Independent Living Communities in Pekin, IL

"I toured Brandon Wood Retirement Center. They were very pleasant, and all the people we met who were walking through the halls and various places were very nice. It was a nice little community-type setting where they had a little area where they had coffee and dessert. They had a big dining area, and you could choose your own menu. They serve a big salad bar area, and you have a choice of drinks for that meal. You were given one meal; otherwise, you could buy two or three meals every day for the whole month, and it was very reasonable. They also had an area where you could sit and watch some finches in a big glass cage. I thought it was very nice, it's just that they had hallways that led to the apartments. They have laundry rooms on each floor. They didn't have laundry facilities in that room, but they had them on each floor you could go to. The size of the room, they started with a smaller one-bedroom that did not have closets, but it was an adequate size. You could have put in your own type of setup for closet space. Then they had a medium, kind of a little larger room than that, and it did have a closet. I think it also had a built-in shelf unit on the wall where you could put stuff. The larger bedroom had two closets. You could use one for casual clothes and the other for dress clothes, which was nice. The bathrooms, some had showers, some had tubs. The large one had a step-in shower, which was great. It was very clean, and they also have housekeeping services that come twice a week to clean the apartment for them. They were constantly keeping up the areas. When someone moves out, they put in a new carpet. The staff who gave the tour was very pleasant and answered all my questions. The facility was great. They do have an elevator, so if you can't climb the stairs, you can use the elevator to get up."

"We toured Bickford of Peoria. What we like best is that the new program that they've put in place is excellent for bringing seniors up to a healthier lifestyle. I think that is probably the biggest bonus that I've seen so far. It's not just a matter of care, but it is something that works with the senior customer to elevate their health. They call it a higher path program, which is excellent. I haven't seen any other facility that has something of this nature. It's an open floor plan, which is really nice, not the rooms, but the entire facility. They have a big sort of mezzanine area or an open space in the middle of the building, and then all the rooms surround it. It's nice in the sense that it's very open and very spacious. The rooms have high ceilings, which is nice. They're spacious. They have kitchens, and they're more than adequate as far as an apartment for a person. It is very clean. We tried the food about two years ago. They were having dinner at the time. The food looked very good and very well prepared, and the vegetables looked crisp. They weren't mushy. Overall, it smelled great."

"We're moving into Liberty Village of Pekin. The other place's price is $3,400 and it's $2,800 for the very same thing, so that's a big difference. The floorplans are about equal, too. The staff member who took me around was very knowledgeable, and she has been there for a few years, and so she knows what's going on. They got excellent food. It's very kept up. They supply the appliances. They have refrigerators and stoves. Everything is in here. They have a pool. The pool is closed because of COVID reasons and so on, but they have outdoor spaces and patios."

"I went to Pekin Villas of Holly Brook and Reflections Memory Care. I thought it was super nice. I thought the people were very friendly and helpful. The only reason we rejected it is that it was too far away from us. The staff was super friendly and super helpful. It looks beautiful and clean. I thought it was fine. I didn't see anything that I didn't like."

"My mother is in Mel Hasty Retirement Center. It's a HUD facility. It's very clean. The managers are fantastic and very helpful. They keep it very clean and very nice. They're easy to work with. It's a good value for what you get. You can only make a certain amount of money to live there. It doesn't matter what you have in the bank, but it's based on what income you have each month. It's independent, but she's got great neighbors who help take care of her. The staff members are so helpful. It's a very clean and happy environment. They don't have food there. They do bingo and sometimes they do karaoke. They used to do more before COVID, but my mom moved in during COVID. I think they still do potlucks once in a while. I like the fact that it's a locked facility, not anybody can walk in, and they do have laundry services."

"My mom used to live in B'Nai B'Rith Apartments for ten years. It was convenient. She was able to get two meals a day, breakfast and dinner if she needed. On weekends, it is on their own for their meals, but there are meals offered Monday through Friday at the cafeteria. Entertainment would come in to entertain the seniors and they have different events, like bingo, they would go over to Iowa for a day to gamble or go somewhere down St. Louis for the day on trips. They had outings, they would go to Wal-Mart like three times a week and they would do Kroger's about three times a week, different things like that. The ones that didn't drive had a chance to go out and shop for themselves. The staff was fairly friendly and answered any questions or concerns. My mom had no problems with the maintenance or anyone in the office or even the kitchen staff. It's nothing like that. Everything was good. I think on Tuesdays and Saturdays they had bingo, and you could win tickets for the little gift shop. A few canned goods, toiletries, stuff like that, candy, soda, stuff like that and has its own laundry facility. I only eat breakfast with my mom. They were really good. The food was all freshly prepared. How everyone wanted their eggs, bacon, sausage, it was always cooked for you."