Overall sentiment: The reviews for The Eliot at Catskill are mixed but lean strongly positive overall, with many reviewers praising the facility’s environment, staff, amenities, and social life. A large proportion of reviewers describe the building as bright, modern, recently renovated, and very clean, and they repeatedly highlight a welcoming, compassionate caregiving team and a supportive admissions/administrative staff. At the same time a smaller but significant number of reviews raise serious concerns about management, care consistency, medication handling, and cleanliness — concerns that prospective families should investigate during a visit.
Care quality and staff: The dominant theme across reviews is praise for the caregiving staff. Many families use words like caring, attentive, compassionate and responsive to describe aides, nurses, receptionists and activity staff. Several individual staff members and leaders are named positively (for example Kimberly Conlin, Colleen, Julia/Jules Dragon, Tammy, Lisa, Ken and Rebecca), and reviewers credit staff with going above and beyond during move-ins, daily care, medication management, and pandemic restrictions (FaceTime updates, flexible communication). Multiple comments reference helpful supervisors, social workers and maintenance staff who assisted with logistics and helped make transitions smooth. These positive impressions often extend to descriptions of residents thriving socially and emotionally — making friends, joining games, and participating in events.
That said, there are consistent counter-report patterns about inconsistent care and management. A subset of reviews allege problems that range from poor supervision and unfair staff treatment to dangerous medication practices (reports of unlicensed dispensing) and explicit medication errors (wrong name on meds). A few reviews describe neglectful incidents — delayed nurse responses, missed bathing for days, or residents presented poorly for doctor visits — and these posts are forceful in tone. These contradictions suggest variability in day-to-day practice or uneven performance between shifts or teams. Several reviewers also link poor experiences to management turnover and express concern that administrative instability affects frontline care.
Facilities and amenities: Reviewers commonly praise the physical plant — light-filled common areas, lounge/activity rooms, movie theater, multiple dining spaces, country kitchens, courtyard views and pleasant grounds. The building is frequently described as attractive, bright, and home-like following renovations; many reviewers note comfortable rooms with large bathrooms and options for private or shared accommodations. On-site conveniences such as an in-house physician, on-site bank, transportation arrangements, and medication/appointment coordination are cited as meaningful advantages that give families peace of mind.
Dining and food: Dining experiences are described in mixed terms. Many reviewers are happy with the variety, three hot meals daily, and specific staff chefs (Ken is named positively), and multiple comments note enjoyable meals, soup, and special event dinners. Others raise concerns about food balance and portions — especially for older residents with diverse dietary needs — and several mention problems for diabetics or reports of limited seconds. A few reviewers called the food “horrible,” while others say it is “tasty” or “well-prepared,” indicating variability in perception and possibly evolving kitchen leadership (some mention a new chef may improve quality).
Activities and social life: Activity programming is one of the strongest positive themes. Numerous reviews highlight a robust calendar, live entertainment, social events (e.g., ice cream day, holiday dinners), outings and opportunities for residents to remain active and engaged. Many families emphasize the positive social environment and residents’ ability to form friendships. A small number of reviewers, however, felt activities were limited in intellectual stimulation and suggested more varied cognitive or academic programs would be welcome.
Cleanliness, safety and COVID response: Most reviewers explicitly praise cleanliness, infection controls, and safety measures, including proactive communication during the pandemic and family involvement via video. Conversely, a minority report serious cleanliness and safety problems — odors of urine, mold, filthy rooms, and suggestions of cover-ups — and some raise COVID-safety concerns. These diametrically opposed reports indicate that experiences vary significantly between units, shifts, or over time, and they elevate the importance of targeted questions when touring.
Management, communication and transition experiences: Many reviewers commend the admissions team and administrators for clear, caring, and proactive communication, especially during move-in and pandemic restrictions. Positive testimonials cite helpfulness with Medicaid/admissions, fast responses, thoughtful coordination of care, and emotional support for families. Conversely, several reviews voice strong criticism of management, alleging poor leadership, unfair treatment of staff, and inadequate complaint resolution. These negative accounts sometimes describe systemic issues (e.g., poor oversight leading to safety risks) and are strong enough that they should be weighed carefully by prospective residents and families.
Patterns and recommendations: The pattern that emerges is one of a facility with substantial strengths — attractive physical spaces, an active social program, numerous accommodating services, and many committed, compassionate staff — paired with inconsistent issues that range from service variability to serious safety and management complaints. Because experiences vary, prospective families should: (1) tour multiple times including meal service and activity periods; (2) ask specific questions about medication management protocols, staff licensing, and incident reporting; (3) inquire about recent management turnover and staff retention; (4) request references from current families and ask to speak to residents when possible; (5) check how dietary needs (e.g., diabetes) and portion requests are handled; and (6) verify cleaning and infection-control practices.
Conclusion: Many reviewers highly recommend The Eliot at Catskill, praising specific staff members, the supportive atmosphere, amenities and overall resident happiness. However, a non-trivial number of reviews describe severe problems with management, cleanliness and safety that warrant careful inquiry. The facility appears to offer a strong, home-like environment for many residents, but prospective families should perform detailed due diligence in areas of medication safety, complaint resolution, and cleanliness to confirm that the positive experiences are the norm for their prospective unit and caregiver team.
