Hawthorn Senior Living, LLC

The apartments are spacious and well laid out. The facility is spacious and beautifully decorated. The lack of quality meals is the biggest issue. There are no healthy options for health conscious retirees. Many meals include mystery gravy to cover the overcooked low grade meat product. A typical menu is Chicken a la king or the alternate of beans and wieners. Not exactly quality fare for $4,000 monthly. The new management team has done nothing to improve this ongoing problem. If they could improve the food this could be a great place.

Oak Park Retirement is a very nice place to live, but BEWARE, when you first move in they waive some of the cost that makes it affordable for people on fixed incomes to move in. These incentives are good for the first year. After that be prepared for a big rent increase.. Many have moved away because they could not afford the rent increase.

Overall the managers are great and the facility is clean and well appointed. The most overwhelming issue though with Cottonwood is the food and food service. They go to great lengths, including outdoor signs boasting "3 Chef Prepared Meals a Day!" to lure the residents in. So far it's working! They are at 100% occupancy. The problem is that the food is almost consistently poorly prepared, carbohydrate-filled and salt heavy. The residents have complained. One of the resident's family members even got together a resident survey and contacted the home office. All to no avail. Any discussion with the resident managers winds up with them saying that they are at the mercy of the home office and the food and products they prepare and serve can only be those approved by that office. The residents also spend a huge amount of time sitting at their tables waiting to be served. The residents are supposed to be seated for the midday meal between 12:15 and 12:30. I have observed everyone sitting and waiting on their food long past 1 PM. I smiled and greeted one of the ladies that I passed, sitting at her table. She half-smiled disgustedly and indicated her empty plate. My parent in residence says that this is routine and that it's getting worse!

They were nice and clean, but not really right for me. I didn't like that everyone had to eat at the same time. The mealtimes were very regimented. They didn't have casitas which is what I was looking for, and they were pretty close to the freeway.

The biggest contention is the meals, the food is very poor quality. They have plenty of choices, but they aren't exactly great. The soup is primarily water, I've eaten there 3 times, and it was not good. My mother says it's terrible. It seems like they buy really low quality food. I think they do pretty good over all I really do. The food is the major complaint. They could add a little to the activities, they just have the typical bingo and movie night kind of thing.

I toured this facility with my parent several months before my parent decided to move in. We toured a total of 5 facilities and Steeplechase made the short list of 2 finalists. I found it to be clean with nice amenities and very good food. The building is relatively new and looks and feels fresh. It feels safe. It seems like you can always find something to do there to keep busy. Availability of transportation for shopping, appointments, etc. was a big plus. The staff is very dedicated and helpful. They have been an excellent source of information, support and help during my parent's transition.

We liked it, it was nice and clean and the people were friendly. It just didn't stand out that much against all the options, they weren't exceptional in price, and were a little outside of the area we wanted to be in.

The one thing is that they told us a price on the phone but that was for thier lowest priced room so they should say that there are many different types of rooms. She ended up getting one for almost $200 more a month. They need to say what you get for that price. They upsell you. They're good people and it's clean. It's been good. I would highly recommend them.

The community is brand new and the buildings are very well maintained. It’s located in a very good area with access to lots of things like strip malls, shopping plazas, restaurants and medical centers, some of which are within walking distance. The area is not too quiet but also not too loud. The quality of the food was not good and my father was complaining about the portion size as well. However in their defense they just changed the chef so hopefully it gets better. My father is not very active but there is plenty to do when he does want to participate. The value of this community is just right; it's the right price for the right amount of care.

My friend moved in to Kennedy Meadows about one month ago. The only complaint that she has so far, is the quality of the food. She tells me that all the people that she has met there, all share the same complaint regarding the food. Please share my complaint with Kennedy Meadows.

Initial interviews attractive but not accurate. Problems getting TV set up, getting consistent hot water which I need for my back, and worst of all, the food. Chef does well when he has adequate help and supplies come. It is not enough that its good maybe 3 to 4 times a week and like tonight I am left hungry. Menu called for a basket of wings and dips. The wings the poorest quality soaked in honey mustard sauce too spicy for me. Not edible. Asked for a sandwich and received freezer bread, tomato, soft bacon and some lettuce. Not good but edible. Also some broken chips. Desert was from yesterday and delicious. There was a very nice cream soup to start. I don't eat much and what I got was most adequate. I can't imagine how some of the large people manage. There are long gaps between soup and meal with nothing to do. The only remedy is for the meal being prepared and ready to serve after soup. 30 to 40 minutes is a lot of time for old people. I don't know what you can do about this but from visiting many places for my parents I know they are out there and want new residents.

There are a lot of things that need work at this place, like getting cameras, security cameras outside having security at night and to be a gated community would be wonderful. The upper management for this place… Hawthorn management is cheap and doesn't seem to care about their facilities. I'm not very happy at all and a lot of of the residents feel the same way. But moving is such a very big problem and the finances also.

The managers have been changing one right after the other. They've changed food companies, so the food is not as good. The activities also have gone down to mostly just bingo.

The only thing I would say is the quality of food has decreased since my loved one has been there, which disappoints her. And she's also having trouble with her unit's AC, and they don't seem to feel it is a priority for someone to come and fix it. Oh, and one thing that I was annoyed with is that we were told that the only thing NOT included in the monthly fee is cellular service. When she moved in, and didn't have WIFI, we learned that oh yeah, you have to get that yourself. It's only included in the common area. It was an expense that she was not anticipating. For the most part she is settling in, and becoming acclimated. The staff is very friendly and the activities are plentiful! She really enjoys the activities and the movie theater.

The staff is controlled by the home office they nothing impromptu. Add breakfast meats more often. Offer additional alternative meals.

I like the different outings they do the other activities they have at the center and not so much that can improve

Management has changed 3 or 4 times in just over a year, this makes older people feel uncomfortable, the food is most of the time spoilt by over cooking and over spiced for most older people and cold! The rooms are really good its a shame, but the residence are afraid to say anything

The whole facility is run down and constant shift of staff.

Good price. You get the basics. They have a history of high overturn that they're currently "working on". What was most important to us was proximity to us. 3-5 minutes But all utilities are included, backup generator and people are "around". Our loved one really likes her apt which is a newer one. But once you step out her door, kind of a time warp. But clean.

Utility rooms nasty, smoking throughput the building, meal schedule rigid & food quality not consistent, activity about 4 year old level on the plus side beautiful grounds, management has been replaced since I left. if they would eliminate smoking, improve utility room, improve activities and overhaul meal plan I would consider going back