Monte's Chapel of the Hills, San Anselmo CA

We were directed to Brian after my fathers sudden passing due to his contract with the sheriffs department. We found Brian to be extremely pushy, lack compassion and not honest in the process and the next steps for honoring my father and working with another funeral home. I would not recommend using this company.

It is often difficult to cross the line from grief to pragmatism, and in our case, our complicated after-death plans fell through immediately. Brian extended his help (while on vacation), helped us to navigate our plans with different agencies and extended himself for the benefit of our family. We were not clients of the funeral home and his availing of himself after hours and across an ocean with sensitivity to time and circumstance demonstrated his deep compassion and exemplary professionalism.

What can I say about Brian. After my brother passed unexpectedly we were in a bad shape emotionally, we needed answers. Brian not only helped us to recognize his body but helped us with all the paperwork to send my brother's body back to his home country. He even explained why it was necessary to have him cremated. Once he was ready to go, he let us see his ashes and say our final goodbye. He always kept me updated with the paperwork and pictures. Even though we couldn't see my brother we agreed with Brian's point of view and just got a picture. His prices were reasonable and he explained everything to us.

Thank you Brian for everything you did during that hard moment of our lifes.

My husband died very unexpectedly in Dec 2022 while we were on vacation in Marin County. Brian Hood of Monte's Chapel of the Hills went above and beyond to help me while I was dealing with this difficult and confusing time. This experience was very healing and authentic, even down to the presence of a therapy dog when we came in for the final viewing. I'm very grateful to Monte's Chapel of the Hills and Brian.

Losing a Loved One is never easy and it is so easy to feel overwhelmed not knowing where to start or what to do but my first call was to Monte’s and with the help of Brian and Lisa my family and I were able to breathe. They handled everything perfectly, Thank You both for all of your help and support through this difficult time.

I had a different experience than most people here, and I'm writing this so no one else has to suffer through what I did.
In my very first conversation with Brian Hood, when I called to gather information and learn about pricing, he was very defensive and openly hostile. I do not know what set him off. It was a short, simple, fact finding call. His attitude raised a lot of red flags. But in my grief, I did not have the capacity to shop around, and thought they would be the easiest option. I was wrong. He over promised and under delivered in every single aspect possible. I had to fight for everything, to get anywhere. He's a spin artist. Among many other things, he lied about calling me "tomorrow. " Tomorrow had come and gone and he never did. He said there would be results "tomorrow. " Again, tomorrow had come and gone and no word from him whatsoever. Then he spins it around as if it was my fault, or my misunderstanding. In fact, most of what he told me were lies. He loves to blame others and takes no responsibility for what he says or promises. He's an expert at gaslighting. The entire experience compounded my grief and suffering, and I’m still unable to fully express how much this hurt. I will never heal from his maltreatment. Not only did I have to navigate through grief, I had to deal with his deceit and manipulation. I had to tip toe around his lies, fragile ego, and anger, and hope that he would treat me better and show more compassion. He never did.
I wouldn't recommend him to my enemies. I hope no one else has to experience what I did. There are other funeral homes run by better people, go there.