Continuing Care Retirement Communities Communities in Newtown Square, PA

"I toured The Mansion at Rosemont. I liked the fact that it was nonprofit. I like the fact that if you run out of money they do not ask you to leave. I like the facility; it wasn't too large. I like the people that I met there. I like all the common rooms. They have a nice library and a lovely dining room. They have a room that you could rent for family dinners. They don't even rent it, you just put your name on the list. The price was not bad. The staff I spoke to was wonderful. They have a gym, a wellness center, and a beauty shop."

"I thought the accommodations at White Horse Village were very small but looked nice. A lot of their accommodations were outside, so as you get older, you would have to walk outside to get to the dining area. I liked their assisted living and memory care. It was the best location. The activities seemed good. They had a pool, golf, trips, parties, and dancing."

"Lima Estates in Media, PA, is set on lovely grounds with beautiful gardens. There are many outside areas for the residents to enjoy, including a putting green. The large, open lobby greets visitors, with a cafe that includes a large selection of entrees and snacks. The apartments are a reasonable size, although not as large as other retirement communities in the area. The amenities are plentiful, including a pool, computer room, exercise facilities, craft rooms, beauty shop, and transportation to many local shopping and medical facilities. My only concern is the staff - many staff members didn't seem to know resident's names or anything about the facility. Questions regarding number of residents, how long the facility had been in existence, and number of staff went unanswered. Staff members I asked for directions answered, but were not particularly friendly. This location has an institutional feel, with residents being told where to sit and what to do during free time.Overall, I believe it would be a nice place for a resident to live while in independent living, but the assisted living and continuing care had a corporate feel that left me wondering what type of life the residents of those facilities would have. "

"Riddle Village is beautiful. The decor is very nice, it is a very large building and does not seem stuffy, nor does it smell. The rooms are large as well. The dining room and cafes prepare great meals, in the cafe you can select pretty much anything to be made for you. They also have a lot of activities, a mini golf course, pool tables, wading pool and most recently they even put in a bar. I would say it's more comparable to a hotel than a standard nursing home. "

"The Granite Farms Estates was very nice, very open, and had very large areas for people to meet. I have a friend there, so I saw what it was like too. She was in the memory care and she was alone by herself but her room was too small. The hallways and other areas were big though. I also had lunch with her and the food was good. The facility was just a rectangular-shaped building so it was not as attractive as the other facilities we looked at, but it's less than a mile away from the nearest hospital."

"Beaumont at Bryn Mawr is great, really beautiful, and elegant. If it weren’t so far out and it weren’t so expensive, it would be high on our list. We’ve eaten there a couple of times because we have a friend who lives there. The food is excellent. One thing that might be an issue for some people is that there’s a fair amount of walking involved. There are long corridors and some people might prefer something tighter, but it’s very hard to find a reason not to like them. There is some parking difficulty, but it’s really good. The other nice thing about Beaumont is that it’s a coop, so you buy in, but when you leave or when you die, they sell the apartment to somebody else and that money goes into your estate. In a lot of places, you pay in and that’s it. You never see that money again if you leave, but Beaumont has that advantage. It’s run by its residents; they make all the major decisions about it, so if somebody wants to redo the swimming pool or do something significant, that’s decided by the residents. "

"I visited Waverly Heights. It's a bit expensive but very attractive physically both the grounds and the buildings. It was an old estate that was converted, so some of the buildings are unusual in terms of architecture. Their food is quite good, I've eaten there. I have some friends who live there so I've been there socially. They seem very happy about the staff. They have a lot of activities and groups that get together like discussion groups, they have a fair amount of that. They also have gardens."

"It's a continuing care non-profit facility. It's close to where I live. The buy-end reverts to the state. The monthly fees are affordable, something they can afford with their pensions and social security, and you're not spending $6,000 for somewhere for them to live. It's something that they can manage right now. They're in their 80s, and it's something that they can afford to do. It also provides for all phases of their life. So if you go on right now, they're going into independent living, but they can get to an assisted living. There's nursing care, there's rehab facility, and there's an Alzheimer's care unit. My mother has Alzheimer's, so this is very important to me. The people that I met are very nice. I haven't met any of the nursing care people. I have yet to deal with them. "

"I had a friend who lives in Simpson House. The place was great. I've been there for birthday dinners and different things that are going on. It's a nice place. The care is good. You can have a one-bedroom apartment or you can have a studio apartment, which was all laid out nicely. They have a large dining hall, entertainment, a church, and everything was built right in the place. The courtesy from the desk people was great when you went in the door. Food is good, too."

"We had lunch at Cathedral Village and it was fine. It was about 30 years old. It wasn't unpleasant but the furniture is a little dated. The atmosphere and property were very nice and gorgeous, and the buildings are undergoing renovations which they do need. The staff I met was very nice. They had everything you want."

"Shannondell at Valley Forge is nice, but I didn’t like that my mother-in-law is in the nursing unit of it as we were not satisfied with her care there. The best way I can describe it is like going on a cruise. Basically, she has her own townhouse, and she her own full apartment. It’s independent living with perks; it’s like being in a resort, and it has its own swimming pool. They have two dining rooms; one is a formal dining room. The food is excellent food, and they have movies and activities. The level where she is now, the independent is excellent. They had different levels of care, and they have a medical unit for people recovering from surgeries. "

"We went up Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill and we went right into the assisted living and nursing side. They had plenty of staff and they seemed to be taking very good care of their patients, but that instant nursing home smell hit me. After you've seen other facilities and when you go into a facility like that, it's a letdown. Everything in there was older. It's a really old building. There's a lot of benevolent care there and that kind of thing which is fantastic. Everything just seemed kind of a little rundown. The staff was lovely and super friendly, and there were lots of staff. If my in-laws had fewer means, I would certainly look a little closer at that place. It just wasn't what we were looking for, for them. We did not even look into a room there. All four of us were like "No, this is not even going to happen," so we're like, "We don't want to waste your time." We were there probably 15 minutes because it was depressing. People who need serious care are what we saw there. My mother-in-law still looks pretty young and still is fairly spry. We walked in there and it's like people that look like 100 years old. They want to be able to socialize and be with people that are of similar age. It's not a bad facility and I don't want to say anything bad about it. I think it's probably a very good facility. It looked like they were taking very good care of their residents. The staff was interacting, laughing, and smiling with the residents. It was really good to see actually. I'd rate it high because for what it is, it's a really good place. My in-laws have friends that live in the independent area of that and they love it. We didn't see any independent living. We only just saw assisted living and skilled nursing. We didn't even look at the rooms. We just looked at the common areas and my in-laws were instantly, "No, we're not doing this." For what it was, it looked like a great facility. It was very clean and everything, just a little rundown, but the staff was really good, super nice, super friendly, and took the time out to talk to us about what they offered. They were very good and there were lots of staff, which is amazing; I didn't see that at some of the other facilities."

"I visited the Barclay Friends. It was a very nice, small, intimate, and high-end facility. The staff was very pleasant and welcoming. "

Makemie at Whiteland is the newest senior living option in the Delaware Valley. Makemie features spacious new apartment and villa homes, as well as assisted living and nursing care all on the campus. We are accepting reservations now and wil be open in 2012.