Overall sentiment in the reviews is mixed: several reviewers highlight strong, positive attributes of Auburn Homes and Services Waconia while others raise serious concerns that detract from the facility’s otherwise favorable aspects. Positive comments focus on the physical facility, the variety of care levels available, and elements that support resident autonomy and comfort. Negative comments are concentrated largely in the dining/kitchen area and in allegations about staff behavior and discrimination.
Facility and accommodations: Multiple reviewers describe the property as an excellent facility with multiple levels of care and stay-in-place capability. The availability of independent living alongside assisted living means residents can potentially remain on campus as needs change. The apartments being unfurnished so residents can bring their own furniture is noted as a positive for personalization and comfort. Overall, these points paint a picture of a campus designed to accommodate different stages of aging and to allow residents to maintain a sense of home.
Care quality and staff: Several reviews explicitly praise the assisted living side and call staff caring, which suggests that clinical and personal care interactions are often positive. That said, the reviews are not uniform: while some emphasize compassionate caregiving and comfort, others describe troubling staff behavior — in particular harassment by kitchen staff and allegations related to racism. These reports introduce a significant contrast in staff-related experiences, implying that interactions may be highly dependent on specific staff members, shifts, or departments rather than uniformly positive or negative.
Dining and food safety: Dining receives strongly divergent feedback. On one hand, multiple comments celebrate the food service — describing it as terrific with well-balanced menus and contributing to residents feeling happy and comfortable. On the other hand, very specific and serious food-safety concerns are raised: reviewers reported kitchen staff not wearing gloves while cooking, unkempt clothing among kitchen personnel, and an absence of sanitation buckets at workstations. This is a notable contradiction: the perceived quality and taste of the food may be high for some residents, but the reported lapses in basic hygiene and sanitation practices are objective safety issues that can affect health and should be addressed promptly by management.
Management, patterns, and gaps in information: The reviews reveal a pattern of generally favorable structural attributes and caregiving in assisted living, counterbalanced by concentrated complaints about the kitchen staff and allegations of discriminatory behavior. At least one reviewer explicitly states they would not recommend living at the facility, underscoring that these negative reports are impactful. The reviews do not provide systematic detail on management’s response to complaints, staff training programs, infection-control policies, or how discrimination claims are investigated and resolved, so it is not possible from this data to determine whether these are isolated incidents or indicative of broader systemic problems.
Bottom line: Auburn Homes and Services Waconia appears to offer a strong physical environment, multiple care levels, and positive experiences for many residents—particularly regarding assisted living staff and menu offerings. However, the presence of detailed complaints about food-safety practices, kitchen-staff behavior, and allegations of racism are serious and recurring enough to be material considerations for prospective residents and families. These issues warrant targeted questions for facility leadership (for example, about kitchen sanitation protocols, staff training and oversight, and complaint-resolution processes) and, if possible, further corroborating information from additional reviews or regulatory inspections before making an enrollment decision.
