Serene Gardens

I would recommend this community if you would like to live in Frankenmuth. Mom does not like the food as there is not much variety. They offer daily activities such as bingo and crafts. They offer church services. The communication with the administration could be better. I feel they need more staff. The staff they do have are caring and take good care of mom. They keep the community clean.

Our family was looking for a larger facility with more options for socialization. To be fair we didn't meet with the director as upon visual inspection we could tell it wouldn't some of the requirements were anticipating.

Too far from family and not a good fit for care needs.

The Director was on vacation and no one was aware I was coming for a visit. A staff member did take me on a tour and answered my questions. The staff were very friendly and liked what I saw, however, I feel that this site is too far for the family to drive and as my grandma's dementia advances, we would have to move her to another location for memory care.

talked to them, seems like a nice place

Talk to the residents about their experience- looks can be deceiving- Hard to get help, for senior during breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Seems that all of the aids makes that a priority then helping someone to the bathroom at that time. Think they need help with caretakers- Communication is a key with all caretakers and some sort of follow up with family members on a timely basis would really eliminate the issues and concerns with the staff. In another words, what is going to happen and when for addressing issues and concerns. Would like to converse with David.

This is a nice place for seniors. We loved everything about it, except one. The cost for my mother changed several times before she even moved it. It was difficult to get a breakdown of what Brookdale charges for each item. If they were more open about the charges, this would be a perfect place. Charges keep popping up on my mom's monthly bill, and we have to keep asking to have them removed. The original cost we were given suddenly went up over $800 a month. The office said they "may" take them off later-after she moves in. I am looking for another place for mom. If Brookdale was more open about the financial costs, we would definitely keep mom there.

The rooms for the dementia patients were the size of a large walk in closet and like a dungeon, I would never put my Mom there in a million years. There is a bathroom with a toilet and sink shared by two rooms. A shower is down the hall for all patients to use.

My father was put into Prestige Pines by his legal guardian. The facility evidently has been honored for it's care. In the nearly two years that my father was a resident I failed in figuring out why. My father was there for two weeks before I realized that he had not been put on the bathing schedule. I had to ask for his bedding to be changed and his room to be cleaned constantly. The administration was severely lacking in knowledge and in compassion. I was never happy with actions, or lack thereof. The aides were not allowed to come on the premises if they weren't working. This meant while they were off work a resident would pass away and they weren't even notified or allowed to say good bye. Those people would sometimes come back to work and find an empty bed. This is just not right for the aides or the residents. Sometimes the residents don't have anyone but those aides loving them. The employees were not required to have any previous training. The med techs and aides were very caring to my dad and to me. But the thought of their only training being from someone else who was not formally trained was very disturbing. My dad had Parkinson's Disease, acute back pain, and type II diabetes. He fell numerous times and was allowed to eat anything his friend brought into the facility for him to snack on. There was very little encouragement for exercise or sunshine other than one monthly excursion. Even the games, church, and gatherings are only slightly mentioned to residents. I would have thought that encouragement to engage the residents would have been the norm rather than sitting them in front of a TV or letting them lay in bed not knowing if it is morning or night. I understand that residents passing away is a common occurrence but is a card too much to expect after two years of residency? I realize that this facility is not for the rich although many thousands of dollars were recently been spent to update the furniture and artwork in the common areas. I would have thought the emphasis and use of money would be elsewhere. Even the entrance was dangerous with constant dripping water and ice build up. I know that everyone cannot be watched at all times. This facility only had two aides for the assisted living building of almost 20 residents. The memory section had three or four aides. I suggest requiring more training, hiring more people, and paying better wages. Our parents are worth it!

I wasn't impressed with the community. They ignored my loved one and brought the meals to them due to the pandemic. They only tried half-hearted to engage my loved on with activities. The food looked like Gordon foods. It didn't seem that the community put little effort into the meals during the pandemic. The dining room food was better, prior to COVID. I was able to do window visits, this was the highlight of the stay here.

The staff at this community were nice, however they seemed to only be working for their paycheck. The last few days my loved one lived there they did not have sheets or blankets on their bed and they did not take care of their personal needs. The food was not good.

With an average monthly rate exceeding $3000 we cannot consider this facility

We toured this place when we were looking into care options for my loved one. I was not impressed by what I saw here and I didn't like the feel of the community. The inside just felt very dark and depressing, and I didn't think it would be a good atmosphere for a memory care patient.

Just walk in and look around for yourself. Look at the residents, look at their hair, and clothing, go during meal time. Please do your due diligence and inspect this place before you place your loved one here. It takes forever to get buzzed inside after 5 pm. The management ([name removed]) and staff do not care about the residents. Medicine is rarely given on time or prescriptions filled on time. They ran out of meds several times and informed us that we would have to go get more due to the pharmacy being closed on the weekend. They leave meds in the admins or nurse's office and are not locked up in the med rooms. They gaslight residents and family members. Call buttons go unanswered for hours. When staff is questioned, they always have the same answer: "Sorry, the call buttons are down again." This is unacceptable for anyone who needs assistance. Showers are not given by the staff as scheduled. The staff lies and says the residents "refused" the shower or did not give a shower

My loved one has dementia. They have no business taking on that level of need because no one was willing to take the time to know or care for her needs. She is not capable of asking for help. No one was concerned enough to find out what she needed. When I asked them to give her fluids all day NO ONE bothered. I left bone broth and water in the refrigerator in her room and asked them to have her drink them. When I would go in (2 times every day) nothing had been moved from the refrigerator. When I would ask why no one knew anything.

Don't go there! I was so disappointed with this place. Both my parents have passed and I have so much guilt about choosing Avalon. Absolutely horrible experience.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. I would like to start with is the building is absolutely horrible, there’s mold growing in the building specifically in room #4 that was being used as a storage room, the carpet is disgusting, there’s one resident who’s flooded her room MULTIPLE times and it has leaked into the hallways and they have yet to replace it. There is 2 laundry rooms with 2 washers and dryers each but they both only have 1 washer and dryer in each there’s been countless times we’ve requested for them to be fixed and nothing happens. Management is too worried about making the building look decent but that’s like putting lipstick on a dumpster. The beginning of this year the heat went out and was out for almost a month, in the summer time the air doesn’t work so everyone’s miserable and it’s hard to work. When it rains too hard the dining room floods like the building is sinking in the back, the residents pay so much money to live there and the care is half [profanity removed]

My mom was in Serene Gardens for several months after she left rehab due to a broken hip. During her stay there she had 2 incidents resulting from improper transfers. The first resulted in a broken ankle and after that they refused to get her out of bed. She was essentially bed ridden for 5 months even though doctors gave her clearance to put weight on the leg. I can only speculate that they were concerned about their ability to provide proper care. The other incident resulted in a disclocated knee which required full knee replacement surgery. After 5 months laying in bed she is weak and the staff did not properly transfer her to a wheelchair when we requested to have her get out of bed. Unfortunately the care is subpar and the staff's ability to own up to their mistakes is very unsettling. The staff are friendly but may not be equipped to handle someone that needs extensive assistance. The place is new and looks great.

They were not equipped to care for someone who was partially paralyzed. Nor aware of the need to give him the timely setup for his breathing treatment and then turning off the machine when it was finished. I was so disappointed. !! Quality was horrible. Not enough staff. Call light would not be answered. On his first night, he told me people don't answer the light. We waited 45 minutes. I then found people on the other side of the building. They said that they thought the light was just left on from earlier. So they ignored it. Meals were ok. Activities does not apply. He couldn't participate. Care was totally insufficient.

I am not impressed by the 'pretty exterior' of this assisted living facility. The exterior facade does not mask the 'ugliness' of the inner dynamics controlled by the owner/operator. It is sad that vulnerable adults are controlled by this place. I hope the state of Michigan does a thorough investigation of this facility and how it operates.