Montvale Estates

I've settled on Montvale because of all of them I checked out it fit the needs that we have and that we could afford. My relative has to be under $2,000 a month and not a lot of them are like that. A lot of them, if they are less than that, you have to pay for everything extra, and there's too many extras with it, whereas Montvale doesn't. It comes with the food, meals, the snacks, transportation, which is a biggie. Right now, I don't know if she is really implied to want to go there, so we're going to wait another month or two and see how things are going and go over and check it out with her. She's doing really good on her own right now but I'm looking for the future. I visited Montvale in person and I liked it. It's clean and I met the chef, the chef was very good, and he believes in healthy food, no tater tots. I can't understand how people think they're feeding people healthy when they feed them tater tots, it just doesn't make sense to me. We met the chef and talked to him for quite a while, and we looked at two different sizes of rooms that are available right now. I don't know if they're going to be available later. The facility is next to Schnucks, it's a walk away, not even hardly a block away and I thought, "Well, that will train her to be able to walk to the grocery store." They also have a little kitchenette, nothing big. I'm really happy with what I've seen at Montvale. I was really impressed with the staff, Shayna or Shauna, she was really nice and helpful. The one thing that people really don't want to tell you when you call is all the extras that you end up having to pay, but she did. She went over all of it more than once to make sure that we really understood what was going on. My inclination right now is I'm going to call her. I don't know how soon but I'm going to call her and ask her to put my relative's name on their list so if the two rooms we've seen have been taken then my relative could be the next one in line. The ones I have checked out, they seemed really nice and everything, but everything is a la carte, so I think, at least in Montvale, it's all built in. We know what the expenses are going to be. It's a good thing. There wouldn't be any guessing or anything, so that's good. The way they have it now with the COVID, you can't get the real full effect, but the facility is clean and nice and it's taken care of. They couldn't invite me to a meal because of COVID, but they have done that for one of my friends. He went there during lunch and he liked it, and he was considering moving to Montvale. He says that the food was great. What they did for us -- because they couldn't give us lunch and because of COVID you have to stay seated away from people and they have to be scheduled -- the chef made us a pie. A deep dish peach pie and it was hot, it was huge, and so good. We didn't know he was going to do it, which was a surprise. We came and the person giving the tour said she'd have us meet their chef. He came in and we talked a little bit. My son was going to be a chef, but he passed, and we never did get to see his dream come true, but I have a place in my hearts for chefs, so I was really excited and happy to meet this young man. He was really, really nice and really, really good. That pie was extremely wonderful, and it was a surprise, so that was really nice. They did accommodate us as far as their culinary. All the ones that I've looked into, they were just too much, plus they had extras to pay for, and we can't do that.

My mother-in-law moved into Montvale Estates. So far, so good. Her room is clean and nice. She has a little kitchenette with a sink and room for putting the microwave and chair, and then the bedroom. The staff is friendly. They have exercise and transportation. Right now, because of COVID, they're limited, but she's able to leave when she wants. We can come pick her up any time and she can check back in, and that was key to our decision. It could be a little newer. It's very clean and it's fine for her, it's just not my style.

Montvale is a wonderful place for my mom. She loves it there and plans to spend the rest of her life at Montvale Estates. For me it gives me peace of mind that my mom lives in a safe place with great people who work there and live there.

Montvale Estates was fine. The staff was fine, too. The rooms were smaller than expected, but the living atmosphere was good. It was a nice clean environment. There were activities going on. They have games, exercise, and church services.

Montvale Estates is immaculate and it's a great place. It's just as nice as the other places we visited, but they have food in this community, while in the other one you have to have your food brought in, but the price for both places are good. The staff member who assisted me during my tour at Montvale was a great guy. He's no longer there, but he was the one who sold me on the place. They have all kinds of activities and people were having fun, mingling and eating. There was more going on there, and they also have a five-star chef.

Our overall experience with Montvale Estates is very positive. It's like an apartment complex, but the manager and the staff go out of their way to make my dad feel at home. There's nothing about the place that's really that outstanding, but it's nice. I would definitely recommend them. They have standard meals and they have normal activities that you find in most senior communities. I like that they have a bus that takes you places. It's kind of what makes the place great, because the people there are very accommodating. So if you want to try something different or try something new then you can. The staff is excellent. The only thing that you have to understand about the place is that it is independent living, so at around 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. there are staff members around, but after that they go home. His room is comfortable, but it's not overly large since it's just a 1-bedroom apartment. The food tasted good. There's an activity going on possibly every hour. They do bible studies, there's bean bag baseball, and all kinds of social exercises for the residents. Some people participate and some don't because others have other places to go because they can. They can just go take the bus in the morning and come back in the afternoon. It's just that the staff is not there 24/7. For the cost versus what you get, and the food and the travel, it's definitely a good value and location.

This facility has really gone down hill since the director, Rebecca was hired. Terrible food. No building security anywhere. Staff and residents smoke at facility. Dirty furniture. Run down and dated apartments. One elevator serves all 3 floors. It is frequently broken. Residents have repoeted thefts to management with no improvements to facility. Stay away.

My father-in-law moved into Montvale Estates, and it's really a wonderful place. The food is good, and I don't have anything bad to say about them. They have a bus to go to appointments, but he doesn't like that they run in the morning. They 're really friendly, and they have lots of great activities for seniors. They have daily and weekly exercises.