Continuing Care Retirement Communities Communities in Austin, TX

"I toured the Westminster in Austin, and it was quite nice. It's right in the middle of a busy city. I only met mainly with just the one person that gave the tour, and then he introduced us to some people, and they appeared to be quite friendly, but we didn't get any intimate contact with the other staff. They have several different places to eat. It was very good. It's sort of like you're in a castle or something."

"My grandfather has moved into Buckner Villas. We chose it because he had some friends that were already there. It's been a very positive experience. I like that they encourage social interactions. They have an activity calendar that has something every morning, and then there's a separate activity at 2:00 every day. There's a chapel once a week. They help provide transportation to and from appointments within a certain radius, so that helps with doctors and all of that. They have the option to eat in the dining room or to eat in their room, but I like that they still encourage them to be social to come to community events. I think that's a big one just because he was struggling with some depression with being by himself for so long. He has access to outdoor areas. There's a courtyard where he can walk around. There are some vegetables and things that they have planted in the back, but then he can also go out the front and there's kind of a roundabout that he can walk if he wants to take his walker out there. There's an activity area. They have exercise, dominos, weekly trips to H-E-B, bimonthly trips to Wal-Mart, ice cream socials on Wednesdays, and happy hour on Fridays. They have a beautician who comes in and for a nominal fee, she'll provide shampoos, washes, and haircuts for men and women. On Tuesdays, there's somebody who comes in and leads an activity at 2:00. There's also a bible study on Wednesday mornings. One of his favorite parts is the food. They've got a nice snack menu. On Tuesdays, if you give a two-hour notice, you can have hamburgers, sandwiches, and pizza delivered to your room. He can have anything on the menu and then he can also order breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have that delivered to his room or he can eat that in the dining room. He's mentioned having fish. I think they did barbecue one time. There are pies and they've got a big selection of desserts that he can have at lunch or dinner. Everybody smiles. They're pleasant. They seem to be very understanding of the age group and some of the difficulties. My grandpa had just gotten his hearing aids fixed and they were going to assist him with some bathroom needs and he said, "I just took my hearing aids out." The staff member just leaned in very close and she said, "OK." She was trying to make sure that he was heard and understood, even though he didn't have his hearing aids in. Everything was clean. It looks like a brand new carpet. They clean it every day. I went over there one day and then I went three days later and both times it looked like the carpet had just been vacuumed."

"I had lunch with my friend here and the food was good. It was set up like a hotel. It was a seated dining and you would order from a menu. It was a very nice place and the staff in the front desk and the restaurant seemed fine. "

"I know Longhorn Village pretty well because my father was there before, so I feel very comfortable in that place. Their current project will not be finished until 2024, so that's about the right time (that I move in). If you're in independent living and you need assisted living, you can move to the next level or if you need more help or you need nursing care or a memory unit, you can move there. They have a refrigerator, a stove, a microwave, and a washing machine and dryers in the apartment and that's included in the service charge. They also have wi-fi. Another good thing is that it's not on a busy street. The staff during the tour was knowledgeable and pleasant and there was no pressure at all. They don't push you too much. The food was great; it's better than restaurant food. They have a courtyard and a lot of places for walking. It's a pretty good campus. They have gathering activities, group trips, and group dining. They also have the bus to the UT campus if you want to continue your education and you also can book them to doctors' appointments and things like that."

"I had a very positive impression of The Wesleyan at Estrella Assisted Living and Memory Care. They have a large room for the memory care which is called 'Laura Hall'. Instead of having the word 'memory' in there, you have "Laura Hall". They have a large room where they have tables for activities like puzzles. There's an aquarium and on the other side were the tables are for meals.The rooms were off of that, so they were not down the hall. They actually almost surrounded the main area, so I kind of like that idea. My aunt doesn't have to go down a long hall to get to the dining room. They also have a lower resident to worker ratio and among all the facilities I called. They're the only one that had an availability, so we could take my aunt in. I was there at the time when they were serving meals, and they looked very appetizing. The lady that helped me was the RN and the director of nursing. She seems very nice and friendly. Her father is a resident of the assisted living area, and that's a positive thing that she has her own father there. She thinks well enough of them to do that. She was very helpful, nice, and seemed to know several of the residents (so that's a good thing). They do have a small courtyard off of the 'Laura Hall' where they have nice, big, sturdy chairs. It's very level area out there. They have a white board that has some activities that they listed on it."