Brightview Avondell

Barbara

I chose Brightview Avondell because it's the only one in Hartford County that has an independent living facility. There's an indoor pool, a gym, and physical therapy onsite. There's assisted living if you need it. All your meals are provided. The only thing out-of-pocket that you have is your telephone. The staff I met there were very informative and easy to work with. I tried the food, and it was excellent.

A Screen Name that is not taken

The most impressive part of Avondell is the staff. From Karen and Donna, to Greg and Brenda, to the desk staff, each person is concerned with the health and happiness of every resident. Patience and humor are part of all interactions. Family members are embraced to become part of the community, to eat meals and visit. The high quality and variety of the food is amazing: my mother is literally eating in an excellent restaurant every night. The facility is bright, clean and well cared for. Fresh and beautiful describe the common areas. Finally, the residents care about each other. The friendly interaction and encouragement is wonderful to observe. I am SO grateful my mother can be at Avondell, Bel Air.

Linda

We did a tour of Brightview Avondell. They're just too expensive. We can't afford $12,000 a month. It's a beautiful place, I love it, it's very nice. We met with a nice lady. It's a beautiful place inside and out, everything you want is in there, hair salon, saltwater pool, and restaurants. We saw the unit, it's independent care. It would be $93,900 a year. I have no negativity about it other than the price. The people in there, they're eighties and nineties; there's a few seventies in there, I was told. The unit we were shown was very small. In my opinion, it's not enough room for two people. It had a bedroom, a washer-dryer, and it had a den that you can make like a second bedroom, and it had two beds. We were only shown one. We didn't have a meal, but we have seen the cafeterias. There's a beautiful lake. We saw an activity room where people can play cards and checkers, and there's a TV. They have all different kinds of activities. They're putting in more rooms, more areas in there. It's beautiful outside, they have beautiful gardens. It's just a lovely place. It's just the price that was a bigger fear, like running out of money, and we're going to be evicted; we don't have a place to go. It's beautiful, gorgeous, well-maintained, and very clean. The staff were very nice, very accommodating, and they answered all our questions.

Betty

I went and toured Brightview Avondell. I visited the independent living. They showed us the difference between independent and assisted living. What I like best about this community is that all the amenities were great. I also like the location. The people were very friendly. There was a lot of positives. The staff were very enlightened, and they told us a lot of things that we needed to really know that we forgot to ask. I visited all the therapy areas and the creative places like painting and sewing things like that. They have a swimming pool, which is great. They have lovely grounds.

George

Brightview Avondell was very nice. You have to pay for a lot of amenities, one of which was kind of strange, I thought. They were trying to use it as a sales gimmick; it was happy hour every day, Monday through Friday at 3:30 p.m. I am not a teetotaler. I certainly will have an occasional drink, but why is that a selling point? That struck me as strange. You're telling me that's an amenity that I have to pay for, so everybody can start drinking at 3:30 in the afternoon? It's not something I want as part of my package. What I liked best was the friendliness of everybody there: the staff, the sales staff, and the workers. They all got along very well. The place was extremely clean, neat, and up to date. I didn't see anything wrong with the facility at all. They were knowledgeable about their product, their audience, and the people who need the care. They went out of their way to find out about the needs of the individual and to cater to those needs. It's a sales technique, but it's effective and it works. They want to make sure that you're a good match for what they have to offer. It's a win-win. The facility was top notch. Everything looked clean, shiny, and in good working order. The amenities were a little over the top. They offer so much that if you're not going to use it, you end up paying for it. It doesn't seem fair in a way. You pay an exorbitant amount of money every month. The rate at which we were looking was about $7000, because every place has a fee and if it's two people, they have what they call a second-person fee, so that's another $800 or $900 a month that you add on to your bill. They offer all these meals, and it's wonderful food. They have happy hour, clubs, libraries, a fitness center, and all these things. If you run out of money when you're living there, Brightview says, "Hey, it's really been great having you here. Good luck in the future. We'll see you later. Goodbye." There is no benevolent fund. If you're spending $7000 a month to live there, at the end of the year, you're out $84,000. That's money you're never going to see again.

Deborah

Brightview Avondell was excellent and a very nice place that was very full of activities, and it was nice and clean. The activities were phenomenal and it was a thing we were looking for. The staff was nice. The rooms were very clean, and everything was up to date. The meals were included and I love their security system. They had a craft room, sewing, and a choir group. It was very pricey.