The Best Independent Living Communities in New Haven County, CT

"We visited Spring Meadows and had a delicious lunch there. Our waitress was a young, friendly girl. She engaged us, asked us questions, was very friendly and social, and we watched her interact with the community members. People's mood in the dining room was happy. They have older residents, a very nice salesperson, and had a very nice layout. My in-laws actually loved the layout of the rooms. They were bigger and much more spacious. They were just gorgeous apartments with laundry in the units, and a full kitchen, so you could just cook your dinner right there. The common area was great and had a fireplace. They had a library and a place where you can get a snack. It was a state-of-the-art, wonderful place and good for people who can afford it. "

"I moved into River Valley Retirement, and I like that I don't have to cook. I have a two-bedroom apartment, and it's very nice. Everybody's very pleasant here. There's a full kitchen and washer and dryer. The food, for the most part, is very good. Sometimes, I might not like something, but they give you a lot of choices. They have a gym and different daily activities but they are very expensive."

"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."

"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."

"The grounds and the building of Lodge at Cold Spring are very attractive with a very, very elegant appointment of the furniture and artwork. It's a lovely and very pretty place with a lot of options as far as the types of units that are available. I liked the options for activities and the interactions I had with the residents. They have a small gym, which is also very nice. It's an independent living and they provide a lot of services that I didn't realize like transportation and many other things. It was very surprising. I didn't quite know what to expect and this is the first one I've looked at but I was very, very pleased with it and I'm very interested in it. The staff was very nice, very knowledgeable, very patient, and answered all my questions. We even went into one of their models and the chef made us a dish of snacks. We had cookies, yogurt and fruit, and coffee and things like that. That was a very nice touch also and I liked it a lot. The dining area was very nice and very large. They were just starting lunch when I left. I met the chef. He came out and introduced himself. I also saw the menu, and what the menu was for the day and it was pretty good."

"It is a very modern and up-to-date facility. The price is reasonable. The staff is very good and nice. They really care about their residents. My uncle is there now and he has a lot of ailments and they are a very good help to him. I really will recommend them to others. "

"It's been 14 years since I came here. The facility is in a beautiful location. We have beautiful grounds, a lake, and a lot of trees. It's also close to shopping malls. We have a housekeeper that comes in once a week. We have food served for breakfast and dinner. I can come and go as I please and the facility has everything I need."

"I'm very pleased with Brookdale Chatfield; moving in was a hard decision to make. What I like most about them is the idea that they have walking trails so I could walk inside, that I would be cared for by having meals provided, and the apartment. It was newly renovated, there were nice white appliances, light colored rugs, and it was just lovely. I met a few staff members. I talked with the marketing person and he was very forthcoming with all my questions and he answered them. I talked to the chef who was also very good in answering my questions. I like the location because it's near my daughter; this location is right next to a mall. They have exercise classes, art and painting amenities, the usual things that senior places have."

"We went to Commonwealth Senior Living at Haddam. It was very good. The facility itself was beautiful. It was spotless and well-staffed. The people that we met were all very, very nice. The units were very, very nice. We looked at a studio and a single room and they were actually really, really nice. They got everything you would need."

"This is a wonderful community. It is spacious, airy and open. The residents have a full schedule of activities and a lively Happy Hour every day. The staff are friendly and helpful whenever I visit. I see them interacting in a caring and compassionate manner. I would definitely recommend this community."

"We toured Avery Heights. Everybody in there didn't need any assistance as far as I could see, but it was very nice, comfortable, and pleasant. The staff was very pleasant and informative. They seemed to care about their community. The place was beautiful and very clean. My husband and I both said to the person who was giving us the tour that this is the place where we would like to live. They showed us the menu. The residents have a choice of what they want to eat, and it was prepared by a chef there on the scene. Their dining area was like an upscale restaurant. They even had a movie theater."

"Meadow Ridge was very luxurious and felt more like a resort. The staff was very helpful. They had plenty of activities available, though some of them cost extra. The food and the dining area were excellent. Definitely a five-star place all the way. "

"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."

"Brookside is lovely. The people there are very attentive, very welcoming, and very caring. They were making sure they had all the information that they needed to see that my brother is well taken care of. I was very impressed with them. Right now he's independent, but if he should need additional care, they would let us know. I'm very pleased with them. They've made a very good impression, I have to say. I mean, he's not there yet; but from everything we've seen, what they've done, and how attentive they were, it was very good. They have a gym (a workout room, I guess you call it), and a community area. They have dining for the residents. Once covid gets all squared away, you can bring family in to dine and even have a party there if you wanted to. They have little areas where residents can play cards. They have a bistro where they do special little dinners and things. There's a TV in that area and the bistro area. They don't have a washer and dryer in each unit, but each floor has a washer and dryer and everything is preset for them (so they don't have to decide which cycle). You just press a button, and it's already loaded with detergent and whatever they need. The staff even went out of her way. The VA needed a special form or something, and she offered to go over there, pick it up, and drop it off to them so we wouldn't have to make an extra trip. It was very nice of her. They went out of their way to introduce us to the chef, and he even gave us something to take home with us. We enjoyed a meal there with my brother while we were discussing everything. The food was delicious. They try to accommodate you, what you like, or don't like. My brother likes soups. He made a point of having soup there for him when we had lunch there."