Holbrook Life

I thoroughly enjoyed my tour with [name removed], the staff was so welcoming and nice, [name removed] answered my questions and was most accommodating. I ate a wonderful nutritious lunch I got to meet many residents. I Love this place and made a deposit on a 1BR with great incentives.

COVID has cut down on activities that they are able to offer. There are a lot of activities still available via Zoom. The staff seems to very good to work with. The food is good and the dining room is open. We still try to social distance from other the residents. There is a bar called the Maverick that is opened on the afternoon on the weekend.

I have only visited Dogwood Forest as I am looking for a place for my aunt and uncle. I have not made any appointments at this time, but I did want to brag on Miss [name removed] who was sitting at the front desk. She was very personable, very knowledgable, and could not have been any nicer! We WILL be back because of Miss [name removed]! Thank you!

Very friendly staff and residents. The apartments are well laid out and quiet. Lots of social and physical activities for meeting other residents. Amenities include a heated saltwater pool, gym, spa, and covered parking.

I will not recommend. Activities are additional cost. You are paying for a room , transportation and meals with rent. Everything else is charged.

The facility is clean and beautiful. However, they've had some staffing challenges and they seem to want to go up on rates at the drop of a hat when guests have illnesses or challenges short term.

We toured The Holbrook of Woodstock and it was a very nice facility! The facility is very modern and clean. The staff was very nice. However, we felt that it would be too big and overwhelming for our loved one because it is so spread out.

We've noticed they are having trouble with staffing lately. Also the meal quality has dropped off lately. Last week they served Tuna fish sandwiches for dinner. It's okay for lunch I suppose but not dinner. I would recommend to others. It just seems the pandemic negatively affected service level attitudes and workforce numbers.

They have a new chef, so hopefully the food improves. They are getting better with the activiites. I hope they continue to keep doing well with the activities. They have Bingo and Happy Hour. We picked this community, because of what they had to offer for my loved one, and it looked like a nice place. I like the kitchen, living room, and the layout of the rooms. I would recommend to other families.

Our family had an in person tur and we thought Holbrook was beautiful, but no one bedroom units available, no washer dryer, no porch and more expensive. However the community was very nice!!!!

We loved our experience while my loved one was here. The staff and the community is a pretty place for my loved one to be stand out to me. They catered food out in Styrofoam due to the kitchen staff having COVID during my loved one's stay. I believe it is back to normal. They hired a new Activities Director for memory care, and it seems they took the residents outside, watch tv, and more. There were times that an Activities Director from assisted living would cook in front of the residents and allow them to taste it, this was great for the residents to see that are in memory care.

It is a beautiful facility, you can tell a lot of money has been put into it. It is fairly new and in good shape. The care givers are very friendly, but we do wish there was a few more activities. However we do understand they still have covid restrictions.

Beautiful and new. Large, spacious living and common areas. Nice meal options with restaurants onsite. Only 5 residents out of 33 so far in the Enriched Living area. Downside would be they don'[t specialize in Memory Care-they also have Independent and Assisted Living.

We understand that with any brand new community there are always going to be things that just don't go according to plan but having an ongoing issue with the tv is a concern. My parents have been there a little over there a month and have had issues with the tv not working correctly and it seems the community hasn't gotten it straightened out yet. Dad and mom keep busy for the most part with the activities and social hours but they still like their tv that is what they are used to. The only thing I think keeping them here is the food it is delicious. The staff is friendly and nice but a little understaffed. Hopefully they will increase it as more residents come to live here.

Holbrook Sugar Hill is a beautiful facility. It feels like you are in a fancy hotel lobby. Beautiful furniture and artwork all throughout. The first day I walked in I was amazed. No "nursing home" odor. The resident rooms are comfortable and ready to make your own. The move in experience was easy and comforting. The first few weeks were hard for our loved one but that is only normal when this process. After a few weeks the beautiful environment was becoming less noticeable as the reality of our surroundings set in. They are understaffed and those who are there are over worked. Management nods in agreement but not much else. Being apart of a corporation, the location management can't just fix their own problems. There are staff members that are not suitable for the environment they are working in. Meal times are sad, not because the residents are sad but because some are treated like annoyances rather than residents. Beware, not all thing that glitter are made of gold.

We think there is a team of about 5 different directors, all are very very nice, very supportive and we do think the place overall is clean and looks very nice. However, the day to day staff members who interact with the residents do a poor job. They do not look to try to help, they look to try and figure out ways to not help. They try to get out of situations as fast as possible, avoid helping which has become very frustrating to our loved one and family. The management understands the issues and we do know like many other communities they are struggling with staffing so to their credit they are doing okay, but we hope in the near future as the work environment improves, the staff improves as well. A big positive is that they are very pet friendly, our loved one has a service dog which they are very accommodating with, and there are about 6 other dogs in the community and even a house dog that walks around with the residents.

I like all the activities they offer, but sometimes I do feel pressured to do them.

Independent Living, Assisted Care Living, and Memory Care are separated by floors (5 & 4, 3 & 2, and 1 respectively). The activities schedule for assisted care includes "self-directed" activities. Assisted care can be divided into mobility challenged, Alzheimer's, and ADL challenged residents. "Self-directed" activities makes little sense for assisted care living. More group outings that build community is needed. The staff that does the "assisting" hasn't been charged to excel over other facilities: they do as much as they have to. The facility is beautiful, but on a busy street. I could be the Club Med for seniors, but they have a ways to go to make it the Club Med for assisted care living and memory care (i.e. limited freedom) residents. I haven't had the food, but I am told it is okay. They are short staffed in the dining areas. (Name withheld to avoid possible retaliation towards resident).

Appearances and profit come first at Holbrook. Caregiving is an afterthought. 10% rent increases have happened every year since 2021 yet care and services have not improved. Once you've paid the steep entrance fee and your loved ones move in, my experience as a family member has been that e-mails go unanswered. Phone calls go unreturned. Voicemail boxes are full. The key word here is inconsistency: sometimes things go smoothly; a lot of other times they don't. Consistency is important for many seniors, my father especially, and this place is anything but consistent. Assisted living has gone without its own dedicated director for months and months at a time. There ARE some good folks working here. Memory care has better caregivers and retention seems higher there than in assisted living. But the good folks here are up against a corporate structure and culture that is more dedicated to empty rhetoric and profit making than their professed mission.

My parents have loved the activities and other residents at the Holbrook, and the building is clean and beautiful, however, the new manager is very unpleasant and rude to the residents (I've heard from many). They have also raised my parent's rent significantly every year while they pay their staff poorly. I've gotten to know some of the staff and most are making just above minimum wage.