Care home visit checklist: what to see, hear and smell

By CareFinder Team · Published 2026-09-20 · Last reviewed 2026-09-20

On a care home visit, look at how residents are dressed, occupied and spoken to; listen for call bells that ring without being answered, the tone staff use and whether there is any conversation; and notice whether the building smells fresh beyond the entrance hall. Go around lunchtime, go back at an evening or weekend, and write your notes straight afterwards.

The most useful things you learn on a care home visit are not in the brochure. They are how the building smells once you are past the entrance hall, how staff speak to residents when they are not speaking to you, and whether the people in the lounge are doing anything. Use your eyes, ears and nose, go more than once, and write down what you noticed before you drive away.

This article is about the visit itself: what to notice as you walk round. Questions about fees, contracts and funding matter just as much, but they are easier to ask by email or at a desk afterwards, when you are not trying to observe at the same time.

Why do your senses tell you more than the tour?

An inspection report tells you what a regulator found on a particular date. A guided tour shows you the home at its best. What you see, hear and smell on an ordinary weekday is the closest you will get to what daily life would be like for your relative.

The official advice points the same way. The NHS lists the signs of a good care home as including staff and managers with the right time, skills and experience, and clean buildings, rooms and bathrooms; see the NHS guide to care homes. Age UK's list of things to look for on a visit includes whether the home is clean and smells fresh, whether residents seem happy and occupied, and whether staff are sitting and chatting with residents; see Age UK's advice on choosing a care home.

What should you do before you go?

A few minutes of preparation makes the visit far more useful.

• Read the latest inspection report, and note its date. In England the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rates homes as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. In Scotland the Care Inspectorate grades services and publishes its reports; mygov.scot explains how to find Care Inspectorate inspection reports. In Wales, Care Inspectorate Wales has published ratings for care homes since April 2025, with a separate rating for each of four themes rather than one overall rating; see CIW's page on ratings. In Northern Ireland the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) inspects care homes and publishes its reports.
• Write down anything the inspectors criticised. If the report mentions medicines, staffing or record keeping, you know what to ask about. If it mentions cleanliness or mealtimes, you know what to look at.
• Choose your time. Ask to come late in the morning and stay through lunch. You will see far more than you would at a quiet mid-afternoon.
• Take someone with you. One of you can talk to the manager while the other watches and listens.
• Take your relative if they are able to come. How staff greet and talk to them is one of the most telling things you will see all day.

What should you look for?

At the front door

• How long it takes for someone to answer, and how you are greeted.
• Whether you are asked to sign in. A home that lets a stranger walk straight in is not keeping its residents secure.
• Whether the inspection rating is on show. In England, a home that has been rated must by law display its rating where people using the service can see it, and on its website; the CQC explains how providers must display ratings. Most care homes in Wales must display their ratings too. If you cannot see it, ask.

The residents

The people who live there are the best evidence you have.

• Are they dressed in their own clothes, clean, with hair brushed?
• Are glasses on and clean, and are shoes or slippers on properly?
• Is there a drink within reach of each person, not just on a trolley across the room?
• Are people doing something (talking, reading, helping to lay a table, joining an activity) or sitting in a row of chairs around a television nobody is watching?
• Is the furniture arranged so that small groups can talk, as Age UK's checklist suggests, or pushed back against the walls?
• Do residents seem to have a similar level of need to your relative?

The staff

• Do they knock before going into a bedroom?
• Do they bend or sit to speak to someone at eye level, and use the person's name?
• Do they talk to residents, or over their heads to each other?
• Is the manager out on the floor, and do residents appear to know who they are?

Ask how long the staff you meet have worked there, and how often the home relies on agency staff. Age UK's checklist notes that high staff turnover could be a sign of low morale.

The building

• Ask to see the actual room on offer, not only a show room.
• Look in a shared bathroom and toilet. Are they clean, with handrails, and easy to reach from the lounge?
• Is the temperature comfortable in lounges and bedrooms?
• Is the call bell within reach of both the bed and the chair?
• Is the garden really usable? Check whether the door is unlocked, whether the paths suit a wheelchair or frame, and whether anyone is out there.
• Read the noticeboard. Is the activities list for this week? Is the complaints procedure on display?

What should you listen for?

Stand still in a corridor for a minute and just listen.

• Tone of voice. Warm, patient and unhurried, or brisk and instructing? Listen to how staff address people, and ask yourself whether your relative would want to be spoken to that way.
• Call bells. Every home has bells ringing. What matters is whether one goes on and on before anybody responds.
• Conversation and laughter. A full lounge that is silent apart from the television is worth noting.
• Distress. In a home that cares for people with dementia you may hear someone calling out. That is not in itself a bad sign. Notice how quickly staff go to the person and how they respond.

If residents or visiting relatives are happy to chat, ask them simple things. What is it like here? What is the food like? What happens when you press the bell at night?

What should you smell for?

Age UK's checklist puts it simply: is the home clean and does it smell fresh?

Be fair about this. In any place where people need help with continence, an accident can happen at any moment, and a passing smell in one corridor is not a verdict on the home. What matters is the pattern:

• A stale smell of urine that hangs through the building, or clings to carpets and armchairs, suggests that continence care or cleaning is not keeping up. If it is still there on your second visit, take it seriously.
• Heavy air freshener or strong disinfectant everywhere can be covering something. A clean building does not usually need it.
• Cooking smells before lunch are a good sign that food is prepared on the premises, which is one of the questions on Age UK's checklist.

If you notice a smell, mention it politely to the manager. An open answer about what happened and what they do about it is reassuring. A defensive one is not.

Why is lunchtime the best time to visit?

A meal shows you more of a home's care in half an hour than any other part of the day.

• How is choice offered? Showing people two plated meals works much better for someone with dementia than reading out a menu.
• When someone needs help to eat, does a member of staff sit beside them and go at their pace, or stand over them?
• Does the food look and smell appetising, and is it hot when it arrives?
• Are people who eat in their rooms served at the same time, or left until last?

Ask to see sample menus, whether snacks are available during the day and at night, and whether visitors can join a resident for a meal. Some homes will offer you lunch; accept if they do.

Should you go back a second time?

Yes. Age UK says it is important to visit in person and that you can visit more than once. Make the second visit different from the first: an early evening or a weekend, when the manager may not be on duty and staffing is usually thinner.

It also helps to ask about the home's approach to visitors generally. In England, CQC regulations (Regulation 9A, in force since April 2024) say care homes must make sure residents can receive visits from the people they want to see, with restrictions only in exceptional circumstances. That rule is about visits to residents, not tours for prospective families, so it is reasonable for a home to ask you to book a first look round. But a home that is comfortable with relatives coming and going at any time usually has little to hide.

If you are still unsure, ask about a short stay first. The NHS suggests a temporary stay as one way of finding out whether a home is right, and Age UK's checklist asks whether you can stay for a trial period.

What should you do straight after the visit?

1. Before you leave the car park, write down what each of you saw, heard and smelt. Do it separately, then compare.
2. Use the same headings for every home (residents, staff, building, sounds, smells, lunch) so that you can compare them fairly a week later.
3. Ask your relative how the place felt to them. Their instinct counts.
4. Send your questions about fees, contracts and what is included by email, so that you have the answers in writing. Age UK's care home checklist has a full list of questions you can print and take with you.
5. If you saw something that made you think a resident was being harmed or neglected, tell the home's regulator or the adult safeguarding team at the local council (in Northern Ireland, the local Health and Social Care Trust).

This article is general information. No single sign proves that a home is good or bad, and a visit cannot tell you whether a home can meet particular medical needs. Ask the home to assess your relative before you commit, and get personal advice before signing a contract or making decisions about paying for care.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a care home visit take?

There is no set length. Allow at least an hour, so that you can see a bedroom, a bathroom, the shared rooms and part of a meal without feeling hurried.

Can I turn up without an appointment?

You can ask, and many homes are happy for you to. There is no legal right for a prospective family to walk round unannounced, and staff may be busy at mealtimes or limiting visitors because of an infection. A sensible approach is to book the first visit, then drop in for the second.

Does a bad smell always mean a bad home?

No. Accidents happen wherever people need help with continence, and a smell in one place at one moment may be dealt with a few minutes later. A stale smell throughout the building, or one that is still there when you return, is a different matter and is worth raising with the manager.

Should I take my mum or dad on the visit?

If they are well enough, yes. It is their home you are choosing, and watching how staff talk to them tells you a great deal. If a full visit would be too tiring or upsetting, shortlist two homes yourself first and take them only to those.

What if the home has a good rating but felt wrong?

Check the date of the inspection, because a rating describes the home on the day inspectors called and managers and staff can change. Tell the manager what concerned you and listen to the answer. Then visit again at a different time. If it still feels wrong, keep looking.

Key takeaways

• Read the latest inspection report before you go, and look for the things inspectors criticised.
• Visit late in the morning and stay through lunch; go back at an evening or a weekend.
• Look at the residents first: clothes, glasses, drinks within reach, and whether anyone is doing anything.
• Listen for call bells that ring on, the tone staff use, and whether there is conversation.
• A passing smell means little; a stale smell through the building, or heavy air freshener everywhere, means more.
• Write your notes straight away, under the same headings for every home.
• Ask about a trial or short stay if you are unsure, and get fees and contract answers in writing.