Assisted Living
Desert Cottage
83-617 Himilaya Drive, Indio, CA 92203 · Map
Licensed for 6 residents · DESERT COTTAGES L.L.C
Desert Cottage is a state-licensed assisted living community in Indio, California. It is licensed for 6 residents. Lilisity publishes no score or ranking for this community; the details below come from the state licensing record.
Prices
This community does not publish its prices.
Area costs
Lilisity’s independent report
What the public record shows
Gathered by Lilisity from state and federal sources. Communities can’t edit this part of the page.
License
Active, 6 residents
RESIDENTIAL CARE ELDERLY 336413271, licensed since Aug 28, 2007. Licensee DESERT COTTAGES L.L.C.
State inspection record3 Type A, 2 Type B
- Last state visit
- August 19, 2026
- State visits since April 6, 2022
- 29 (including 5 inspections, 8 complaints investigated)
- Type A citations
- 3 immediate risk
- Type B citations
- 2 potential risk if not corrected
- Complaint allegations investigated
- 21: 4 substantiated, 17 not substantiated
- License active since 2007
Citations (5), newest first
- 87413(a)(2) (plan-of-correction date not listed): Personnel - Operations. Rules for covering staff absences, providing care without abuse or exploitation, and posting staff schedules in larger communities.
- 87101(c)(3) (plan-of-correction date not listed): Definitions. Definitions of terms used in the assisted living regulations.
- 87355(e)(3) (plan-of-correction date not listed): Criminal Record Clearance. Rules for fingerprinting and criminal background clearance of the licensee, staff, volunteers and others in the community.
- 87468.1 (plan-of-correction date not listed): Personal Rights of Residents in All Facilities. Personal rights every resident has, such as dignity, safe accommodations and freedom from abuse, plus protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
- 87204(a) (plan-of-correction date not listed): Limitations - Capacity and Ambulatory Status. The community may not serve more residents than its license allows, except temporarily in a catastrophic emergency.
Plain meanings are our short reading of the rule cited, from the state’s regulation text. The state’s report says what happened.
Complaints with substantiated allegations (date the finding was approved)
- March 2, 2026: 2 substantiated, 1 Type A citation
- December 31, 2025: 1 substantiated, 6 unsubstantiated, 1 Type B citation
- January 30, 2025: 1 substantiated, 1 Type A citation
Complaints with no substantiated allegation (5)
- March 2, 2026: 1 unsubstantiated
- January 30, 2026: 1 unfounded
- September 24, 2025: 5 unfounded
- September 18, 2025: 3 unsubstantiated
- November 27, 2024: 1 unsubstantiated
Every state visit (33)
- August 19, 2026: Inspection
- March 3, 2026: Other visit
- February 20, 2026: Complaint visit
- February 18, 2026: Other visit
- February 18, 2026: Complaint visit
Show all 32
- January 14, 2026: Other visit
- January 14, 2026: Complaint visit
- December 17, 2025: Other visit
- December 3, 2025: Complaint visit (2)
- November 26, 2025: Other visit
- October 30, 2025: Other visit
- October 24, 2025: Other visit
- October 16, 2025: Other visit
- October 10, 2025: Other visit
- October 3, 2025: Other visit
- September 26, 2025: Other visit
- September 19, 2025: Complaint visit
- September 16, 2025: Other visit
- September 8, 2025: Other visit
- September 4, 2025: Other visit
- August 30, 2025: Other visit
- August 27, 2025: Other visit
- August 21, 2025: Other visit
- August 21, 2025: Complaint visit
- August 4, 2025: Inspection
- July 8, 2025: Other visit
- January 9, 2025: Complaint visit
- October 7, 2024: Complaint visit
- August 21, 2024: Inspection
- August 7, 2023: Inspection
- August 30, 2022: Inspection
- April 6, 2022: Other visit
Read every report on the state’s site →
What these terms mean
Type A citations are for “the most serious type of violations in which there is an immediate risk to the health, safety or personal rights of those in care,” and are issued “even if the violation is corrected on the spot.”
Type B citations are for “a violation that, if not corrected, may [pose] an immediate risk to the health, safety or personal rights of clients,” such as faulty medical record keeping or staff training.
CCLD: “There is no difference between an inconclusive and an unsubstantiated complaint allegation. Both terms mean that there was no preponderance of evidence to prove that an alleged violation occurred.” Allegations CCLD finds unfounded are also not substantiated.
This community is licensed for 6 residents; larger communities are visited and complained about more often, so read counts with size in mind. Source: California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing, data as of September 28, 2026, covering the five years of records the state publishes. The state’s advice: “Never rely on this information alone to make a decision about a facility. Always visit facilities in person.”
License and ownershipActive license, licensee DESERT COTTAGES L.L.C
- License type
- RESIDENTIAL CARE ELDERLY
- License number
- 336413271
- License status
- Active
- Licensed since
- 2007-08-28
- Licensed capacity
- 6
- Licensee
- DESERT COTTAGES L.L.C
- County
- Riverside County
- Administrator
- Elizabeth Hengstler
Source: California state licensing records (agency listing), retrieved 2026-09-09. Licensing status is a matter of public record; it is not a quality rating.
Administrator name from the California licensing record, as of Sep 9, 2026.
Paying with Medicaid and other programsOn the California list of Medicaid providers (2026)
On the California list of Medicaid providers. Listed as DESERT COTTAGE under Assisted Living Waiver (ALW). (state list, as of Mar 3, 2026)
Being on the list means the community has taken part in the program. Ask whether it has a Medicaid opening now, and how many residents it serves on Medicaid.
How Medicaid pays for care in California
- Assisted Living Waiver (ALW). Medi-Cal can pay for assisted living care services through the Assisted Living Waiver, but only in 15 counties, only for people who need nursing home level care, and there is a waitlist. The resident still pays room and board. (state page)
- Waitlist. The Assisted Living Waiver has a waitlist. DHCS reported 18,365 people on it in December 2025. (source)
Questions to ask on a tour10 questions picked for this community from its record
Picked for this community from its record. Ask them in person and write down the answers.
- The state recorded a finding in March 2026. What was it, and how was it fixed?
- What does the base rate include, and when did rates last go up?
- Who is here at night? Are they awake, or asleep and on call?
- Who covers when the owner is sick, on vacation, or away for the day? Can we meet them?
- Is it one flat rate, or does it rise with care needs?
- Can you help someone who needs two people to move, or a mechanical lift?
- How many caregivers are on duty during the day and at night?
- What happens if care needs increase? When would someone need to move?
- What fees are charged at move-in?
- How do you tell families about falls, illness or changes?
What we checked8 public sources we searched, with dates
Every public source we searched for this community. “Nothing on record” means we found no record that matched it. A record can be missed when a name or address differs.
| Source | Data as of | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing inspection records | Sep 28, 2026 | See above |
| California Medicaid provider list | Mar 3, 2026 | See above |
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| HUD Multifamily Properties - Assisted | Jul 6, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| State Veterans Homes (NASVH directory) | Sep 20, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Hospice - General Information | Aug 19, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Home Health Care Agencies | May 27, 2026 | Nothing on record |
Common questionsAnswers to 4 questions families ask
What type of care does Desert Cottage provide?
Desert Cottage is licensed by the state of California for assisted living in Indio, California. Its licensed capacity is 6 residents.
Does Lilisity rate Desert Cottage?
No. We publish state licensing details for Desert Cottage but no score, rating, or ranking. Only communities on the Top Communities list or with a Senior Living Alliance Excellence Award, both based on phone-verified resident and family interviews, are ranked.
How much does Desert Cottage cost?
Assisted Living in Riverside County typically starts at $3,000 to $5,200 a month. Based on 15 communities that publish prices. These are area figures, not this community's price. Desert Cottage does not publish its prices.
How do I contact Desert Cottage?
Visit Desert Cottage at 83-617 Himilaya Drive, Indio, CA 92203.
How Lilisity works. The only scores or rankings Lilisity publishes are the Top Communities list and the Excellence Awards, both built from phone-verified resident and family interviews. Communities can pay Lilisity a flat monthly fee to manage their own listing: photos, prices, contact details, and receiving the inquiries families choose to send them. The fee is the same no matter how many families contact them or move in. Senior Living Alliance, which runs Lilisity, offers the same listing to its member communities as part of their membership; members pay SLA for its resident and family interview program. No community pays Lilisity per inquiry, per referral or per move-in. Payment never changes a testimonial, a rating, or the order of search results. The "Nearby Senior Living Alliance communities" box shows member communities only. How we verify testimonials · How we are paid