Overall sentiment about The Meadows at Escalante is highly polarized: many reviews describe a warm, activity-filled, clean and caring community, while a substantial number of reviews point to systemic operational failures, safety incidents, and management problems. Positive reviewers emphasize compassionate front-line staff, robust activities and social opportunities, comfortable apartments, and amenities such as a gym, salon, movie theater and frequent outings. Negative reviewers, however, report severe lapses in safety, communication, and leadership that in some cases have led to alleged neglect, theft, and a dramatic deterioration in care quality.
Care quality and staff behavior emerge as the most frequently discussed themes. A large subset of reviewers praise CNAs, med techs, housekeeping, and activity staff as kind, attentive, and willing to go above and beyond. Multiple families singled out individual employees (Activity Directors, nurses, and aides) who provided personalized attention and helped residents thrive socially and emotionally. At the same time, a distinct and recurrent complaint is chronic understaffing — particularly at night and in Memory Care. Several reviews report that RN presence is minimal or absent, calls and medication questions are not returned, and families are forced to be proactive advocates for basic needs. This results in a mixed picture where direct caregivers are often praised but the broader clinical support and supervision are perceived as inconsistent or insufficient.
Memory Care and resident safety are major areas of concern in the negative reviews. Specific, alarming incidents were reported: a freezer-related resident death, unlocked side doors, missing life-alert functionality, delayed notifications after falls, and alleged theft of medications and personal items. These safety failures are coupled with statements about insufficient nursing oversight, lack of an executive director, and leadership failures that families attribute to corporate policy changes after an ownership/management transition (referred to repeatedly as a "Frontier takeover"). Where families reported strong safety and care, it tended to be earlier timeframes or before reported management changes — reviewers explicitly contrasted a stronger pre-takeover era with declines afterward.
Management, operations, and transparency receive consistent criticism from the dissatisfied reviewers. Common complaints include high administrative turnover, unfulfilled contractual promises (internet, cable, and other services), billing disputes and delayed refunds, poor responsiveness to phone calls and family concerns, and ad hoc or slow maintenance responses (water outages, cabinet repairs). Several reviewers stated they were charged for full months despite service problems or were still awaiting refunds for months. These operational grievances often color families’ overall impressions more than isolated staff interactions, because they affect trust, safety, and financial expectations.
Dining and activities produce mixed but detailed comments. Many reviewers praise the culinary staff and chef — noting tasty meals, cooking classes, and the flexibility of having alternate entrees and a salad bar. Other reviewers, however, characterize meals as bland, institutional, served cold, or unrecognizable during lockdowns. Activities are a commonly cited strength: frequent programs, guest performers, outings (ice cream trips, movies), and an active social calendar are consistently mentioned by satisfied families. A few reviewers felt activities did not match their loved one’s functional level or that there were insufficient peers for certain physical activities.
Facilities and physical environment also show variance across reviews. Multiple reviewers describe the community as bright, beautiful, immaculate, and well-maintained with generous common spaces and attractive apartments. Conversely, other reviewers call the facility poorly maintained, report water outages, slow repairs, and overall deterioration. Security concerns (unlocked doors, lack of cameras) and infrastructure problems are specifically tied to negative safety assessments.
Pattern and timeline considerations are notable: several reviews describe a clear shift in quality and responsiveness following a corporate/ownership change (often referenced as Frontier). Families report promised services not delivered after the change, rising prices, and a perceived corporate mandate leading to stricter rules or staffing changes. Other negative reports are tied to peak pandemic restrictions, with lockdowns producing isolation, food delivery problems, and cold or inadequate meals during that period. Positive reviews frequently come from long-term residents or from time periods described as before the reported operational decline.
In summary, The Meadows at Escalante has many strengths that make it a good fit for some residents: caring front-line staff, vibrant activities, strong amenities, and periods of high cleanliness and good food are commonly cited. However, there is a substantial body of reviews that raise serious red flags regarding leadership, safety, staffing levels, security, communication, and financial/contractual transparency. Prospective families should verify current staffing ratios (especially RNs for Memory Care), review incident and inspection histories, ask about security measures and cameras, get contractual promises in writing (and clarify refund/billing policies), and speak directly with families of current residents about recent operational changes and turnover. The mixed experience means that outcomes appear to vary considerably depending on timing, unit, and management at the time — so careful, documented due diligence is strongly advised.
