The Best Independent Living Communities in Madison County, IL

"The Rockwood is set up very nicely for independent living. There are exercise facilities, a laundry room, a sitting room, and a dining room. Most of the time, the lunch is available if you want it, but since it's an independent facility, most of the tenants eat out. The facility serves breakfast, lunch, and brunch on Sundays just in case you come back from church and want to eat. It's a really nice setting even though it's by an old railroad track. The Rockwood is an old, country-style living community, and it's quite quaint. The building has elevators, and all of the rooms are excellently done with wood trim. They have a cart inside if you need assistance getting around. The building has been updated. The people there are very kind, nice, and understanding. The rooms have nice views and outside patios. There are about three entrances, and the residents have their own parking lot. Residents can do gardening. The staff actually takes care of the patios, but if they like, the tenants can do it as well. It is a very nice setting, and it's a very nice area. "

"My mother is in Garden Place Senior Living - Millstadt Community. It's in a neighborhood rather than in a business park. It's only one level and only has 36 clients. It smells good. The staff seems to be very good and it has good food. They have regular meals and they often have ice cream socials. They have activities like Bingo, chair yoga, and mindfulness. They have celebrations for the holidays and they have a system where they give the person a dollar every time that they show up to one of thes activities. They can spend their dollars in a store there where they can buy cookies, toiletries, or different things. It's a good incentive. It seems to work for my mother to get her to attend things. They seem to be responsive to my mother's needs. They keep us informed of what's going on with her. They tend to feed the residents a lot of sandwiches and soup, but that's what they seem to like. The staff is well-trained, they're good at their jobs, and they care about the clients that they have. It's well worth the price. She's independent, and she's still able to do most everything for herself."

"My dad moved to Garden Place Columbia because it's close to me. He could have his dog there. They were very professional, very polite, and very helpful. The food has good taste, good presentation, good quality, and quantity. The facility is very clean and updated. They have bands that come, they have bonfires, they have trips, and they go on all kinds of activities that they do."

"My Uncle loves it at Lake St. Charles, he says it feels like home. There are so many activities and bus trips for him to choose. They just recently went to the winery and he had a great time. They also have a receptionist 24 hours a day so knowing someone is there if he needs something is a huge bonus."

"Friendship Village Sunset Hills was too expensive for me. If I had the money, I would stay there. They were friendly. The real estate lady was upfront with me. They were very nice. The place was clean. They offered good things."

"I toured Friendship Village Chesterfield. I love the property. It's absolutely beautiful. It's right next to Faust Park, and the Butterfly House is right there, and that's a wonderful attraction. The people that work there are amazing. Absolutely amazing. They're the kindest group. I've worked with a lot of people in real estate when I was in real estate, and I've also worked in other areas, and these people just exceed anybody I've met in a business relationship, so I'm really impressed. They're so kind, and they act like your family. And the facilities are so beautiful. I'm getting one of the smallest rooms. It's not a studio. It's a step up from there. What I like about them, when anybody moves out, they go in and gut that unit down to the studs, and everything is new, and then you have new appliances as well. The staff member who toured me was wonderful."

"Stillwater Senior Living in Edwardsville is the one that I like the best. I think it would be beneficial to my mom. I have visited the place in person and saw their assisted living. The reason I want this one is that my mom also has dementia; they specialize in dementia and Alzheimer's. If I were to put her in a place that's not equipped to handle that condition, then she would have to move eventually. It would be more beneficial to her to not have to move, once she's placed in a facility like that. What impressed me is that the staff seemed to be very attentive to the patients or the people that live there. They were observant of who was there too. They don't let anybody go past the front desk without knowing who you are and why you're there. There are activities there and they treat the people that live there as individuals. This place is very clean. It's all on one level, which I liked. If the residents have a memory problem and they have to have more attention, they put them in a different level of care (which is in a different area). They put out a menu every week and give the residents an alternative. If there's something that they can't eat, they can pick something else. We also visited friends of my mom from our church who live there, so we got to actually see what their apartment looked like. It was very clean. We got to sit down, visit with them, and talk to them. They like it there really well. The activities are good. They have quite a few activities that they can participate in. They can go out and take a walk. They have a little patio area where they can go outside, if they want to and just sit. They like the food too. They like the idea that their apartment is cleaned once a week, and the laundry is done individually (so it doesn't get mixed with anybody else). Their medicine is kept in a locked drawer. They can't get to it, but a nurse comes to them when it's time for their medications. There's a medical person onsite, 24/7. They said that it was a little bit on the expensive side, but most places like that are. They felt that they were getting their money's worth though, and that it was reasonable."

"We visited the independent living community of Keystone Place at Magnolia Commons. It's new and very clean. We ate there, and the food was good. They provide entertainment, and I think they also do some tours. It was a very pleasant experience. The staff was very friendly and very informative about what they offered. I think they had a large room, an area where they had a large screen television, where you could sit with your company and enjoy television. They have activities, which I thought were really nice. We've attended several of their activities where they've had appetizers and live entertainment. I really thought it was a good environment."

"My mom was at Meridian Village in Glen Carbon for rehab. The staff was helpful and caring. They had to quarantine there for a while because of COVID, but they worked out everything. That was really good. She was very comfortable there. She got meals there, she went around the place, and the patio, and she enjoyed it. They have movies and puzzles. She had conversations with the people. I know she found a couple of people to watch the Cardinal baseball game with, so they have a TV lounge and stuff there for them. It worked out pretty well for them. She had physical therapy, and occupational therapy, and they did pretty well."

"Villas of Holly Brook and Reflections is the one I like the best. I like the parking place in front and a separate outside door. I like the outside door. I would want to be on the outside so I could go in and out without having to go into the actual place if I wanted to. They have pool tables, and they have coffee machines and other things there for you to use. They have tables for people that want to do things together like play cards and do all that kind of stuff. It's a good location. It's right off Route 111, so it's not hard for people to find. They provide your food and all that stuff. It's got a menu like most places. You have the main course going on and then they have side dishes that you could order if you don't like the main course. The person that showed me around was very nice. She took me all around and showed me everything. It has a beauty shop and a theater. They have movies that they show. Of course, the movies are your regular DVDs and it is not like going through the show itself, but they are nice. The staff took me into different rooms. The only thing we didn't look at was a two-bedroom, but they were all taken. We looked at singles and we looked at the studios. The studio was too small for me. It's very clean. You walk in the front door, there is a desk there for people to help you. Straight ahead is a television with a kind of like a gathering area. Behind that is where the pool table is, and behind that is where you eat. So, it's all right there together, and then the rooms are going around the side. The whole thing makes a circle, so if you start walking on one side, you make a whole circle around."

"I was just looking for independent living and Villa Rose was the one that came up. They were very accommodating of what we needed. They were gonna make adjustments to a room specifically for my mother. The people were very friendly and took the time. They didn't rush us through anything, so that was a big difference from another place we looked at. They helped us out with everything. I had no complaints. They had everything that she needed based on what they're telling me. It was very clean. They had a salon. It's within 10 minutes from restaurants and the hospital is maybe 15 minutes."

"I found it to be very accommodating and pleasing. I was excited that we could go there. However, my husband went on oxygen last January, and that's when I really kind of decided no. His tank is huge and it would have confined him to a very small space in the living room or the bedroom, and I did not want to confine him more than what he was confined to. The staff were very friendly. I thought the food was wonderful. The staff that brought up the dinner were very friendly, and said 'How are you today?' They serviced you very well. Like 'If you don't like these, is there something else we can substitute that for? Something else you prefer?' and they would do that. With regards to activities, they bring in birds from the wild bird sanctuary. They have weekly bingo there onsite. If you're a bingo player, at least you get that once a week. You could probably get other residents to join in for a card game. There was a member of the card club that was in there a few years back, and they were able to accommodate him once a week for the club to go there and play cards. And the fact that you could get snacks throughout the day and kind of roam the grounds and that you aren't confined to your little place, I found that to be very pleasing."

"I moved into Woodland Towers. The people are very friendly. We have individual one-bedroom apartments. The upkeep is very good. We've got a patio in the back of the apartment, and it overlooks a pond. It's nice and comfortable out there. They've got flowers out there and seats where you can sit out and relax. The manager is nice. The maintenance keeps the facility clean. We have a senior bus that will take you anywhere in Collinsville, and it doesn't cost the seniors. They don't prepare food here. We have our own kitchen, and we cook our own meals. We have bingo twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Anybody can join. Every other Wednesday, a lady comes in and we do ceramics. It's a nice place to live. There's a park right across the street, a grocery store on one corner, and pharmacies on one corner and across the street, so shopping is close."

"I was very impressed with the Estates of Hidden Lake. It looked very clean and very nice, and I would recommend it. They have single and double rooms and the residents seemed to be happy there. The staff was very friendly and seemed to be knowledgeable. They were having a big event for the neighborhood at the time we were there."