Independent Living Communities in Simsbury, CT

"I visited Avery Heights. I looked into a one-bedroom apartment, which was about 600 square feet. This is an older facility, so the arrangement of the rooms is kind of unique. There are about 113 units there. They had a movie theater, a cafe, and full-service salons. The areas that I saw were lovely. The programming seemed to be good. The people who were there for me were a little bit older and maybe not in line with what I would be doing. Other than that, I don't have any negatives on it at all. It's all one building, but there are hallways, so your independent living is in one area, your assisted living is in another area, and memory care is in another. You don't need to go outside to go to any of those. I was able to review a month's schedule of activities and their food, and what I saw was very interesting and looked fine. When you walk into this facility, it's just absolutely beautiful. It's like going into a museum as opposed to a modern facility. It has beautiful architecture."

"The independent living community of Holiday Farmington is an amazing place. I wanted my mom to go there. However, she's not getting better every day, and she's going to need an assistant living soon anyway, so there's no need to go through all of that with independent living. The person who gave the tour was amazing. They showed me all the amenities and all the activity schedules. I witnessed the lunch gathering, so I did see the food. I didn't get to taste it, but it all looked good, and they had music playing. I spoke with the girl at the gym and in physical therapy. I spoke with many other people there, too. I saw all the common areas, which were the lounge, the movie night room, and the laundry rooms. I pretty much went through everything there. Then I saw the studio apartments that I wanted for my mom. They're big, clean, and immaculate. They look like they're well-maintained, and everything looks like new. We also went through the housekeeping schedule."

"I visited Suffield by the River to see their memory care. It's top-notch and a great place. It's right near my home, very clean, and well-appointed. The staff could be a little bit friendlier, though. It's got everything that anybody would need but it's also a little bit pricey. They have shared rooms and private ones if you want to pay extra. They have common areas and a dining hall. They have activities and plenty of stuff for the residents to do. They also have a lot of in-house services like the usual hairdresser."

"Brookdale South Windsor was nice. We liked it. It's really nice inside. However, the rooms were a little smaller than the place we chose. Everyone was very friendly when we were there. The building seemed so much bigger from the inside."

"I would rate Evergreen Crossings Retirement Community a five all over. It's a beautiful facility. The people there are amazing and very friendly. The people who were sitting around were very engaging. Mark was wonderful. He gave us so much information. They have three meals a day, with a hot breakfast or continental if you want to do that. They also have washers and dryers in their apartments, which is something that not every place has. The meals are buffet style. They have open parking, but they also have valet parking. They do cleaning every week and change the sheets. They have garages. You pay more for the garage, of course. Their monthly rates are very reasonable, about $3,000 to $5,000. It's right by a mall and other grocery stores. It is very close to everything you need. They gave us a little treat to take home. They were serving a meal at that time, and I was able to look at the food. There were lots of people eating, and everything looked very delicious. Out of the places I did go to, this is one of my favorites."

"My father moved into The Residence at South Windsor Farms. Our overall experience with it is very positive. I like that they know all the residents and that they make sure that they're getting the care that they need. The room is bright and up to date. He enjoys their food. They have all kinds of activities to choose from, like exercise, crafts, and games. The staff members are very friendly, and the residents seem happy and well cared for."

"The staff is awesome, very caring and friendly, always willing to lend a hand. The meals are freshly prepared with optional choices as needed. The rooms are nice, the facility is very clean."

"My mom moved to Connect55+ Manchester. Everybody's nice, however, on the second day the washing machine broke, but other than that everything has been great. Everybody's been super nice. The staff is nice. If you see anybody, they introduce themselves, tell you what they do, and offer to show you around. They're very kind and helpful, and a really nice group. The facility is nice and clean. Everything's brand new. They've just built it these past years. They've got a full-time activities director. She's got everything and we did charcuterie boards one night. There's some kind of exercise thing every day. They have movies and there are games. My mom has a two-bedroom apartment for $2,100 in a full community with activities and comes with a washer and dryer and trash service. It's pretty good."

"My aunt is doing fine in Holiday White Oaks. She is very happy there. It's wonderful and it's impeccable. The staff made us feel so comfortable, like a family. Their food is very good. My aunt has no complaints. The staff members are wonderful. I've seen the activities, and they look great. My aunt would definitely participate. Right now, she's on oxygen in her room, which is fine, but she doesn't have a portable one yet and so we're waiting for the oxygen people to come out and put her a portable one on her arm so then she can walk around and do the activities. Nevertheless, their activities are wonderful. The rooms are filled with people, and they're all so happy. They have wheelchairs and they have walkers, but they get around and they just want to be with other people and have fun, and that's just what White Oaks allows, and it's wonderful."

"My mom was a resident of Holiday Quail Run Estates. The staff was friendly. It had a welcoming, open, and friendly atmosphere. They offered a couple of daily or weekly activities. They'd have their people come in or have programs come in. They also offered daily rides to a couple of local shopping centers like Walmart and Target. The dining area at that particular time was good. The food was good. She had no complaints."

"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."

"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."

"I like Holiday Bluebird Estates. It seems very clean and spacious. The residents seemed pretty happy. They were all smiling, which made a good first impression. The staff was very cordial, very helpful, and informative. They have a section where there's a pool table. There are tables for them to play cards or whatever else they have. They have a room with books for reading and a TV for watching. They have another section with some aerobics equipment for working out. They have an activity room where they play bingo. There's a community kitchen with a stove and a fridge. I also saw a couple of studios and one-bedroom apartments, which were very clean and nice."

"I toured The Wellington at Springfield. It's in a beautiful area, very, very beautiful, pretty area. The building inside and out was very clean and very organized. The people up front were just wonderful. I can't remember that girl's name, but she was very helpful. The rooms were perfect. I loved Wellington. Full kitchen, so all the appliances were there, which made a big difference."