Independent Living Communities in Des Plaines, IL

"My parents moved into Bridgeway of Bensenville. I liked that they were able to socialize with other people in their age group. The staff is very friendly and accommodating, and the facility is organized and clean-looking. I know there are numerous activities, but I'm not sure how good they are yet. They had a deal going on for two rooms versus the price of a single room. Two rooms for the price of one. So they had a special going on to get the apartment cheaper."

"The visit was for my brother who is a vet and needed a place where he would have people around him and if need be someone that would be readily available to help him if needed. Nicolette took my husband and I around and explained everything in detail. We both agreed, this place is beautiful and would be a good place for my brother. It is close enough to us if we needed to get to him in a hurry. After filling him in on everything Autumn Green had to offer, he decided he was not ready to move from Wisconsin."

"the rooms are wonderful. the meals are terrific. the staff is tremendous. sometimes it does take a bit of time to get to our mother's room, when needed. other than that...it's a great environment and home and everyone is delightful! also, we would love for the cna staff to bring mom to more activities, so that she can engage. she is very solitary, but would love a lecture. if they can go with her a few times, and keep her company, so that she is comfortable, i think she would acclimate."

"My grandmother moved into Concord Place last week. The biggest reason why we chose it was the cost. Her costs increase slightly as she needs more help. It's a nice place. The people are very nice there. She likes it. They have a pool. They have different activities there. They have a workout facility and a theater. It's also 10 minutes from where I work, so that's convenient for me to be able to go over there if she needs anything. We had two meals there, and the food was very good. The building's cleanliness is very good, too. They have activities. My grandmother played bingo, and they had a dance. She had a good time."

"My cousin is in Lincolnwood Place. The place is great. It is clean and well-managed. They have caring people. I like the sense of predictability and cleanliness. It is good. "

"I have a friend who lives there at Clarendale of Addison in the memory unit, and it's very nice. She's in her 90s and she's a lot forgetful, but she's very happy there. They have good food, she said. The staff was very nice. I spent more time with the staff in memory care. They had a common area and separate bedrooms. They had a room where they could do puzzles. It was very clean. We were in her room mostly, but we also sat out at the dinner table when they were serving supper. The dining area looked very nice both in the memory care and the general one. Her room was a nice size. It seemed very spacious."

"The Grand at Twin Lakes was beautiful. I loved it. I liked the layout, the design, the brightness, and the attentiveness of the people. They have an indoor pool and a beautiful patio. They have units with a balcony, too, which is lovely. On their lowest level, they have a movie theater that has movie seats and a huge screen and a kitchen where if I wanted to go there and cook meals with my dad or for my family, I could. They also have little rooms that you could have for family gatherings, a library, and a coffee bar where they do happy hour. There were so many people out in their community rooms just sitting and reading. It's just lovely and bright."

"I have been bringing my therapy dog to visit with the resident of Addorolata Villa for several years. The facilities, while not the most modern, are spotless and immaculate. Many of the staff have been there for decades and I am always impressed by the kind and thoughtful care they give their residents. Much of the staff knows the residents (and their relatives) by name. The staff-to-patient ratio is excellent.For the patients who take comfort in religion, there are daily church services. There is also a computer lab and classes of all types are offered. There are numerous planned activities such as games, card and movie screenings as well. Addorolata also allows and encourages visits from therapy animals, which is a favorite of the residents as no pets are allowed and so many of these guests miss having an animal companion.The residents always have help available, be it for shopping, cleaning or other errands, and there are skilled nurses available at all times on-site.The grounds are beautiful in a sleepy Chicago suburb and there are plenty of indoor and outdoor activities year-round. "

"Everything at Brookdale Oak Park was very nice. I looked at a two-bedroom apartment, and it was nice and spacious. The staff was very nice, too. I saw the gym and it looked good. I checked the dining area, and it was very nice. This place was very expensive, and I didn't like its location, but everything else was nice. "

"The Merion was very beautiful with everything brand new. The pricing seems good, but it felt like there wasn’t a lot of continuing care or wouldn't be enough care for what we needed. It’s good for someone who is very independent. The staff was very nice and upfront and said they have activities throughout the day as well as excursions. It’s a very lovely place. "

"I liked Solstice Senior Living at Palatine, but it was not appropriate for us. It was independent living. The rooms were extremely small. I saw the studio, and it was too small. We did have food there, and it was good. The people were very friendly. It was in a neighborhood, and I liked that. The common areas were nice, and the amenities are pretty much the same that all of them offer. The facility was just smaller and older."

"What I like best about Encore Village of Schaumburg's independent living is its overall appearance and architecture. I thought that was outstanding. It was very welcoming, very open, and very light-filled. A lot of light comes in, especially in the entryway so it's a very comfortable environment. You feel like you get a real taste of nature from the inside too because there were lots of large plants. The staff was friendly. I don't know if it was from a lack of communication but somehow we weren't expected the day of our visit so there was about a 15 or 20 minutes delay before we could start our tour. The advantage of that was we got to enjoy the open space in the sitting area a little bit longer, which was good. We just expected better organization, though. One of the best things about the staff was the person who showed us around. She was not even fully prepared, she was just called into service, but she was very knowledgeable. She had been in the community for about 14 years so she was very knowledgeable and able to share that with us as we took our tour. They have an exercise area, about 4 different dining areas, and they have some outside areas to tour and enjoy walking around. The community is divided between two main structures and there's a large courtyard that separates them. When the weather's nice, you can walk between them, and when the weather's not nice, you can stay inside and go to any part of the community without going outside. There was no food or meal offered, but I can tell that it smelled pretty good. We got to see the four different dining areas in operation and they seemed very comfortable. One was more formal with white tablecloths and napkins while some were informal where you can go in and order your food and have it right there with TV screens available. One feature I liked about the formal dining area is that you could also order and pick up your meal if you decided you didn't want to eat in a formal atmosphere that day. You could have the meal prepared and then take it back up to your room to enjoy. There's one key area that detracts from the full 5-star rating, and that is that they didn't have many studio apartments to offer. They list the studio as their lowest price quarters available but they didn't have many available to show and it seems that their studios did not compare well, in our opinion, to the studios we saw from other communities. Their one and 2-bedroom facilities were excellent but the studios are $1,200 less than the 1-bedrooms."

"The staff is the friendliest nicest group of people I have ever met. The apartments are gorgeous and the food is fantastic. Stress - free and maintenance free living that’s generally makes you happy. Sedgebrook has such a wonderful environment that I’m convinced that people live longer and happier lives than they would otherwise. Enjoy Sedgebrook when you are young enough to participate in all the activities. Don’t wait!"

"I toured The Roosevelt at Salt Creek. The place was simply gorgeous. The people were very kind. Even the young lady that conducted the interview (her name was Hillary), was very feral and very informative. She gave us a tour upstairs and the place. It just looked like you were at home. Very warm, comforting, and clean. Just very nice. This was the first time my parents had even considered looking at senior living. I had my mother with me at that time, and she was very impressed with what we saw. All the common areas were nice. I have nothing bad to say. It was clean. It smelled good. I didn't smell anything bad. Everything was in order."