Brookdale Castle Hills

I visited Brookdale Castle Hills. The rooms looked OK, but the atmosphere was kind of depressing when you walk through the door. They were doing puzzles, but nobody seemed happy like in the other community I visited. It was kind of a mixed up mess when we got there because the person we were supposed to meet wasn't there yet, so someone had to fill in for him. The dining area looked OK, and the outdoors looked clean and nice. The staff seemed kind of confused and didn't know who was supposed to do what.

I didn't like Brookdale Castle Hills. The person I had set an appointment with wasn't there; however, a nurse took me around. He was great. The rooms were big, but I didn't like the place overall. It had more of a hospital feel and wasn't that bright and cheery.

My Mom is very happy at Brookdale Castle Hills. The staff if very friendly and caring. They always greet everyone with a smile. The facility is kept very neat and clean. They have a wonderful chef on staff who makes great food.. I have always been impressed with the very home like feel to the community.

I toured Brookdale Castle Hills. During the short visit, I saw that it's a great place. The residents looked fine.

My uncle is in Brookdale Castle Hills. With our experience, it is very economical. They care and they are family-oriented. They work with him on things that mean a little bit more to him. They reach out in trying to do everything for Tom. He has real bad dementia and it has been an excellent place for him. Even the maintenance man goes in and talks to him and they call him master sergeant and checks on him. If he doesn’t go to eat, they make sure they come and get him to eat. We spend a lot of time there and we like what we see not only with Tom but with everybody. I can’t recommend it highly enough. We’re very happy with it and he’s very happy being there. We have him in a nice size studio and a real nice bathroom and shower. He just has to walk out his door, take a right turn and take a few steps down the hall and he is where he eats. It’s very nice, very clean, and very taken care of. They have bingo and they have their shopping days. They have their card-making days and they have little concerts and all sorts of things going on. He eats 3 huge meals a day and we have eaten with him a lot. They let us go and eat whenever we want and the food is really good. They get a choice of their meals; they have a menu of several items that you can get. You walk in and there’s a big, beautiful fish tank and a fireplace and then if you look to the right, it’s a real nice dining area. The halls are set up really nice because the people there almost go in a circle. Down the halls, there are little sitting areas and then off of some of those halls, there are little places out in the little courtyards. It’s very intimate and very nice but not overwhelming at all.

Emeritus at Summer Wind (Currently Brookdale Castle HIlls) was not responsive in returning phone calls. I believe the rooms were smaller. It was an older facility, but they were doing some upgrades to it.

We moved my dad to Summer Wind (Emeritus at Summer Wind) about a month ago. We chose them because they are the only one that fits our budget. As far as I can tell, everything is fine. They are doing everything that they say they will do. It is a very nice place. It is clean. The people that are there -- both the staff and the other tenants -- seem happy so I will give it a good grade in that respect. When I ask a question, I always get a smile and a quick answer. I always see the actual people that deal with him. The office people are very friendly. He is in a shared room. I will say it is very small, which is probably why we are able to afford this place. His actual half of his room I will say is the same size as a college dorm. He does not participate in the activities, but I do know they have religious meetings, bingo, and every morning a person gives a lecture to whoever wants to show up and listen. They have music where someone will come and play. They have an exercise class, and they also have tables set up for puzzles and what not. All of the nice stuff are like behind the building where they can go out and be in a location where they cannot escape. It has nice benches and trees. At the last place that he was in, he complained constantly about the food. I have not heard a single complaint at this place about the food. I will rate it as very good.

Emeritus at Summer Wind wasn't appealing to me because they seemed a bit scattered all the time, and nobody knows what they were supposed to be doing. They were friendly, but it just seemed like there was so much going on all the time, so when someone needed something, they had to wait for a while. They need to have more people on their staff.