Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living

Sherril

Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living was the last one I toured. The food was pretty good. They have a full calendar of activities. One woman was pretty excited about the bingo. They have exercise classes, and they have physical therapists that come in if you want one. It was a dessert setting; it was very nice. The staff were very nice and cordial, and the residents were all excited over a new person. I was impressed with the residents. They were all very friendly. Like they said they hope I would come and live there. A lot of people that live there were bragging up the place. They were happy. The facilities were spread out, and there's a little way to go that you have to go to different places.

John

The number one reason we chose Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living was when you look at the facility, it doesn't look like an institution. It looks like a home. And when you go inside, it's very clean, very well established and very obviously well managed. The meals are delightful. I found the staff to be very friendly and very knowledgeable. They've got all of the activities going on. They've got bingo, bridge, cribbage, gin rummy, they have movies, there's a recreational room, puzzles, crafts, and a library. There's also a swimming pool that's set up for handicapped people, which was very unusual. The value for money is excellent.

Provider Response

Terrie

I liked Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living a lot. I liked everything about it. It was very clean, very well organized, and had friendly people. The rooms were a bit small, and the price was too high. Their dining area looks really nice. They have three meals a day, and they will bring food to your room if you need it. It was very welcoming, open, clean, and I think the place was fairly new. They were having at that time, bingo games going on. You could hear people laughing and having a good time. There was a movie theater, and people in there watching a movie. They had a very full calendar; they also gave me a copy of their calendar. They have apartments and casitas. I really liked it, and I'm disappointed that it costs too much. The person who gave me the tour was very, very friendly. She knew her stuff, and she was well informed.

Provider Response

Ruth

Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living is a welcoming place. It's a newer place. It's private and a smaller community. The person I met there was excellent. They were only independent living, so they didn't have memory care and all those things. The amenities were nice. They have a theater room, a list of different activities, and transportation to grocery shopping and doctor's appointments.

Provider Response

RojaMikey

I have lived at Desert Springs for four years. It is a beautiful two-story building that stretches close to two blocks, and has a quiet elegance, especially the large dining room. It offers apartments and casitas. I live in a one-bedroom apartment that faces the Catalina Mountains and I’m very content. The managers are great; friendly, helpful, and empathetic. Nothing is too much trouble and they are always available to meet with tenants. Likewise for the staff. Laundry rooms are on each floor. A well-equipped gym keeps tenants fit, and three chefs create some wonderful meals. A movie theatre and heated swimming pool are always available. Excursions to places of interest in and around Tucson are frequently arranged, and entertainment on the property is constant, whether games amongst the residents, or visiting musicians, singers, or dancers. The many holidays celebrated in America are doubly celebrated here at Desert Springs. We also have an active Cultural Events discussion group twice a month, and a book club that meets once a month. Both groups are always seeking new members. We have a bus that takes residents shopping, to church, and to their medical appointments weekly. Once the pandemic is over, Desert Springs will probably continue with Hatha Yoga and Bible Study, both taught by people who live in the Oro Valley community where Desert Springs is Located.

Susan

My mom's friend is at Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living. It's very nice, and I'm very impressed. They have a little theater where they show movies, a very nice dining room and meeting rooms. They do self-serve ice cream 24/7. A lot of activities are very nicely appointed. She has a really nice patio. Her unit is on the 2nd floor, and it's very nice. The grounds are very nicely kept. I really like it there. I only met the people in the office, and they were very nice. She's very happy with the food there. She said everything is really good. She seems very impressed when she was talking about the good salads that they have, and they have really good hash browns in the morning. Those are the things that I've heard her talked about, and the menu was really good to me. Everything seems very clean, very fresh, very up-to-date, and very nicely kept. There's a little movie theater, and they have a popcorn machine for the movies too, and that was kinda cool. I saw an activity schedule, so I know that there are a lot of things going on there. We were there when it was a little bit closed down for COVID. They are much less expensive out there than in my area.

Provider Response

Carla

My mother has been living in Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living for two months now. They were very helpful, and the process of getting her in was easy. We had to call a few times to check up on her and the office staff is knowledgeable of her status, so it's been good. She has a 1-bedroom there, but they also have a variety. They go from a studio, a 1-bedroom and a 2-bedroom in the main unit, and they have 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom houses on the property. Right now, there are no activities because of COVID, but I know they have twice daily group exercises, movies, and other things that she was just not interested in. I haven't had a meal there, but she enjoys them.

Betty856086

Desert Springs’ apartments were very nice, but they only have kitchenette, and it’s very minimal; that was my only drawback because I still like to cook. The facility itself is new and modern. We were very happy with it overall. Beautiful views of all the windows of the apartments are mountain ranges and desert valley floor -- which is very colorful in the Tucson area. It’s very close to shopping, and all these places have wonderful transportation to get their residents from place to another if you need it, but they also do have a casetas and there are three different sizes of the casetas, and we are going to back next week for the open house just to refresh our memories about the casetas because we’ve been looking at properties, and you tend to get one mixed up with the other if you’re not careful.

Anonymous407468

We chose Desert Springs because it has separate cottages, and I liked that feature. I did not want to live in a large building. We are in one of the cottages, and it's very well-equipped. They have a number of activities every day, and there's an activities director who is a hired person. There are movies each day and night.

Sam32

We visited Desert Springs, and their rooms have no kitchen, and their parking is not very good. They provide three meals.

softran

excellent food. very good management. relatively new. lots of activities. good transportation to doctors and local stores. diverse and intelligent residents. overall, a good value

Caring103755550

I had lived in Desert Springs. It was new at that time. They always had one couple that lived there, which was nice. They had an excellent chef. The dining room was fine, nothing fancy. The rooms were smaller than here, but they were OK. I thought it was nice, and everybody there was very able. They had a lot of things like bean bag baseball and bingo. It was a really nice place to live. I felt safe, and I thought they do lock up.

Jane95319550

I did visit Desert Springs, and I like it very much. It was nice. They showed me different apartments, and any one of them would be suitable. They were nice. Regarding activities, the afternoon that I was there, there were a bunch of people in the lobby area listening to a speaker. The lady that showed me around was very efficient.

Caring99407250

I've visited Desert Springs for my friend. It was a beautiful new place. I found the people to be all ages; there were some fairly young people, and some really elderly people. They had a social open house, and they were very cordial and welcoming. The only thing I found was that their apartments and rooms seemed small to me, but that may be just because of my living arrangement. I still live in a separate house. It seemed like they have really packed them in, but they have large group spaces and lots of activities, and their menu looked very good. They just had a lot going on for the residents, i.e., if somebody wanted to do arts, crafts, go places, or card games or whatever. They had a good array of those things. The price actually was not as high as I thought it might be.

Stan6

Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living had two different concepts. They just collect rent on a monthly basis and they don't have any medical or anything other than the rent. Since they have no assisted living, they have no memory care or anything like that. The staff we dealth with was very good. The dining room was fine. And since they don't have what I would want, I would give them a score of two.

Caring60976650

My mother probably moved into Desert Springs around the middle of January. It's an independent living facility but they have caretakers that you can hire that will come in and take care of your relative there. This is my choice for my mother because it's brand new and it is just only 15 minutes away from my house. Plus the residents there are active. Everybody there is on the ball. I like that this facility is beautiful and very home. There is energy in this place. When you walk in, you don't feel like you're walking into an old folk's home. They have games, entertainments, computers, a pool table, and a movie theater for the people. It's just like a regular community. The staff is very nice. The food is five-star. My mom has a room which is just great for her. It also has a porch. It has a kitchenette, a refrigerator, a bathroom, and a shower. It has everything that she needs. My mother is absolutely happy there. I recommend this place to others as long as they can take care of themselves. It's not for people who have Alzheimer's or those that have a lot of health problems because they won't fit in.