So what are some of your most important indicators of a good day care center?
I worked at a day care center in college -- it has a great reputation. (I was brave -- I had 16 boys and 4 girls in my class -- all 4!)

One of the things I noticed abotu other centers when I was applying for jobs that surely parents must notice -- the day care runny nose. If a center had a bunch of kids w/ drippy noses, I always took that as a sign that their providers weren't paying enough attention to wipe their noses. Some were nasty and obviously hadn't been wiped in hours. Poor kids! That's one thing that always stands out to me as an indicator -- that and making sure they are compliant with child:staff ratios and reading inspections.
Before DD was born and I wasn't planning on staying home, one center refused to let me see their inspections (which I had already seen online.) The inspections are public record and I know that the center where I worked was proud of its excellent reports. Copies were kept up front in a binder and parents were encourage to look at them.
So being refused to see them w/ the excuse of having a new director soon probably was a big red flag to me.

What do you notice at day care centers as being a sign of a quality center?