Overall sentiment: Reviews for Ciel of Spokane are predominantly positive, with recurrent praise for the facility’s modern design, clean and comfortable environment, extensive amenities, and a strong core of compassionate staff. Many families and former residents describe the building as beautiful, home-like, and specially designed for memory care. Reviewers repeatedly highlight the facility’s bright, open layout, secure indoor and outdoor areas, and town-center style amenities (salon, theater, activities room) that contribute to a high quality of life. There is widespread appreciation for the meals, snack availability, and variety of activities that keep residents engaged and socially active. Multiple reviewers explicitly call Ciel the best memory care in Spokane and strongly recommend it.
Staff and caregiving: A major strength across reviews is the quality and character of the caregiving staff. Numerous comments call staff “attentive,” “compassionate,” and willing to go above and beyond. Many families say staff show authentic interaction, put residents first, and create a familial atmosphere. Several reviewers praised specific staff members and leadership (Director of Nursing, administrators) for being responsive and easing family concerns. At the same time, reviews reveal variability: while many describe excellent, loving care and dementia expertise, other reviewers report average care or care-delivery shortfalls. The pattern suggests that the facility has a strong culture of caregiving but that consistency can be affected by staffing levels and turnover.
Facilities, safety, and amenities: The physical facility and safety features receive consistently strong marks. Reviewers frequently mention motion-sensor alerts, secure memory care wings, fenced outdoor areas, and single-level layouts that are easier for residents to navigate. Amenities such as a hair salon, nail salon, theater, activities room, and a great room with a fireplace are repeatedly cited as enhancing residents’ quality of life. Cleanliness and lack of odors are noted repeatedly, and families praise the home-like, cozy feel. These environment- and design-focused positives appear to be widely reliable across reviewers.
Activities and dining: Activity programming is a clear highlight — reviewers list a wide range of offerings including exercise classes, arts & crafts, live music, bingo, movies, field trips, drives, and special events. Many reviewers note that residents are engaged, smiling, and content due to the activity options and social opportunities. Dining is also frequently praised: meals are described as tasty, well-presented, and available three times daily with snacks in between. Several reviewers appreciate menu choices and constant food availability. However, a few reviews mention gaps such as fewer activities on weekends and room for improved intellectual stimulation or memory-specific programs.
Management, communication, and operational concerns: Several consistent concerns relate to management changes, staff turnover, and the operational impacts of those shifts. A number of reviews explicitly link declines in care consistency to management change and insufficient staffing. Communication with families is sometimes criticized — examples include information packets not being used by staff and families being advised to remain actively involved. Reviewers also describe organization challenges and rule changes that caused confusion. On the positive side, several reviewers say administration is responsive and has made improvements in response to feedback.
Serious care incidents and health concerns: A notable and serious cluster of negative comments describes specific care failures: inadequate monitoring (one review cited only two-hour checks), medication-related dizziness leading to falls, choking risk, pneumonia leading to hospitalization, and nutritional concerns (feeding via Ensure and use of high-fructose corn syrup noted). Hygiene neglect is mentioned in some accounts. These reports are comparatively less common than praise for staff, but they are significant because they reflect incidents with direct impact on resident safety. Many reviews imply that these adverse events correlate with staffing shortages or turnover. Families should weigh these isolated but severe reports alongside the many positive accounts.
Cost, scope of services, and limitations: Cost is raised as a drawback by multiple reviewers — some describe the community as relatively expensive and report rent increases perceived as excessive. Practical limitations mentioned include transportation only by appointment, ambulance transport not included in monthly fees, and a comment that the facility may not be suitable for fully bedridden residents. There are also concerns about longevity of placement for residents with limited funds (a comment about potential relocation when funds run out), reflecting worries tied to the facility’s for-profit model.
Net assessment and recommendations: In synthesis, Ciel of Spokane is widely regarded as a beautiful, well-appointed memory-care community with dedicated staff, excellent amenities, strong activity programming, and generally high standards of cleanliness and resident engagement. The most common positives are the staff’s compassion, the facility’s design and safety features, and the variety of activities and dining options. The most consistent concerns center on staffing stability, occasional lapses in care or monitoring, communication gaps with families, and cost. These patterns suggest that while many families have excellent experiences, some have encountered serious care issues likely linked to staffing shortages and turnover. Prospective families should tour the community, ask specifically about current staffing ratios and recent turnover, request how monitoring and fall-prevention are handled, confirm policies on ambulance transport and hospice/medical services, and stay actively involved in care discussions. Reviewing state inspection reports and seeking recent family references can help corroborate whether the positive culture described by many reviewers is being maintained consistently despite the noted operational challenges.
