Independent Living Communities in Holyoke, MA

"I toured Stonebrook Village at Windsor Locks. I like their apartments. It came with a washer and dryer on the inside as opposed to a communal washer and dryer. The staff was very helpful. The facility was very nice. They had an outdoor patio, a courtyard area, a little fitness center on the inside, an arts and crafts room, a piano room, library, and things of that nature."

"I think that Cedarbook Village at Ware is a fabulous community. My uncle is there and they made it very easy to do the intake and to let me know what they had to offer on my uncle's behalf. They assessed him and determined the level of care he would most benefit from and they've been very kind and very good to him. The facility is clean. Everyone is very nice and polite. I've had no concerns whatsoever. It would be nice though to see some additional gatherings or group activities involving more of the men, like getting together on Sundays to watch football or soccer games."

"A kosher cuisine was a must for my mom when I moved her up from Florida to be close to me, so I was very relieved to find that the only kosher facility in the area was also one of the most beautiful. My mom has been living at SummerWood for close to 12 years now! She has been very happy here and she is well taken care of. She is kept engaged continually with interesting activities and has many friends. SummerWood truly was the ideal solution for our family. "

"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 father moved into Day Brook Village Senior Living. The place is incredible, has great food, a great atmosphere, and there are a lot of things to do. The people are wonderful. It feels like a community. It's a very nice, well-maintained area of living. It also has independent, assisted, and skilled nursing/nursing home on the same campus. The rooms are a good size. It has a bathroom and a half, a nice little kitchen area, a nice bedroom, and a living room area. It has a kitchen sitting table for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are available for them. There are a lot of activities. Something's going on every week. They have bingo, movies, and barbecues. It's an excellent facility. They have a courtyard and that's where the barbecue is. They have an exercise room. They have a library where they can take the books out, and it's like an open room where you can overlook the courtyard and you can do puzzles. They have a TV and a fireplace there. It is very nice. They just need a little upkeep on the exterior."

"My parents are residents of Providence Place at Ingleside. I would say it's well-run, it's very clean, and the food is good. The grounds are lovely; it's just a lovely place to be. They have all kinds of group exercises. They do movie nights. They have a crafts room where they do scheduled crafts. They take the van with people out on regular shopping trips, pharmacy runs, and bookstore runs. They have a lovely dining room with good food, and a nice little coffee breakfast room. In general, it just seems to be a very nice place. The staff is just wonderful. I have eaten there myself, and it's very good. If you have ever seen it, you know it has to get a five, it's beautiful. I think they offer a wide selection of activities, and they even made it work through COVID by taking them outside, physically spacing, and still being able to get some movement in. So, I was very impressed with them."

"My grandmother lived at Monastery Heights for over 3 years. It was the best choice we made as a family after her stroke. She had a very nice apartment and loved having all her own belongings in it. The community always had fun events that encouraged family to come and visit which she loved. The food was great and the staff and residents were amazing. They all called her Busha, which was what her grandchildren called her - and it made her feel part of a much larger family. I would highly recommend Monastery Heights! "

"I've gone to Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing to visit the place and I thought it was a pretty good area, especially the surroundings. It was a nice community and the people were very friendly. They would give you 30 meals a month, take you to your doctor's appointments or pick up your medications. They had a very, very nice two-bedroom apartment where each person had their own bathroom. The grounds were beautiful."

"I know a couple of people that lived in Residences at Mill 10. It is beautiful. The apartments were very nice. The ceilings were about 20 feet high. The setup was good. It was nice and open. When you come into the front door, you walk right into the kitchen area where there's a big, huge island. Then the living room is beyond that with an open concept. There's wood in the ceilings and it's got very large windows. So, it's very airy, and very bright. My friend's bedroom seemed a little small, but it had a very large walk-in closet off of it, and a nice, large bathroom. The only drawback was she lived at the end of the building, so she was on a corner, and when you come off the elevator, you're going to walk a mile to her apartment. They have exercises and a walking path right near there. They got central air/heat and they have pretty good security. I think the money you pay is worth it, because it was kind of a sliding scale type thing, and she was able to apply some kind of way to get assistance to pay."

"We know most of the people that work at Heritage Woods. The facility is very well laid out. There are activities all the time; there is a guy who plays piano once in a while, sing alongs, and trips. Mom took her dog, and she is having a very good time there. The room is an L-shape, 2-rooms, kitchenette, bathroom, and a bedroom with a walk-in shower with a holding bar. Mother has no complaints, and they required you to do home laundry. "

"We chose The Arbors at Westfield for my mom because it's very close to where she lived before. The staff is very pleasant. They have all kinds of activities, nice sitting areas, and a nice dining area. Everything, including the hallways, is clean. When we moved Mom in, there were two or three little problems, but the maintenance people were there right away to fix everything. I would highly recommend it. "

"Rockridge was a very nice facility. My only concern there was the layout of the dining room seemed to be a little tougher to navigate if you were physically challenged as far as mobility but, otherwise, it was very nice. That was a little too sprawling for my mother. There were too many distances to be traveled from one area to another. They're both assisted living and independent living but I think they're a little more geared toward independent living but still again a very nice facility. They offer a lot of amenities, a lot of activities. I didn't think it was a good fit for my father. The units were very large, very well maintained. They had little patios for the residents and here's where they could garden and do other things. For somebody who was a little bit more mobile than my father was at the time, I definitely would recommend them. "

"The one that I saw and liked was Suffield Commons. It's very close to where I am now and my family is around in this area. It was very convenient for banking, shopping, a library, and doctor's offices. They have activity rooms. Each apartment has a type of new washing machine where you wash your clothes and then it dries them. That's in the unit. And at the end of the hallway on each floor, they have a bigger laundry area that you can go to. One of the tenants helped me during my visit because the manager was on vacation that week. He showed me the apartment. We walked all around, and he showed me all the different things that they had there. There is a restaurant that they have that serves breakfast and lunch."

"The Dr. Owen L. Murphy Apartments are garden-style apartments designed for unassisted, independent living for people age 62 and over. A lovely Community Building features a fireplace, laundry facility and a library. There are lovely one-bedroom cottages. The apartments are located among 13 beautifully wooded acres, "