Overall sentiment across reviews for Somerset Assisted Living is highly mixed with a strong polarization: many families and residents report excellent experiences characterized by warm, attentive staff, clean and attractive facilities, and abundant activities, while a significant number of reviews raise serious concerns about staffing levels, safety, and management practices.
Strengths most frequently cited relate to the facility, social environment, and many front-line staff. Reviewers commonly note a welcoming, family-like atmosphere and describe staff members (nurses, caregivers, kitchen and dining staff, and administrators) as kind, supportive, and engaged. Several specific employees and the administrator were singled out as attentive and responsive. The building, grounds, and common spaces receive consistent praise: reviewers mention well-kept, attractive landscaping, walking paths and patios, large windows and natural light, and comfortable public areas such as a crafts room, piano/dining area, library, chapel, and TV lounge. Activities are a major positive theme — a wide array of social and recreational opportunities (exercise classes, quilting, sewing, cooking, themed events, road trips, billiards, dancing, and religious programming) are offered and many residents are reported to participate and enjoy them. Many reviewers also praise the dining experience when it is good, noting an in-house chef, restaurant-like meals, and accommodating dining staff; practical amenities like weekly housekeeping, laundry service, private bathrooms, and month-to-month leases are appreciated.
However, an equally prominent theme is inconsistency and operational shortcomings, often tied to staffing and management. Understaffing and high staff turnover recur across many reviews; families report slow responses to call lights, long wait times for caregiver assistance, and variable caregiver competence and attentiveness. Several accounts attribute declines in cleanliness, missed tasks, and reduced participation encouragement to reliance on temporary or agency staff. These staffing issues are linked in multiple reviews to serious safety and clinical incidents: falls requiring hospitalization, reports of pressure ulcers/bedsores (including one report of black necrotic tissue and subsequent investigations), disputed hospice claims, and medication management concerns. Such incidents prompted involvement of external authorities (hospital and protective services) in at least some reports, generating alarm among families. These critical safety incidents starkly contrast with other reviews that specifically praise nursing and medication administration, underscoring the variability and risk of inconsistent care quality.
Management and administrative behavior also shows a mixed picture. Several reviewers praise engaged, on-site owners and managers who are responsive, compassionate, and hands-on, and describe smooth move-ins and helpful communication. Conversely, other reviews report problematic administrative practices: a notable deposit/hold dispute where a promised apartment hold was not honored and a $1,500 deposit was withheld until corporate intervention; allegations of deceptive marketing; and billing/payment delays. There are also reports of unprofessional or disrespectful conduct (e.g., rooms shown or rearranged without permission, personal items disturbed, and poor staff management). These divergent experiences suggest management responsiveness may vary over time or between particular staff members.
Dining and nutrition are another split area. While many residents and families enjoy the food — praising the in-house chef and restaurant-style meals — multiple reviewers report poor food quality, meals that do not match expectations or pictures, inconsistent portioning, poorly prepared vegetarian options (including a reported lease-mandated vegetarian policy), and irregular meal timing. For some diabetic residents and others with dietary needs, meal service timing and quality were problematic. Dining experiences appear sensitive to staffing and kitchen resourcing, with food quality ebbing when temporary or insufficient staff are in place.
Facility features and apartment options are generally seen as positives: clean, newer-feeling units with private bathrooms, options for small kitchens in some units, large windows, and scenic views. But some reviewers felt apartment sizes were too small, or that specific locations within the facility were not ideal. Cost and value are recurrent concerns: monthly rent is perceived as high by several reviewers, and a few feel the level of care did not match the price. The facility does accept private pay and Medicaid for a period in some cases, but the financial experience was complicated for a few families by deposit disputes and billing delays.
Patterns that emerge: experiences often depend on timing (periods of adequate staffing yield many glowing reviews; periods with staffing shortages or heavy use of temp staff produce negative reports), and there is a clear split between administrative praise and criticism depending on which staff members or management phase is in place. Safety incidents and accusations about medical care are the most serious concerns and should be the primary focus for families evaluating the community. Smaller but meaningful issues — food inconsistency, occasional unprofessional behavior, and smoking-area placement affecting room air/view — also affect satisfaction.
In summary, Somerset Assisted Living appears to offer many of the elements families seek: a clean, attractive facility with plentiful activities, a welcoming culture, and many caring staff members. At the same time, recurring operational weaknesses — especially understaffing, inconsistent caregiver competence, and a handful of serious clinical and administrative incidents — produce significant risk and disappointment for some residents and families. Prospective residents should weigh the facility’s strong social and physical environment and many positive staff reports against reports of inconsistent clinical care and administrative problems. Practical next steps for families considering Somerset would be: ask about current staffing ratios and turnover, request recent incident and staffing reports, clarify deposit and move-in policies in writing, tour multiple apartment types in-person if possible, and ask specifically about how the community handles clinical escalation, wound care, hospice coordination, and dietary restrictions. These focused inquiries will help determine whether your prospective timeframe and care needs align with the facility’s current operational reality.
