Orchard Heights Gracious Retirement Living

My mother moved in at Orchard Heights, and our experience was very positive. She participates in all activities that are being offered in the facility. Her room is lovely with a balcony that overlooks a lake. It is a large studio unit, and it looks very nice. I would recommend them because they meet my mother's needs and also because it is affordable. Overall, it has been wonderful.

Orchard Heights was a wonderful place. It was very nice, and everything was covered for you. It was a place where you could go month to month. In other words, anytime if you felt like you wanted to leave, you could because it was a monthly place. However, it was quite expensive. It does cover everything -- I guess that was important too -- but the cost was more than my monthly income. The rooms were nice; they were quite good and comfortable. They took care of everything. Even if you don't have a car, they would take you where you needed to go to get things done. They provided all the meals, but the smallest unit was I thought about $3,500 a month. There were nice areas outside to sit. They had games and things like that going on. They had activities scheduled, but it was still more than what I could spend. The only other thing that was not good about it was that all of them were carpeted, and I was asthmatic so I couldn't live in a carpeted place. They said they would allow you to take the carpeting out and put a floor in, but it would have to be at your expense. In other words, they would have it done, but you had to pay to have it done. I was not able to taste the food because they were not open yet at that time. They supposedly had a top-notch chef there who would provide dinner. They provided lunch and breakfast as well. However, if you didn't feel well or you didn't feel like going into the dining room anytime, you could call ahead, and they would prepare something for you that you would be interested in having and send it to your unit for you. They were very helpful.

I am in Orchard Heights, and it is a wonderful community. They are very accommodating. We have 3 meals a day, and the food is excellent with a good variety. They have a swimming pool here. They have a movie theater on the premises. Our apartment is very nice with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and the pricing is moderate. It has about 1000 square feet of space. We have a garage, though not exactly near the apartment. They have a bus that will take us to various places around town. They have cards games, board games, and they have a variety of activities within the community. Maintenance is very good. It is a secure facility. At night, one can't get in unless you have a special pass. We are happy. I have given them a number of suggestions that they are considering at the moment -- like I asked for a double curve cut near my apartment so I can get a wheel chair down in my car. I suggest that they have a defibrillator in the dining room in case somebody needed a defibrillator. I also suggest that they screened in the porches in the community.