remember it was a lengthy process. It took almost a year to get it installed. We have a most unique looking with Chinese motif on a specialty stone that would last for our children's lifetime. The grass was specifically maintained. I don't know where they find water during the California droughts. But they have a huge solar-panel farm behind the office. Anyway. The place is very clean and inviting. One time I had trouble finding my uncle's family plots. Silly me, I went up and down the aisles (accumulated 3 miles on my fitness app). Then, a godsend lady told me to find the plot number at the office. Ah. Thank God! I had a good exercise that day, anyway. So, I read all 16 reviews before I can sum up mine. Most of the lower rated reviews had issues with customer service. I was too young to deal with anyone in the office. Now, I'm a visitor. I still don't need to deal with a live person. P.S. Visiting hours change during winter. It closes an hour earlier at 5. Summer time closes at 6. No one should be at the cemetery after dark.

Nice cemetery, but they are unresponsive as heck to emails and phone calls. My husband has been…read moretrying to get ahold of them about his mom's headstone and all communication seems to go into a black hole.

Yeah, a cemetery. My friend who I was on vacation with loves old cemeteries, so when we came across…read morethis one, she was super excited. It was really nice. Secluded, small, old. Very well kept. Awesome headstones from the 1800's, all very unique. Very peaceful and beautiful here. If you are into checking out old cemeteries, you should check this place out.

Over the last many years, we have used their cremation and chapel services for a family member and…read morereferred them to a few friends. Most recent service was on July 20, 2026. The facility is beautiful and their services remain excellent. The coordinators and their staff are very responsive and understanding. As always, the services went through very smoothly with able handling of all aspects. And a special mention of Endeliza Huerta, Funeral Arranger who was very understanding and responsive both leading upto and after the funeral for all our changing needs.

After what my family experienced, people must know how awful our experience at Skylawn Half Moon…read moreBay was. My uncle handled all the arrangements for my grandpa's funeral and the communication from Skylawn was terrible from the start. They would not respond in a timely manner when he asked to confirm the location, the service date, and placement of my grandpa. But funny enough, they had no problem contacting him when payment was required. This lack of communication gave the impression that we were only prioritized when financial matters were involved. Even handling the death certificate was awful. My uncle was informed someone would call him when it was ready for pick up. He left multiple messages for an update and did not receive any response back. 10 days later, he went to Skylawn in person to ask, only to find out the death certificate had already been prepared from the beginning ready to be collected. This critical document required for time sensitive matters such as notifying banks and social security caused such an unnecessary inconvenience and headache during a difficult time. What really crossed the line was when he received a quote to add Chinese characters to my grandpas nameplate. My uncle simply said he wanted to discuss with the family and would let the agent know the next day. The agent sent accidentally sent my uncle a message clearly meant for someone else stating: "I won't be able to finalize...he has to again talk to his family this is a poor Chinese family" He never complained about price or tried to negotiate, he just wanted to make the decision together as a family. This message was shocking, offensive, and completely unacceptable. Our family was fully prepared to pay for additional engravings, flowers, and other services. Wanting to consult with family before making a final decision does not make someone "poor" and no family should be labeled or stereotyped based on their ethnicity. Losing a loved one is already hard enough. But being ignored, then finding out that's how your family is talked about behind the scenes is absolutely unacceptable. This sort of disrespect should never be tolerated and I hope Skylawn investigates this incident and provides a genuine apology to ensure no other family is treated this way. No one grieving the loss of a loved one should have to wonder what is being said about them behind closed doors.

Both my parents wanted to pre-plan their services. At the time of planning we were helped by David…read more He was nice, thorough and made the process easy. I have to say I wasn't excited to plan every detail of my parents funeral as they are still alive, but I am thankful we did because David made it easy and I know we will appreciate it down the road. Thank you again for your patience and d help!

It's never a good thing well a love one pass and there are so many things to deal with, especially…read moreduring this time of Covid19. My father passed on the 5th of June and we contacted Crippen & Flynn after the cornier released the body back to us. They came and removed the body, professional, friendly and respectful. I met with Tom a day later to set up the services. Tom was great and full of information. He has been in the industry for over 30+ years. He made everything a lot easier during this time. Everyone there was very helpful. I would recommend them to anyone in need of funeral services.

We had my mom's services here 5 years ago this month and yesterday we had my dad's services back…read morehere. We came back to use this venue because the service was amazing and it still is if not more. We met with Gus to plan and he was absolutely helpful, sympathetic, and very communicative throughout the whole planning. Come day of, Rick and Kina were absolutely wonderful. They made sure everything was on track and organized. Checked in on us here and there to see if we needed anything. We were running a lil behind but Rick was very patient and understanding. Come to the crematory, we could've have asked for more. The person running it, I think his name is Ron, was very respectful, empathetic and truly kind. Our whole experience with Sneider Sullivan & O'Connell was truly wonderful. They didn't treat us like customers. They treated us like a family and we are so grateful for that.

So professional, superb communication, incredible follow through. Very kind. Also, offered…read moreassistance with various items that needed follow through, such as obituary, death certificates. I even received a check-in call a couple weeks after to see if all my needs were met.

Very interesting cemetery (H***, what cemetery ain't?) on Woodside Road in Redwood City. It's very…read moresmall, and can easily be traversed by any adult or child. But it provides a vivid Time Capsule into the past, and maybe inspires the visitor to contemplate their own mortality, and the endless circle of life. I visit this cemetery whenever I am in the neighborhood, and have some free time. It is a very peaceful and serene place! The last time that I was there, two free-range dogs boldly accosted me while I was sitting on a concrete berm of a family plot. Fortunately, all they wanted to do was jump on me and lick me, and when I tried to reciprocate by petting them, they ran away. So it was pretty much like a night at the club with me and the various women that I meet there (but I didn't have to buy drinks for the dogs). A WIN-WIN !!!!

I grew up on the peninsula since 1972 and I have never seen this place. I just noticed it recently…read moredecided to walk around and take some pictures. Expect to spend about an hour or so looking at all the graves dating back to the 1800s. If you like California history, you will enjoy this place.

I just cannot recommend them enough. You will absolutely save a ton of money and get knowledgeable…read moreand compassionate care from their staff. My parents had done no funeral preplanning. My 94 year old dad was in a convalescent home. I asked the social worker if they knew anyone I could talk to about this, and she offered advice on cemetery plot/grave resales as a way to save money for funeral preplanning. Apparently there are people who buy graves and then maybe move far away or something and do not want the graves anymore. Cemetery Property Resales works basically like a real estate agent. They make a very reasonable commission for their services built into the sale price you pay. They are licensed by the state. They help connect sellers of graves with people looking to buy, and the buyers get big savings because we get the price the person originally paid long ago. Who knew!?! I told them I wanted to buy graves at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward. They forewarned me that the Catholic Church is very slow to process the transfer paperwork. First I would complete the purchase agreement and pay for the graves with Cemetery Resales, and then it could take maybe 2-3 months to process the transfer paperwork, unlike most other cemeteries where it is done that same day when you purchase the grave. Which at the time was fine with me. First I met with Holy Sepulchre Cemetery staff so I had the retail price information in my hands before I met with Candace from Cemetery Property Resales to see the graves. This way I could compare the retail costs of available graves from Holy Sepulchre, to the costs of the resale graves, as well as know the additional costs for the opening, closing, vaults, headstones, etc. Candace met me at Holy Sepulchre and we located the available resale graves. She supplied me with all the individual grave location numbers and their prices, and what was included with each grave site. She helped me figure out what would be an additional cost based on the individual grave site. She let me know that after I purchased the grave through her, I would pay any additional costs directly to Holy Sepulchre. After my meeting with Candace, I was able to go get my mom and bring her to the cemetery and easily show her what was available. We made a choice and completed the purchase agreement with Candace. So here's the part that really showed me how lucky I was to work with Candace. We had just purchased the graves, and a few days later the convalescent hospital met with us, and said we should start planning for hospice for my dad. I was in total shock and I panicked. I walked right outside and called Candace, who oh so patiently listened to me completely lose my mind wondering .... What if my dad passes before the Catholic church finishes the transfer paperwork? What will we do? Keep him in a fridge at the funeral home waiting for the church to finish the paperwork for months??? Candace was so calm and reassured me that everything would be OK. She said, don't worry I am on it and I will do everything I can with the church to get it done right away. Candace is a woman of her word. She is a true miracle worker, she moved heaven and earth to get the transfer paperwork done as fast as humanly possible. Within days she had finally reached the right person at the church to talk to. She kept me updated regularly through the process and before I knew it everything was done. Finally I could relax and not worry anymore. Thankfully dad is doing much better these days, and now everything is done for when the time does come. I am beyond grateful for everything the Candace did for my family. Candace is an absolute angel, such a kind and compassionate person, with decades of experience. Candace was knowledgeable, responsive, quick to communicate and follow up, and provided me with all the answers I needed and a fountain of emotional support for my journey through this. What a blessing it was to have her help me through this process. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Candace for everything!!!

Legit plot sales. I was able to use the plot shortly after. Glad I got a deal from Michael, very…read moreprofessional and helpful. Would use again.