Olive Grove

    3014 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85016
    3.5 · 29 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    2.0

    Compassionate staff but serious issues

    I had a mixed experience - compassionate, attentive staff, pleasant rooms, a lovely dining area and good activities that initially gave us peace of mind. Unfortunately chronic understaffing, high turnover, unresponsive management, declining/poor meals, and serious cleanliness/maintenance issues (stains, mold/bed-bug reports, broken windows/closets) plus high extra fees left me very concerned. Proceed with caution: visit multiple times, ask about staffing, cleaning, and recent complaints before deciding.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    3.48 · 29 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      3.3
    • Staff

      3.5
    • Meals

      3.3
    • Amenities

      2.6
    • Value

      3.2

    Pros

    • Many staff described as caring, friendly, and professional
    • Helpful nursing aides who assist with bathing and daily care
    • Delicious meals reported by multiple reviewers
    • Clean units and well-kept rooms reported in several reviews
    • On-site beauty salon
    • Courtyard and some outdoor spaces available
    • Regular social activities (live concerts, bingo, movies, exercise classes)
    • Organized group bus trips and field trips
    • Maintenance team described as hardworking
    • Ongoing upgrades (painting, new flooring, memory care renovations)
    • Memory care residents appear happy in some reports
    • Supportive environment for new residents in some accounts
    • ALTCS accepted and visitation flexibility noted by some families
    • Spacious/furnished rooms in certain parts of the facility; option to bring personal furniture
    • Some reviewers call it a well-run, top-notch facility

    Cons

    • Inconsistent cleanliness across reviews; reports of filth, stained carpets, and dirty bathrooms
    • Multiple reports of bed bugs and other pest problems (bees, cockroaches)
    • Understaffing and high staff turnover
    • Unresponsive administration and difficulty reaching directors or nurses
    • Medication errors, missed meds, and slow call-light responses reported
    • Contradictory reports of food quality: repetitive or poor meals in some reviews
    • Safety incidents and allegations (stolen debit card, weight loss, broken hip, near-starvation claim)
    • Facility disrepair in areas: holes in walls, broken windows, mold, ceiling leaks
    • Limited or no outdoor walking paths and minimal outdoor space in some areas
    • Vehicle/van issues limiting outings (expired tags, no weekly outings)
    • High base rates with additional charges for care; perceived as overpriced by some
    • Memory care inconsistently managed — some describe it as 'pathetic' and understaffed
    • Allegations of empty promises by management and poor people skills from leadership
    • Mention of an ongoing lawsuit and potential manipulation/inconsistency in reviews
    • Inconsistent room sizes and unfinished rooms in some units

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment in the reviews of Olive Grove is highly mixed and often polarized: many reviewers praise staff, meals, activities, and some well-maintained areas, while an overlapping set of reviews describes serious cleanliness, pest, staffing, safety, and management problems. This pattern suggests that experiences at Olive Grove can vary widely by unit, time period, and individual staff on duty. Multiple reviewers reported excellent, compassionate care and a warm, family-like environment; others reported neglect, unsanitary conditions, and safety lapses.

    Care quality and staffing: A recurring theme is inconsistency. Numerous reviews applaud caregivers and nursing aides as attentive, respectful, and helpful — families say staff know residents by name and provide bathing and day-to-day assistance. Conversely, a substantial number of reviews describe understaffing, high turnover, overworked employees, unresponsive call lights, missed medications, inconsistent caregivers, and poor or dismissive staff attitudes. These contrasting accounts indicate that resident care may depend heavily on current staffing levels and specific team leadership. Several reviews also allege safety incidents (weight loss, broken hip, stolen debit card) and near-catastrophic medical situations, which raises concern about oversight and safe resident monitoring in some cases.

    Facilities and maintenance: Reviews present a split picture of the physical plant. Positive comments point to ongoing upgrades (painting, new flooring), a hardworking maintenance team, clean units, landscaped courtyards, and spacious furnished rooms in some sections. Negative comments, however, detail serious issues: filthy areas, stained carpets, holes in walls, broken closet doors and windows, smelly waste, mold and ceiling leaks, and minimal outdoor walking paths. Multiple reports of bed bug infestations and other pests (bees in the dining room, cockroaches) are particularly alarming and suggest episodic failures in pest control and sanitation. Some reviewers specifically call out parts of the memory care unit and other sections as needing remodels and deep cleaning.

    Dining and activities: Dining experiences are a frequent source of conflicting feedback. Several reviewers praise the food as delicious, varied, and prepared with resident preferences in mind (salad requests accommodated; meetings with the chef). Other reviewers report repetitive menus, leftovers served for multiple meals, extremely poor food quality, and even unsafe dining room conditions. Activities and social programming are often cited positively — live concerts, bingo, movies, exercise classes, and group trips are listed — but some families report few activities, cancellations of outings due to van problems (expired tags, vehicle unavailable), and inconsistent engagement depending on staffing and management.

    Management, communication, and administration: Management reputation at Olive Grove appears inconsistent over time and across reviewers. Some commenters praise an outstanding director team and responsive managers; others cite past problems with leadership, directors who make empty promises, poor people skills, and an administration that is often unreachable. Reports of an ongoing lawsuit and accusations of review manipulation by employees further complicate the trust picture. Several families advise careful questioning of leadership, as the presence or absence of stable, communicative leadership seems to markedly change resident experience.

    Patterns and notable red flags: The most significant recurring concerns are pest infestations (bed bugs repeatedly mentioned), serious cleanliness and maintenance failures, and staffing instability leading to missed care or poor oversight. Complaints about medication timing, call-light response, and alleged theft or neglect are strong red flags that warrant attention. At the same time, many reviewers attest to very positive experiences — compassionate staff, good food, active social life, recent renovations, and residents who appear happy and comfortable.

    Bottom line: Olive Grove presents as a facility with real strengths (engaged caregivers at times, robust activity programming, ongoing renovations, and positive experiences reported by many families) but also with notable, recurring weaknesses (pest control, inconsistent cleanliness and maintenance, understaffing, communication failures, and variable leadership). Prospective residents and families should expect variability and perform thorough, in-person checks: inspect different units and common areas, ask about recent pest-control records and maintenance logs, request staffing ratios and turnover data, review incident/complaint history (including any litigation), confirm transportation and outing availability, clarify pricing and extra care charges, and speak with current residents and families across multiple shifts. This will help determine whether Olive Grove’s positive attributes are present and consistent for the particular unit and timeframe being considered.

    Location

    Map showing location of Olive Grove

    About Olive Grove

    Olive Grove, sometimes called Emeritus at Olive Grove, sits in Phoenix and has the largest senior living apartments in the area, with 115 private rooms that have kitchenettes and patios, so residents get plenty of space and privacy, and you'll find a mix of studios and one-bedroom apartments, each with private bathrooms and some with balconies. The facility serves people at many stages, offering independent living, assisted living, memory care, respite care, and even direct care services for those unable to recognize danger, including many folks with dementia, and the Bonded Pairs program helps couples stay together, even if one partner needs memory care. Residents get 24-hour staff help and a full-time LPN is there five days a week, with on-call help for emergencies, and there's always supervision available for those who might need it, though there's no 24-hour complex medical supervision. The medical history record system, kept by a nurse, tracks each resident's care needs, and medication management is provided as well.

    The community feels lively, with an emphasis on keeping people independent, safe, and treated with dignity, and there's plenty to do-there are 40 to 50 activities and trips every week, including arts and crafts, cooking lessons, educational seminars, puzzles, games, bingo, movies, and regular outings, managed by a dedicated activity director. Residents gather in large, cheerful dining rooms for three meals a day, enjoying restaurant-style dining where the menu changes based on what residents like, and there's room service for those wanting quiet meals in their own apartments. Other amenities include a library, a TV room, a fitness room, a game room with a pool table, and a beauty/barber shop, while the party room and theater add more places to meet and relax, and there's a coffee bar too. Outdoors, the grounds have walking paths, park-like areas, mature trees, gazebos, a garden, and patio areas that make it easy to spend time outside, and there are courtyards as well as outdoor sitting areas-smoking is limited to assigned patios, since the rest of the community is smoke-free.

    Staff see to all the basics, helping with bathing, dressing, and personal care, providing bi-weekly housekeeping, linen service, and coin-free laundry rooms for those who clean themselves, and there's a full list of services like transportation through the Olive Grove Bus, which takes residents on shopping trips, day excursions, and scheduled rides inside a ten-mile radius. Residents can park their cars if they still drive, and pets up to 20 pounds are welcome. Wellness gets attention here too, with weekly visits from doctors as well as available specialists in dentistry, eye care, physical therapy, and podiatry, along with general counseling services. There are aging in place options, so residents get more support if their needs change, with focused memory care for those needing special attention. The whole place offers easy access for those with limited mobility, including wheelchair accessible showers and full tubs, and each apartment has an emergency call system and pendant for quick help.

    Everyone gets utilities like water and electric included in the rent, with activities, transportation, meals, and common area amenities all part of the package, and there's flexible month-to-month leasing, including reduced rates for a second resident sharing a room. The community holds on-site religious services and weekly church, and there's reliable Wi-Fi and cable TV throughout, plus a resident store on-site for essentials. This place mainly aims to keep folks active, maintain friendships, and help everyone feel supported, with welcoming communal spaces, bright and cheerful rooms, and a steady schedule of events-making Olive Grove a simple and dependable retirement community for seniors who want safety, choice, and a good mix of care and independence without anything fancy.

    About Stellar Senior Living

    Olive Grove is managed by Stellar Senior Living.

    Founded in 2011 by Evrett Benton and his family, Stellar Senior Living is a family-owned company headquartered in Midvale, Utah. Operating over 30 communities across eight western states, they provide independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing services. Their philosophy centers on four core values: Service, Integrity, Inspiration, and Joy.

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