Carlsbad By The Sea Retirement Community

I have no doubt that Sandy E. and L.S. (below) are telling it like it was. Every retirement community is going to miss it on occasion — and misses will, and often should, generate bad reviews.
My experience was quite different. My parents entered Carlsbad by the Sea (CBTS) in 1999, my mother passed away in 2003, and my father passes away in 2010. My siblings, my wife, and I, therefore, had a good number of years in which to visit, hear stories, get to know friends of my parents, and experience CBTS in a number of ways.
Our experiences were, without exception, extremely positive. The facilities and meals were exceptional, as is the location (proximity to beach, village, rail to San Diego). The staff was very kind and considerate, and my sense was that, when my parents had guests, they sometimes were not charged. We also never had, or heard about, an instance of medical neglect — although, as I mention above, I’m sure things on occasion happen and I do not mean to challenge the unfortunate experiences of Sandy E. and L.S.
Since my parents both passed away, we have continued to visit CBTS to see their friends. Our last visit was just two weeks ago; a number of the friends have now passed on, but, again, we came away with very positive feelings (along with the paperwork to get on the list for 10 years from now, when we may very well follow my parents’ footsteps).
What one really needs to get a balanced picture, of course, is many reviews. At present, I am only number four; would that there were 40. Some reviews will be critical; that’s to be expected and is necessary. I would think, though, that given a larger sampling of experiences, the overall CBTS rating will be quite high.

I worked at CBTS for a short three months. I enjoyed the residents that I met and interacted with and found the staff to be very upbeat and friendly for the most part. The only reason I moved on so quickly was that I was only part time and could see that as an activity professional, there wasn’t room for me to move to more hours in the near future. I had thought that by working the 30 – 32 hours, I would get benefits but that wasn’t the case. The directors were very professional and the assisted living staff were very attentive to the needs of the residents. The residents in Assisted living, while not too interested in taking part in the activity programs, were content and well taken care of, receiving reminders when need and assistance in getting where they wanted or needed to go. It’s a beautiful place and the company hires upbeat and caring people. Overall, though a short time, I enjoyed working there.

My father, 91 years of age, fell over a year ago and when he left the hospital he was accepted into CBTS rehabilitation facility. We were so glad he was able to go there because we heard great reviews of this place. The nurses seemed pleasant and he was getting the physical therapy he needed to get better.
I would drive from Arizona once a month to see my father and spent every minute with him while I was there. My sister, who has a business would take her days off to drive up from Redondo Beach and my brother from Lakewood. We all love our father very much.
As time has gone on I have seen some appalling things. One, my father had a problem swallowing and was put on a diet of soft food. They brought his breakfast one morning and it was puréed eggs. It looked and smelled horrible. I took it back to his nurse who begrudgingly honored my request to substitute it for cream of wheat. The the next day they brought his food and it was green mush. I asked the nurse what it was and she said it was puréed salad. It was gross and again my father would not eat it.
He was otherwise in fairly good health but they stopped giving him physical therapy and he became more and more despondent. They left him in his room with his tv day after day.
My father wanted a glass of wine so I asked his doctor that worked for CBTS if he could indeed have a glass of wine. The doctor said yes, and wrote it on his chart. My sister and I bought a bottle of wine and shared it with my dad on the outdoor area. CBTS said we were giving my father wine and we were no longer allowed to take him off the floor. He loved an outing of a restaurant.
All his rights were taken away. He became more and more depressed. We tried to talk to Susan and Mary but they never would call us back. My fathers phone ringer was turned off and I had to call the nurses station and force them to turn it back on so I could call my father from Arizona
We have finally transferred him to a new facility because CBTS told my step-​mother she would have to hire a night nurse to watch my father because he was wandering around at night in his wheel chair.
When my sister went to pick him up he had a blood clot in his leg, I think from his inactivity
My sister told me that they had to wait an hour to bring the paper work down to be signed
to release my dad. When they were leaving she heard Mary tell my step-​mother to watch out for my dad’s family. How unprofessional is that.
Be aware of this place. When your family member is here your rights and their rights are taken away. Many other things went on that I do not have the space to write. I would not recommend this facility to anyone!
By the way, this review was for the care center not the retirement.