Holiday by Atria

I was very impressed when my family and I first contacted the staff at Valencia Commons. They were very attentive and very much willing to assist us in getting my family member signed up. Since that time however, their attitude has completely changed. They are no longer as willing to assist when I have questions, and in some cases when I express concerns, they have implied that my sister is lying about problems she is witnessing. That is unacceptable as far as I am concerned. It just appears that once my family member became a resident, their friendliness and willingness to help diminished. Very disappointing.

When I moved in to Kalama Heights a little over a year ago I assumed this was a no smoking facility as understood on the Residential Living Agreement on page 8, except for the two areas outside set aside as smoking areas. However this couple, who are here for 3 months I understand, defy these rules and continue to smoke in their apartment and the smoke goes under the door into the hallway bothering us who walk down the hallway. I have contacted, the manager many times, the Sales Leader, sent a complaint thru the kiosk, and Lyle from Honolulu from headquarters. They have told the couple to stop but they continue to do so. Are you going to let people continue to defy your rules which are made to protect us from harm? Even so I love it here warts and all, but I want fresh air.

We visited Crystal View Lodge in Nepean, Ontario today. We found the rooms smaller compared to other Retirement homes we have seen. Not as clean as expected. This home has a few Residents who are allowed to smoke in their rooms on the first floor. We could smell smoke all the way down the hall, that being said we are non smokers. We also noted they are not staffed for Registered Nursing personal of any kind 24/7 which made us feel it was unsafe for our Mother to live there. All of this information made us decide to drop this Retirement Lodge off of our list.

The place seems nice and seems clean and the food is bland but pretty good, but my father really doesn't like it. Also the cost is at the very edge of what he can afford.

Definitely designed for independent living.

It is clear this facility only accepts assisted living residents in order to comply with the Fair Housing regulations but they are clearly not set-up to handle assisted living residents as well as facilities that were designed for residents with those needs. It is a shame they are forced to offer housing to persons who are clearly not going to be comfortable or feel accepted at this facility.

We are very happy to have mom in an environment with other people rather than being alone. The apartment is very nice and general staff are nice. Our only concern is the food. Bland pre packaged food is what we hear about from Mom.

I think it's an awesome place but the nurse doesn't take one bit care of my grandmother and never returns our calls. This is our third nurse through canco and am not impressed. If you need care, hire a nurse from the outside.

Very expensive, no real choice for level of care as monthly price is all inclusive. Would prefer a pay plan that allowed inclusion or exclusion of services, such as meal plans, housekeeping, transportation, etc. Staff is friendly, engaging, efficient. Facility is well maintained, clean and pleasant.

I have mixed feelings about White Oaks. Mostly good, but a few things bad. I'd like to start with the bad. Parking to visit my mother is often a nightmare. I wish the employees did not park in the front. There have been times when I just left instead of visiting because there was no parking. Also, I think some of the stained upholstery should be replaced. The front walk is eroding which seems like a law suit waiting to happen - old people with balance issues... But here is the Good, and it is so good that it outweighs the Bad. Everyone is very nice. I feel that my mother is safe and secure and the food is excellent. I love the fact that the visiting nurses are on site. It is very attractive and homey. I think more could have been done to make her feel more welcome in the beginning. I think there should be a mandatory "Newcomers" club for the first 3 mos - meeting once a week right before the noon meal and offering some small activity. I think the new people would bond with one another.

Orchid Terrace, St. Louis County, MO -- Their big selling point is the food. Lunch seems to be their big activity of the day. Lunch is better than most, but hardly "chef inspired". I've eaten a lot of meals there as a visiting friend of one of the residents. I paid for my meals. Breakfast is basically eggs and cereal--no ham, bacon or sausage. No waffles, biscuits, or muffins. They add something to the menu a couple of times a week-- a cinnamon roll or potatoes, for example. But, it's basically eggs and cereal from a box. Supper features soup and an entree. I can't imagine the soup being anything but from a can. The supper selections have changed over the years and seem to feature a lot more egg dishes than in the past--egg salad, quiche, and frittata. The food is "good", but "industry inspired", in my opinion.

Regarding Orchid Terrace...Meal service and quality of meals is not as advertised. It might be better than most, but that might not be saying much. The meal service is s-l-o-w and meals delivered to rooms even slower. If they would hire one more minimum wage worker to serve meals...delivery would improve! Meals delivered to rooms are in styrofoam containers and look as unappetizing as can be. Room service can be an added expense for residents and it's already expensive to live there. This added fee is ridiculous since they have recently decided that room service should be done AFTER dining room service is competed--and, as I said, dining service is SLOW! They have had two quarantines in three years--one for a nolo virus outbreak which had as many as 65/100 residents ill and another in 2015 for the flu.the 2015 flu only affected about 30/100.

So far so good. Have not been here very long.

Family member has been a resident for 3 years. Fabulous facility. Great rooms, lots of storage. Dining rooms & common areas are spacious & comfortable. Most rooms have nice outdoor areas & the facility has a nice inner courtyard. Parking is generous for both residents & visitors. Good access to shopping & services. Now for the downside: Inadequate laundry facilities, they look nice but very limited hours for residents use. But the worst problem is the food. Very uneven quality & service. They can put out good restaurant quality food & then the next meal is totally unacceptable. This week they served potatoes that were burned on the edges & raw in the middle (just an example). Totally unacceptable!! Soups may be good or look like dishwater. I just don't understand why their service can't be more even. Residents are a close knit group that look out for each other. I certainly hope they can improve their food service! Other problem is extremely high turnover for staff which is very distressing to the residents. Hard to develop relationships that seniors value. I can't count the managers that they have had in 3 years ( I would guess 12).

They are okay, they are much better than anything else around town. There are a lot of things they did right in the beginning that we didn't like. In the beginning they were more of a two and now it's about a three, so it's gotten better. They made good on some of the things, but some of the reactions were sort of this is how it is if you don't like it leave. At first they said they could provide transportation, on site, with only a little notice, which is true, but they knew my loved one was confined to a scooter, and they don't have a lift. If they had told us that it wouldn't have kept us from going there, we just would have known to make other arrangements. The salesman was nice enough, but two managers, a married couple, the wife is nice, but they could have been nicer. We signed the lease a month before moving in, and they didn't have things ready to go, even though we paid for more time, and they had plenty of time to get things ready. It took days to get some things ready, and I had to do some of it. She has been there a couple of months, and they have only vacuumed her room twice. Things have gotten a little bit better as far as being accommodating. They were very aware that we live locally and told us to come and eat with her, after a week I had had two meals there and they said hey you need to pay for these, then another manager said you don't have to worry about it for a couple of months there isn't much consistency. They seem to rotate managers in and out of the property and it makes a difference.

Betty Palmer died before she was ever able to move into Thornton Place. We had paid all the upfront fees. She fell at a convalescent center just a few days before she was to move in. It took us over three months to get her deposit back. We had to call several times and even go to Thorton Place in person. Finally, after three very stressful months, we received her deposit back. This money helped to pay for her headstone. Thank you.

Husband and wife living here 1 year. 2 bedroom apartment at 1 person price. High staff turnover. Meals not very good but for the cost of this apartment, can't complain. New laundry equipment. Exterior maintenance recently. Transportation van needs maintenance to reduce bouncing. Problem with petty theft. Not assisted-living. Pets allowed but no grassy area for dogs.

Initial impression was more positive than the latter impression. Of major concern was that the facility had been presented as one where a veteran could submit a claim for aid & attendance VA benefits, but as we researched the VA application we found that the criteria had changed and without the facility being listed as assisted living or personal care, the VA would not consider. This was a huge impact and had been one of the criteria we discussed when looking for placement. After placement, we had to push for an alternate unit, as there was an overwhelming and noxious smell from the carpet after it had been shampooed. We found that the prior occupant was a heavy smoker, which had not been disclosed. The smell was causing daily headaches and permeated clothing etc. The facility did make available an alternate unit, but we had to do all the associated moving of furniture. Overall... wish we had not chosen Essex.

Just not as nice of some others we've toured. Not comfortable with only one elevator for size of building.

It was okay - the room was tiny and needed updating inside and out. It is quiet and the people are friendly.