Riverview Residential Care

Pros

• The staff are nice and friendly and do good work.
• Medication management is thorough, with medications taken on schedule and reordered as needed.
• The cafeteria serves hearty homestyle meals three times a day with snacks in between.
• Susan, the housekeeper, is attentive to residents, cleans rooms weekly, and acts like a mother figure.
• Elizabeth demonstrated vigilance and saved a resident's life by summoning emergency services.
• Riviera staff are professionally trained to handle crises, coordinate with treatment teams, support daily living activities, and manage appointments and medications.
• The facility feels like home to residents and staff.

Cons

• The staff are very vigilant but overworked.
• There are not enough attendants; there should be more staff, especially at night.
• It is inconvenient that the laundry is located down the street.
• A cleaning crew has been stealing residents' belongings, including valuables and personal documents.
• Residents do not have private spaces to lock up important items; cleaners enter rooms to clean.
• The food is horrible and of very low quality, and residents are not allowed to have their own food in their rooms.
• Personal items are limited, making it hard to feel at home.
• There are claims that staff abuse their power and ignore residents' problems.
• The theft has led to identity theft concerns and financial loss for residents.

Review

Riviera Living presents itself in these accounts as a place designed to support independence for people with disabilities while offering a sense of home-like care. The stories paint a picture of a facility that can feel warm and well-organized at its best, with attentive staff, reliable medication routines, and nourishing meals, all wrapped in a community atmosphere that residents and families come to rely on. Yet the same set of voices also reveals tensions that can arise in any care setting: concerns about staffing levels, privacy and security, and the everyday logistics of living in a shared residential environment.

Several reviewers highlight the strength of Riviera's day-to-day operations. A caregiver named Pedro is praised for overseeing medication administration with a system that ensures pills are taken twice daily, with a pharmacy service that reorders meds and mails them straight to the facility. The on-site amenities contribute to a sense of stability: a cafeteria that serves hearty homestyle meals three times a day, with snacks in between, and a housekeeping staff that feels almost like family. Susan, the housekeeper, is described as observant and nurturing, keeping tabs on who comes and goes and tending to cleanliness in each room weekly. The care is person-centered in moments that matter - a resident's life was saved when an attentive attendant named Elizabeth noticed something was off, followed him to his room, and called an ambulance after he collapsed and stopped breathing properly. In brief, the staff are regarded as vigilant and capable, even as some acknowledge they are stretched thin and overworked.

There is broad appreciation for the human touch that permeates Riviera. People who live there describe staff as friendly and helpful, with a sense that they know how to handle crises or delicate conversations with residents and their treatment teams. Several reviews emphasize the facility's responsiveness: following up on medical appointments, coordinating with mental health agencies, and keeping lines of communication open about medications, appointments, and care plans. One reviewer even notes that after a difficult moment, the community's teamwork felt like a reassuring extension of home, with staff who "get things done" and make residents feel attended to. The sense that Riviera's personnel are trained to manage client crises, support daily living activities, and foster ongoing connections with PCPs and psychiatrists is repeatedly underscored, painting a picture of a well-intentioned operation earning trust through practical competence.

Alongside these positives, there are practical suggestions and concerns about how the facility operates in a real-world setting. Reviewers flag that staff can become overworked, which leads to calls for hiring more attendants so that there are always at least two caregivers available in each house, including during night shifts. There are repeated questions about convenience and resident comfort: opening a cafeteria in each home so residents don't have to cross the street for meals, organizing regular on-site services like haircuts and pedicures for residents who cannot manage these tasks themselves, and making in-room laundry more convenient by bringing laundry services closer to where residents live. The overarching theme here is the desire for more resources and streamlined routines that reduce friction for residents and their families while preserving the dignity and independence Riviera aims to support.

A more troubling strand appears in another family's account, where a pattern of theft by a cleaning crew is alleged. This reviewer describes multiple losses from a resident's personal belongings - from a backpack and checkbook to a birth certificate, Social Security card, and sentimental items inherited from a late relative. The resident reportedly did not have a private space to lock possessions and was required to leave the room during cleaning, which allowed the cleaners to access personal items. The family suspects the cleaning staff of ongoing theft and expresses fears about identity theft and the potential loss of funds. They call for heightened security measures, including background checks for employees, the possibility for residents to be present during cleaning, and secure storage options for important documents and heirlooms. The weight of this account illustrates how crucial trust and privacy are in a residential care setting and how theft can shatter confidence in a facility's safety, even when other aspects of care are solid.

Other voices reinforce two different yet compatible impressions: Riviera feels like a home away from home, where staff are consistently kind, responsive, and capable. A review emphasizes the ease with which one can navigate appointments and care coordination, reinforcing a sense of reliability and comfort within the environment. Yet a separate, strongly negative post paints a stark contrast: a family member accuses Riviera of abusive power dynamics, poor food quality, and restrictive policies that prevent residents from having personal food or items in their rooms. This final perspective underscores the complexity of running a residential care home where individual expectations and experiences can diverge dramatically, turning what some see as a caring community into a place that feels limiting or even hostile to others.

The management side of Riviera also features in these accounts through a direct response to one public critique. A staff member named Cheralynn Sabankaya, a licensed professional, responds to concerns raised in a public post, addressing issues like isolation, water intake, and connectivity. The reply explains that hydration has been prioritized with new water dispensers and ice makers, that water and bathroom routines are monitored, and that connectivity problems are often tied to outages in the broader area (Comcast) rather than to Riviera itself. It is noted that cellular data access is not provided by Riviera and would be a service residents must obtain from their own providers. The response attempts to clarify misunderstandings and invites in-person discussion to avoid public damage to the facility's reputation, framing Riviera as a long-standing family operation with decades of experience in caring for people with severe and chronic mental illness.

Together, these accounts sketch Riviera Living as a facility with meaningful strengths and notable vulnerabilities. The positive stories celebrate dependable medication management, responsive crisis support, attentive housekeeping, and a warm, home-like atmosphere that many residents and families come to rely on. The challenges raised - staffing constraints, the need for more resident-centered amenities, security and privacy concerns, and the impact of alleged theft - highlight important areas for ongoing improvement. Taken as a whole, the collection of experiences suggests a place that genuinely strives to care for people with compassion and competence, while also exposing the hard realities and trade-offs inherent in running residential care for individuals who depend on both a structured routine and the kindness of those who supervise their daily lives.

This part of San Jose, California, offers a range of amenities and services that cater to seniors looking for a comfortable and convenient living environment. With several parks nearby such as Martial Cottle Park and Great Oaks Park, residents can enjoy nature walks and outdoor activities. Additionally, there are various dining options including McDonald's, Jack In The Box, and In-N-Out Burger for quick bites or sit-down meals. Pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy are easily accessible for medication needs. For medical care, there are several healthcare facilities in the vicinity such as Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Places of worship like Santa Teresa Catholic Church offer spiritual support to the community. Public transportation options like San Jose Diridon Station provide easy access to other parts of the city. Overall, this neighborhood provides a mix of recreational opportunities, healthcare services, and convenient amenities for seniors looking to settle in a welcoming community in San Jose.

Parks

• Martial Cottle Park (0.7 miles)
• Great Oaks Park (0.8 miles)
• Edenvale Garden Park (0.9 miles)
• Ramblewood Park (1.4 miles)
• William Lewis Manly Park (2.1 miles)
• Vieira Park (2.6 miles)
• Rubino Park (3.3 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (1.1 miles)
• Jack In The Box (1.8 miles)
• In-N-Out Burger (1.9 miles)
• McDonald's (1.9 miles)
• In-N-Out Burger (3 miles)
• The Cheesecake Factory (3 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (3 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (1.9 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2 miles)
• Rite Aid (2.9 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.5 miles)

Cafes

• Panera Bread (2 miles)
• Starbucks (2.1 miles)
• Happy Lemon (2.3 miles)
• Starbucks (2.9 miles)
• Starbucks (3.2 miles)
• Starbucks (3.3 miles)
• Starbucks (4.1 miles)

Physicians

• Kaiser Optometry Clinic (2.1 miles)
• Kaiser Family Health Building (2.6 miles)
• Kaiser Permanente Building. C (2.7 miles)
• Palo Alto Medical Foundation (3.6 miles)
• Golden Hills Optometry (3.8 miles)
• Precision Eyecare Centers (3.9 miles)
• San Jose Medical Center (5.7 miles)

Hospitals

• Kaiser Permanente Medical Center-Santa Teresa-San Jose, Pharmacies, One North (2.7 miles)
• Valley Medical Center Clinic (2.8 miles)
• Valley Health Center Bascom (6.8 miles)

Places of Worship

• Santa Teresa Catholic Church (2.8 miles)

Transportation

• San Jose Diridon Station (6 miles)

Theaters

• Pruneyard Cinemas (6.5 miles)