The Orchard

Roderick

My friend is living in The Orchard, a senior living facility. It is a fairly old one, but they renovated all their offices and some of the support facilities for the elderly people there. It's also gone through a little bit of change in management, so I think it's improved. Before that, it wasn't so great. I would say that the good thing about it was that it gave these people independence at a reasonable cost, although they did raise the rent. Initially, it was less than $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, an ensuite and a small living room. There's also a bathroom with a shower, which was pretty good. It's very small, but it was good. However, they had all sorts of problems because it's an old design, and they all had these silly single-pane windows. They had a lot of black mold problems that all got eventually restored, so I would suggest that it has improved today. For a while, it wasn't very good. They've got new offices now and renovated some of their community spaces, but I haven't been in those, so I don't know quite how that's improved the place. Previous to that, it wasn't very good. The buildings are old; it was built in the days when you had that flexible single-pane glass in the windows, so it was really bad. Now they've all got PVC windows, so that's been a pretty big improvement. There was a fair amount of maintenance going on all the time, which is indicative of older buildings. There's always something that has to be repaired. The place is overly secure because trying to get into the place after 7:30 at night is quite difficult, unless you've got a key fob. The way the gates are set up is quite difficult, but for seniors, I guess that's a good thing, that you're not getting strange people wandering around the facility at night. They've changed the staff to a certain extent. I don't know about the support utility facilities, but the people running the office are much better. When I was last dealing with them, they were very forthcoming and allowed me plenty of time. My friend's rent hadn't been paid for about three months, which meant they could have started eviction proceedings, which would not have been good for her, but they did not. There was no food provided by the facility. The health services were providing my friend with pre-packed meals, and she would cook her own food in the microwave or oven.

Karen

The Orchard was excellent. Overall, the people were pretty nice. You can't beat the apartment. They were clean and it's in a very central location so people could walk to the store if they wanted to. There was public transportation nearby (although I had a car). Parking was a problem there, but you just get used to it. You can just park on the street or you have to park over where the stadium was, which was across the street. So, having regular on-site parking was a problem. It's still a great place. People were neighborly for the most part. They have many activities offered such as field trips to places during the day.

Gwen18

I’m living in The Orchard now. I’ve been here since the 1st of August. I am impressed with all the activities that they have, and the fact that I could go to grocery stores if I need to. They have a set schedule when they take people to different grocery shopping areas each day. They would take me to the doctor. My rent is not too expensive, and I feel like I’m in a safe place. There are several exercise activities. I take a posture, and balance class. They have bingo, the dances, and there is also arts. There is knitting, and crocheting. I’m really delighted.

anonymous1239

I am moving to the Orchard in three weeks. For one thing, it is ten minutes from my daughter's. It is an older place, but it is very clean. It is not brand new, but it is in wonderful condition. I have not met the staff -- other than the office staff -- and my daughter has dealt with them more because she already lives in San Diego. The neighborhood seems busy, but it is close to everything that I can walk to. I have a walker now, and it is pretty close. I believe they are not far from several major hospitals in San Diego. Everyday, there is an activity. They have senior yoga, and I believe they have a barber. I know in the dining area, they have establishments for playing cards, they have a computer room, and they have wi-fi. It has everything that I need.