# Desert Cottage License #336413271 · Indio, Riverside County · Licensed for 6 — Small care home · a licensed care home (RCFE) Desert Cottage is a small care home in Indio — a licensed residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE), the licence category behind “assisted living” and “board and care.” It is licensed for 6 residents since 2007. Bedridden care is not on file. - Care approvals on file: Wheelchair · Dementia · Hospice — State licensing record · September 27, 2026 - Estimated starting rate: $4,300 a month — Covelight estimate · likely $3,500–$5,300 Full page: A citation does not make a home unsafe, and an empty file does not make a home good. ## Quick answers about Desert Cottage ### Is Desert Cottage licensed? The state lists this license as “Licensed,” per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. ### How many residents is Desert Cottage licensed for? 6 residents — a small home, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. ### Has Desert Cottage been cited? 2 Type A and 1 Type B citations since 2007, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. Those records count 33 state visits over the same years. ### Is Desert Cottage still open? This license was on the CDSS roster as of September 28, 2026. ### What does Desert Cottage cost? $4,300 a month to start is a Covelight estimate, likely $3,500–$5,300. This home’s own rate is not on file. Ask: “What is the all-in monthly rate, and what would push it higher?” Covelight’s estimate starts from the rates 12 small homes and similar homes within 10 miles publish, then adjusts for this home’s size, state care approvals, Medi-Cal waiver participation, years licensed and the area’s prices. In testing, the likely range held the real rate for 6 in 10 homes. This home’s own rate is not on file. Among 160 other homes of a similar licensed size across Riverside County that publish a starting rate, the middle half runs $3,800 to $5,000 a month, and the middle figure is $4,500 (n = 160 other homes publishing a starting rate). Each of those is a home’s own published figure, gathered on its own date in September 2026 — not an average of ours, and not a survey. Similar size means small and mid-size homes counted together, and large communities counted on their own, because they are different markets. A home outside the band is not overcharging or underpricing: a starting rate covers different things in different homes, which is the first thing to ask about. The price is made in the phone call. Nothing here is a quote, an offer or a discount. A starting rate is the room and the base care. California homes commonly bill care levels, medication management, supplies, transport and a second person in the room as extras. Many also charge a one-time fee at move-in. Ask for that list in writing before anything is signed. Only prices a home put out itself count here: its own website, a listing it supplied, or a price a listing site says the home confirmed. Prices a site shows without saying where they came from are left out. [What Medi-Cal’s Assisted Living Waiver covers in a care home.]() ### Does Desert Cottage take Medi-Cal? On Medi-Cal’s Assisted Living Waiver: this home appears on the DHCS participation list, September 23, 2026. Confirm eligibility and current participation with the program. The waiver pays for care services, not room and board. ### Who holds the license? The license is held by Desert Cottages LLC, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. [See the homes licensed to Desert Cottages LLC — at least 3 on the state roster.]() ### Is there a hospital nearby? John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital is 3.1 miles away in a straight line, per the CDPH licensed-hospital list dated September 16, 2026. [See licensed care homes near it.]() ### Can Desert Cottage keep a resident on hospice? Hospice care is approved on this license, covering up to 4 residents, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. ## Desert Cottage license and inspection record - Name on the license: “DESERT COTTAGE”, per the CDSS roster as of May 25, 2025. - License #336413271. The state lists this license as “Licensed,” per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - Licensed for 6 residents — a small home, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - Licensed to Desert Cottages LLC, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - First licensed in 2007, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - 33 state inspection visits since 2007, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - 2 Type A and 1 Type B citations on file since 2007, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. The same records count 33 state visits in that period. - 8 complaints and 4 substantiated allegations on file since 2007, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. One complaint can carry several allegations. - The most recent state visit on file is August 19, 2026, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026. - Type A citation: a violation that poses an immediate risk to health, safety or personal rights if it is not corrected - Type B citation: a violation that could become a risk if not corrected, or one involving records, resources or required services California writes these definitions for every licensed home, not for this one. [CDSS citation definitions (PDF)]() ## Sources - CDSS Community Care Licensing — status, capacity, license holder, the first-license year, citations, complaints and visits, per CDSS records as of September 27, 2026: [See the state’s own record]() - CDSS licensing roster — the listing, as of September 28, 2026 - DHCS Assisted Living Waiver participant list, as of September 23, 2026: - CDPH licensed-hospital list, dated September 16, 2026