Desert Springs Gracious Retirement Living

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.