Aston Gardens At Pelican Pointe

Just visiting and enjoyed my time there. Food is good. They have a bar on site and make strong drinks. The pool area is beautiful along with the landscaping. I did see some wildlife along the walking paths. Geckos everywhere! Glad my parents found this place.

My dad who is 81 moved to Aston Gardens independent living from his own home two months ago. It was a struggle to convince him to leave his house, but now he says he really likes it, which is shocking to us who know him. In fact, in the last month he hasn't complained about anything. He says that he really likes his unit, that the food is really good and that everyone is really nice. For me and my wife, the whole process from when we first brought him to see Aston Gardens to when he moved in has been excellent. For the walkthrough Anita brought us to several different types of units and showed us all of the amenities. She also gave us a reference to the moving company "WeCare Senior Relocation Services" which was excellent. The whole process was very straight forward and there were no surprises. Anita kept us informed about the progress of his unit which was being renovated, and he ended up moving in about a month after first visiting. We have also dealt with Nicole who is the Director of Resident Services and she has also been very helpful to us and Dad. Before having Dad look at Aston Gardens we asked around to a lot of people, some who help in transitioning people from their homes to independent/assisted living, some who had parents or friends there. Everyone had good thinks to say about it and when our neighbor who helps people in this transition gave us a list of places to look at, Aston Gardens was circled with a note that said, "look here first". Dad has adjusted well and we are really happy with the progress that he has made here. I would absolutely recommend Aston Gardens to others who are looking for independent living in the Venice area.

We have lived at Aston Gardens for 2 years. We love our 2 bedroom apartment. It is perfect for us. The people here are so welcoming and friendly. So are the people who work here. There are lots of activities so if you want to meet new people it is easy. Or if you prefer to spend time on you own you can do that too. The lobby of the dining room is the perfect place to meet people and have dinner together if you wish. Come for a tour and see this Resort style facility for yourself. You won’t be disappointed. Bettye Buchman

Our family’s experience with Aston Gardens was generally fine until our parent needed more care. As our parent’s cognitive abilities declined, we raised concerns with staff and requested dementia screening. Those requests were not acted on. We ended up taking our parent to the Sarasota Memory Clinic for an evaluation and we’re glad we did not rely on “they’re fine” feedback from Aston Gardens.We also encountered operational issues that affected our parent’s care, particularly with prescription medications. Families may want to ask detailed questions about how medications are managed, how staff communicate when problems arise, and which local healthcare facility is used/preferred by the facility. Our parent fell and was taken to Englewood instead of Sarasota Memorial, which is about four miles away. We also sent several emails about our concerns, but they went unanswered. Over the course of five years, they always seemed to be short staffed, high turnover of staff, including management, as there were four different executive directors. We ended up hiring private nurse care agency to oversee her care until we had the opportunity to move her out. If you live far away, consider how often you will be able to visit and monitor care. In our experience, staff did not consistently communicate important changes, and the level of oversight did not meet our loved one’s needs. Before we left the facility, a quick walk around revealed many empty rooms. We would encourage anyone considering Aston Gardens to visit regularly and ask a lot of questions. Our overall impression was that they did not want residents that required higher levels of care in the assisted living.