No / Purpose. This article contrasts community hospital and general hospital philosophies of care and examines how they relate to patients' and caregivers' experiences. Methods. Semi-structured interviews with 42 staff were used to produce care setting vignettes in six community hospitals and four general hospitals in the midlands and north of England. The vignettes were used with 26 patients and 10 caregivers in semi-structured interviews. Results. Community hospital and general hospital staff identified shared understandings of requirements for post-acute rehabilitation care for older people. Distinctive features were: general hospital – medical efficiency, helping patients get better, high standard of care, need for stimulation; community hospital – homelike setting, quiet, calm ambience, good views, orientated to elderly people, encouragement of social interaction, involvement of relatives in care. In the main there was symmetry between staff aspirations and patients' experience. However some concepts used and assumptions made by staff were not recognised by patients. These were characteristically reframed in patients' answers as if they were discussing subjective dimensions of care. Conclusions. There was patient and caregiver preference for the homelike environment of community hospitals. In care of older people, where the focus is rehabilitation, patient preferences are particularly pertinent and should be considered alongside clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness.