Independent Living Communities in Hamden, CT

"My sister and I visited River Valley Retirement, an independent living community, and made a few friends there. We got into deep conversations we couldn't finish. Just running into folks in the hallway, you automatically connect to them, and it was a shame that we couldn't just go sit somewhere and bond. It has excellent customer service, and the staff members were very professional and friendly. The community members, the ones that I ran into, had an opportunity to just walk down the hallway with us and bond with some folks immediately. When the women were gathered, I ran into some of them in the beauty parlor, they were all chatty. I just poked my head in there to ask if they are licensed with curly hair because working with it is a concern for me if I use a beauty parlor. The person there said that she was. Even with the women who were waiting, getting their hair done, the one who was servicing the ladies still took the time out to answer my question, and that was very important to me. They're very responsive to the questions, and I thought that was excellent. We got a package of three little cannolis, and they were the most delicious. I would say the dessert was excellent, and I'm looking forward to lunch. It was also very kind of the staff to offer the cannolis because I needed something after the trip, as we hadn't had lunch yet. It was an impromptu visit. That was another plus, too, because they were able to allow us to have the impromptu visit instead of the appointed date. I had spine surgery, and my twin sister is also a double knee replacement candidate, so it's a perfect facility to recuperate and enjoy with other people. You could socialize there, and we're very social and love talking and bonding with strangers. I love the fact that they have different types of exercises and recuperation methods onsite. I love the grounds, and the room was very clean and had everything that you needed. It had a kitchen, even if you wouldn't need a kitchen. I couldn't complain about anything about the facility. There was good parking, good transportation, and it's close to everything. You have a five-star facility right there. There are some other facilities in the area, but you have to take the ferry if you have to visit family members. With this, it's close by, and family members could stop by and see how you're recuperating, and that's important to me. My grandchildren can stop by with their mom and visit me."

"I love the Spring Meadows by Monarch. It was clean and bright. The decor was amazing. They had that soothing blue. And the residents that we passed by were really pleasant. They were all so very happy. The room itself was just amazing. It was a perfect fit for what I was looking for. The sales manager was extremely nice and very informative in terms of the community, especially the activities that are offered. It was nice. The receptionist was amazing, and the nurses that walked by were very well-mannered and very pleasant."

"Our tour of Covenant Living of Cromwell was great. It was awesome. It was like a hotel when you walked in there. It was absolutely beautiful. The staff was amazing. They had a cafeteria, a restaurant, and then they had a coffee shop. So there were three places you could go for a meal. They had a snack room, too. They allow you to have three meals a day, but it was like a credit card setup where they give you so much money every month and allotment for food. I think it was $300 for each person a month. The menus were awesome. The apartments were very nice. They even had a deck where you could go outside (each one had a patio deck). It's very quiet and you could bring pets if you wanted to. They had a movie theater, a music room, and an activities room where you could crochet or needlepoint or have any hobbies, you could do it there. They kept their residents engaged with a bunch of activities going on. We would have picked it, but we just couldn't afford it. It was a little on the high side."

"We got a tour of Holiday Lodge at Cold Spring. The staff did a wonderful job, but it's not my type of place. It seemed like it was a place for rich people. They didn't have a stove in the kitchen, and I couldn't understand that at all. The facility was very decent and very clean. The amenities that they had there were the same as the other place. You could use the bus, you could get your hair done, you could go to recreation, and you could have PT. The marketing person who gave us the tour was very good and gave a lot of information. She gave me a folder with a menu in it, and the menu looked pretty good. The dining area was very nice. I met the recreation director and the maintenance guy, and they were all very nice."

"Holiday Farmington was outstanding. The staff was fantastic. A lot of times when you go into these places, they're kind of talking down to you because you're old, and you don't know what you're doing. This guy was phenomenal. He was just absolutely wonderful. It's very clean. The people there, you can tell, like it there, because they're very friendly to people just coming in off the street. I was struck by the fact that they have a physical therapist in the building. They have all kinds of activities and the transportation part is great to the point where the staff said that if two or three of the residents wanted to go to a particular restaurant, they would drive us there, and they would come back and get us. It's not just hospitals or doctors that they run transportation for. I was very impressed with that. It's an outstanding place. We saw the menus and they're very varied, but there's something there for everybody to eat. They also had a cafe if you didn't want to go to the dining room. People were coming in and getting coffee and Danish or cereal or whatever they wanted. The food looked very tasty. I like them very much."

"I toured Commonwealth Senior Living at Haddam. It was a very good tour. They had a couple of units available, and they showed them all to us. They would have worked out because they offered more services. It was a very pretty location. The facilities were very nice. We saw people doing all different kinds of things, and the staff was very pleasant. Everybody we spoke to was very nice and accommodating. And the cook came out to meet us and asked if we had questions. It was very nice. The apartments were very nice. They were one-bedroom units with bigger kitchen areas and full-sized appliances. I liked the rooms a little better. They were a little more spacious than the other place, although they were both in very nice condition. They had just painted and put new carpets in, and so everything looked very nice."

"What a beautiful community, they have kept our family member safe while providing wonderful care and lots of activities. Such an amazing, thoughtful and considerate staff."

"Everything is amazing about Bethel Health Care. The entire staff is professional, caring and competent. I give them a 5 star review!! Rooms, Food and personal attention are all beyond our expectations"

"I toured Brookdale Gables Farmington. The lake was beautiful. The person who gave us the tour and the people in general were really nice. The rooms were also very nice. There's a great view of the lake there. The food was good. The dining area was very nice."

"Large bright apartments with lots of sunlight. Easy access to shopping and I-84. The staff are very friendly and seem to be happy there. I see a lot of faces that were here when I visited a friend a before COVID and that is a good sign. I've been looking locally for my parents and this seems to be a great fit!"

"I went to Avery Heights. I like the openness of the facility, and I like the activity that I saw around, and people interacting. It was very well maintained. It was clean, and they seemed to be very active on that. There were several floor plans available, and they all looked appropriate. For me, the one-bedroom is maybe a little small. Other than that, the floor plans were fine."

"We had a good experience with Meadow Ridge. There are people who are very active there and they have programs. We visited twice and we had some of their food, but it was not a sit down, so it's difficult to really say. It was quite expensive."

"My mom is a resident of Keystone Place at Wooster Heights. It is very much a welcoming home. The residents and staff are very friendly, helpful, and supportive. They have a two-bedroom, a studio, and a one-bedroom. They have a good variety of apartments. They have a great program of activities. They have bingo, karaoke, happy hour, and movie nights. They have their own theater, library, and workout room. They do non-denominational church services. They have a lot of people that come in for activities to play the piano or sing. They have activities around the holidays. They do have painting classes and a lot of puzzles. It's all in one building, so everybody can intermingle. My mom is very independent. Although she has Alzheimer's, she goes down to dinner regularly. She gets three meals a day, which is good. She has a small kitchen, mini-fridge, microwave oven, countertops, and cabinets. It's definitely worth the money. It is a little bit expensive, especially now that they've moved mom into assisted living. But I would say we feel very good that my mom's there and secure. The nursing staff is awesome also."

"We liked the apartments at Whitney Center, but it was too expensive for us. It looked good, and we would have been satisfied if we could afford it. "