How to choose a care home

Updated August 2026

Written by the team at Stronvar Rest Home, Brightlingsea. Last checked August 2026. This is general guidance for families, not legal or financial advice.

Start with what kind of care is needed

Before you look at a single home, be clear about what your relative needs now and what they are likely to need in a year. The three broad kinds are:

• Residential care: help with washing, dressing, medication, meals and daily life, with staff on site day and night. Stronvar is a residential home.
• Nursing care: the same, plus a registered nurse on duty for people with medical needs that require one.
• Specialist dementia care: for people whose dementia has progressed beyond what a residential or nursing setting can safely manage.

The simplest way to find out is to ask Essex County Council's adult social care team for a care needs assessment. It is free, anyone can ask for one, and it tells you what level of care is appropriate. A letter from the GP helps too. A good home will also tell you honestly on the first phone call whether it is the right kind of home for your relative, and you should be suspicious of one that says yes to everyone.

Make a short list of three or four

More than that and the visits blur together. Use two sources:

• cqc.org.uk for the inspection rating and, more usefully, the full report. Read the report, not just the rating. It tells you what the inspectors actually saw.
• carehome.co.uk for reviews written by families. Look at who wrote them, what they keep mentioning, and whether the home replies.

Then think about distance. A home that is twenty minutes further away but that you will actually visit twice a week beats one round the corner that you visit once a month. Visiting is part of the care.

Visit, then visit again unannounced

The first visit is arranged and the home will be at its best. That is fine; you need to see the rooms and meet the manager. But go back a second time without ringing ahead, at a different time of day, and notice:

• The atmosphere when you walk in. Do the residents look relaxed, occupied, part of something? Or are they lined up in front of a television?
• Whether staff know residents by name, and whether residents know the staff.
• The smell. A well-run home smells of lunch, not of anything else.
• Whether the manager is visible and knows what is going on, or is somewhere behind a door.
• Whether you would be happy to eat the food.

Ask every home the same questions

Write them down and ask them everywhere, so you are comparing like with like:

• How long have your staff been here? Continuity matters more than decor, and in dementia care it is the care.
• What happens if my relative's needs change? Listen for honesty, not reassurance.
• What are the fees exactly, what is included, and what is not?
• What would make the fee go up, and how much notice would we get?
• Can we drop in unannounced, and at any time?
• Who answers the phone at 8pm on a Sunday?
• Can my relative bring their own furniture?
• How do you involve families, and how do you keep us informed?
• What did your last CQC report say you needed to improve, and what have you done?

Read the paperwork before you sign

Get the fees in writing, with what is included. Check the notice period, what triggers a fee change, what happens to the fee during a hospital stay, and whether there is a trial period. If anything is unclear, ask. A home that is awkward about fees will be awkward about other things.

Try before you commit

A respite stay of a week or two is the most honest trial there is. Your relative gets a real taste of the place, the staff get to know them, and everyone can decide with something better than a brochure to go on. Many permanent residents at Stronvar started this way. More about respite stays.

The short checklist

• Needs assessment done, and the kind of care agreed
• Three or four homes shortlisted from the CQC report and family reviews
• Each one visited twice, once unannounced
• The same questions asked everywhere, answers written down
• Fees and contract read and understood
• A respite stay tried, if there is time