Come without an appointment.

Your nose, first — A home should smell of nothing much, or of lunch. Anything else, and ask about it directly
Do staff use residents' names — Without checking a board or a chart. It is the difference between care and processing
Listen for call bells — One ringing is normal. Several ringing for a long time on a quiet afternoon tells you about staffing
Are people up, dressed and somewhere — At eleven in the morning, most people should be. A lounge of chairs facing a television nobody is watching is a bad sign
Ask what happens at 3am — Who is on, how many, and how long it takes to answer a bell at night. Nights are where homes differ most
Read the last inspection report — Ours is on the wall by the door, including the bits we did not like. Ask every home for theirs and read the whole thing

The weekly fee — Put your own figures here, by care type. A page that will not state a range is asking you to make an appointment to be sold to
What it includes — Room, all meals and snacks, laundry, activities, and the care itself however it changes week to week
What costs extra — Hairdressing, chiropody, newspapers, a companion to escort someone to a hospital appointment. List every one of them here
Fee reviews — Once a year, in writing, with the notice period stated. Never mid-year and never by letter that arrives after it took effect
If savings run out — The single hardest question families ask. Say plainly what happens: whether you keep the resident, what funding you accept, and what a third-party contribution would be
Notice, and afterwards — The notice period both ways, and how quickly a room must be cleared after a death. Some homes charge weeks. Say what you do