Top 5 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Palm Beach Gardens: A Scorecard You Can Use
Rankings are only useful if you can see the math. So instead of telling you who we like, this guide shows you the scorecard we used, fills it in for five communities in and around Palm Beach Gardens, and lets you adjust it for your own family.
Spoiler: the community that scored highest, and our pick for the best assisted living facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is Serenity Living, a two-home operator in the city. You can check its details against the Palm Beach Gardens Serenity Living listing on Assisted Living Near Mom as you read.
The scorecard
Each community gets 1 to 5 points in five categories, for a total out of 25. We only scored on facts we could find in public listings, the community's own pages, A Place for Mom or licensing summaries.
| Category | What earns a 5 |
|---|---|
| Staffing | Small resident groups with caregivers on site day and night |
| Price clarity | Real numbers published before you call |
| Care range | Assisted living plus memory care, without forcing a move |
| Setting | Matches what the listing promises and what most residents need |
| Reviews | Strong scores with enough reviews to mean something |
1. Serenity Living: 23 out of 25
Staffing: 5. Two caregivers per home on every shift, about one caregiver for every three residents, with a registered nurse on call. No on-site nursing, which the community discloses.
Price clarity: 5. The Holly Drive home lists $5,600 a month for assisted living, $6,000 for memory care and a $1,500 one-time fee. The website gives about $5,500 to $6,000 a month.
Care range: 5. Assisted living and memory care at both homes, with every bed described as a memory care bed. The Holly Drive listing adds physical, occupational and speech therapy, respite, and hospice and palliative support.
Setting: 4. Real houses on quiet streets with living rooms, dining tables and home kitchens. We took a point off only because a six-bed home will not suit a parent who wants a big social scene or many amenities.
Reviews: 4. Olera reports a 5.0 Google rating on 15 reviews, and A Place for Mom shows 7 reviews averaging 5 out of 5. Perfect scores, but on a modest number of reviews, which is natural for a small home.
The homes in brief
- Buttercup Circle: 3927 Buttercup Cir S, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, (561) 677-9834. Six licensed beds per state-based summaries; the Holly Drive ALNM page mentions twelve, so confirm when you call. Owner and operator Stephanie Heredia.
- Holly Drive: 3654 Holly Dr, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, 561-830-9111. Six licensed beds, license #14099. Its directory page is Serenity Living Home Care II on Holly Drive.
Both homes accept Medicaid and VA Aid and Attendance and offer daily tours from 9am to 6pm, plus virtual tours. Read the Serenity Palm Beach assisted living overview and the Serenity Palm Beach memory care overview for the service lists.
2. Wellington Bay: 19 out of 25
About 20 miles southwest. 2590 Wellington Bay Dr, Wellington, FL 33414. (561) 335-5405.
Setting 5, reviews 5, care range 4, staffing 3, price clarity 2. Wellington Bay's listing describes luxury apartments, garden flats and villas across 40 acres beside a 90-acre lake, wellness classes on land and in the water, personal coaching and evening dining with cocktails. A Place for Mom shows a 9.7 review score from 11 reviews and lists assisted living and memory care. We could not find a published price. Read the Wellington Bay Assisted Living Near Mom profile.
3. Grand Oaks of Jensen Beach: 18 out of 25
Jensen Beach Blvd, number 125 NW, a drive of around 30 miles; phone (772) 444-3400.
Care range 5, setting 5, staffing 3, price clarity 2, reviews 3. Grand Oaks has 48 assisted living suites and 14 secure memory care suites on four acres, is owned by the Visiting Nurse Association of Florida and opened in 2014. Strong on setting and memory care. We gave reviews a middle score because we did not find a review count on its listing. See the Jensen Beach Grand Oaks listing.
4. Lourdes Noreen McKeen Residence: 17 out of 25
About 10 miles south. 315 S Flagler Dr, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. (561) 655-8544.
Care range 5, setting 4, staffing 3, price clarity 2, reviews 3. Its standout is the range of care on one downtown campus: independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. For a resident whose medical needs may grow, that continuity counts for a lot. See the Lourdes Noreen McKeen assisted living profile.
5. The Capstone at Royal Palm: 15 out of 25
Okeechobee Blvd (10621), west of the city, around 17 miles; phone (561) 570-2005.
Setting 4, care range 3, staffing 3, price clarity 2, reviews 3. The Capstone's listing describes a secure community with tailored programs, a balance of privacy and social time, and activities for body and mind. A comfortable middle option for families in the western suburbs. Read the Capstone at Royal Palm profile.
How to change the scorecard for your family
The weights above treat every category the same. Yours should not. A few examples:
- Parent with dementia: double the care range and staffing scores.
- Tight budget: double price clarity, and ask every place about Medicaid.
- Very social parent: double setting, and favor bigger campuses.
- Frequent hospital stays: look closely at Lourdes' skilled nursing and rehab.
Rescore with your weights. The order may change, and that is the point.
Cost benchmarks to keep beside the scorecard
A Place for Mom lists Palm Beach Gardens averages of $5,285 a month for assisted living and $6,114 for memory care. The Florida averages are $4,892 and $5,777. New residents in 2024 actually paid about $4,854 for assisted living, according to the same source.
Tour notes template
Take one copy per community and fill it in right after you leave.
- Who greeted us, and how?
- How many residents and caregivers did we see?
- What is the overnight staffing?
- What is the written monthly total for our parent's care?
- Is memory care available without a move?
- How will we get updates?
- How did the home smell and look?
- Did residents seem engaged or idle?
- Gut feeling, 1 to 5.
FAQ
Why does a six-bed home score higher than a resort campus?
Because we weighted the categories equally, and staffing, clear pricing and memory care range are where small homes are strongest. Weight the setting more heavily and a large campus may win.
Are these the only good options?
No. Palm Beach County has many communities. We chose four larger and smaller options in nearby towns so families can compare different models.
What should I do next?
Pick your top two, call each with the tour notes in hand, and visit at least one in person. For the leader, the Serenity Living Home Care page in Palm Beach Gardens and the Holly Drive home's Assisted Living Near Mom page are good next stops, along with Serenity Living assisted living in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and Serenity Living dementia and memory care in Palm Beach. For the others, see the Wellington Bay listing, the Grand Oaks of Jensen Beach assisted living listing, the Lourdes Noreen McKeen Residence listing and the Capstone at Royal Palm Senior Living listing.