The Best Independent Living Communities in Worcester County, MA

"I was impressed with the quality of the facility at the Residences. The guy who worked with the lighting made it very cheerful, and they were in the process of increasing the size of the facility by 30 percent. The apartment was about 500 to 600 sq. ft. The staff was very satisfactory. There were a lot of activities and a garden to maintain while getting ready for summer. They had a restaurant in the facility, and the food was better than most restaurants. "

"I have gone to Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. I haven't officially moved in yet, but I have a commitment. One of the things that I was totally impressed with is that it's a nonprofit organization. Secondly, they have residents on the board of directors. All board of directors are all volunteers; there's no financial compensation for any of their services. I've been to a couple of their luncheons. All the people that I've met were all extremely friendly and very happy with their choice. I am moving in independently into a two-bedroom cottage with a garage. I had four meals there. Two in their dining room and two in their cafe. The food that I had at the luncheons varied. There was a couple of three choices. The first meal I had was haddock meals, which was delicious. The second meal I had was a fish kabab that was done very well with all the sides. In their cafe, I had soups and their salads. Presentation was excellent, as well as the quality. They have a very state of the art gym. They have a dynamite personal trainer. They have a very large pool. They have a lot of activities. They also bring in independent activities for cultural events. They have a very nice pavilion and have cookouts, holiday celebrations, and so on. The staff was definitely a five-star staff. In the dining room, they're all young people waiting on people. They're all smiling, very accommodating, and outstanding. The quality of food was as good as I'd cooked myself. The place was extremely clean and impeccable. It has five acres of wooded property. The cottages are settled in, so it's like a little neighborhood. You have trees in the yard. You have grass all around, and you have flowers. To me, it's a transfer from home to home."

"I visited Colony Retirement. It has a very good reputation. The place is very peaceful, clean, and very homey. There is no high rise. There are nice trees there and it's landscaped but not like a hotel. The units are spread out. The people are friendly. People come here and they stay long-term. "

"I toured The Willows at Worcester. We had a meal there, and I found that the energy level of the dining room did not compare with the energy in the dining room at the other place. The surroundings from my vantage point did not meet with my expectations. The other place was like a transfer from home to home, but I did not feel that warmness when I went to The Willows. We visited a couple of apartments. One of apartments was overlooking where the boilers and all the utilities are. All you were looking at was an ugly roof and blacktop parking area, which didn't turn me on at all. The day that we went there, they had a Mexican theme. The chef and the sous chef prepared everything. It was a very typical Mexican menu. The food was very palatable. However, the energy in the dining room did not measure up with the same level of energy of the people when I visited the other facility. They showed me the gym. It was adequate, but it was small. They also had a lovely swimming pool, but it was not the same the other place. I don't want to undersell them because some people go there, and they love it. For me, it just wasn't my fit. Their staff was very accommodating, although we didn't get to see much of the staff. The chefs were there in the dining room, and they were very pleasant. The young ladies that were serving us were very pleasant also."

"There is no designated parking for elderly in Coes Pond so that they wouldn't have to walk too far. It was actually more like a hotel for me. However, the place was lovely and clean. "

"Goddard House was small. It was conveniently located for the family to go visit. My friend liked it very much. The level of care and all of them have been outstanding. They were so friendly and very accommodating, and they make you feel welcome the minute you go in there. They brought us into the bedrooms, those were spacious. This was all on one level, so my friend didn't have a lot of walking to do. It's convenient for her cause she has difficulty. The dining room and the rooms were very nice."

"The above facility does not offer food, however it is specifically designed to provide a wholesome environment for active seniors. Amenities are very good and provide a meaningful resource for active seniors in a beautiful setting. Most occupants are capable of making meals and seem to be fully occupied with things to do. These accommodations are in the $1200.00/mo. range. I'd be there now if it weren't for a waiting list. I'd be at Overlook hands down if you were to meet the price point. Remember seniors are healthier and live longer today. Maybe it's time to reach out to a more active senior population. "

"I have friends living at The Willows. The staff was very nice and accommodating. We had a meal with them, and they had their best foot forward. I prefer the rooms on the outside quite frankly. They had a little porch where you can place a chair, have a drink, and look around. They have a recreation room where you can exercise. I would recommend this facility to others. The food was very good. "

"Toured this facility for our mom. Beautiful place with lots of activities. Rooms were spacious. Staff was amazing! They didn’t have an on staff doctor and that was our deciding factor for chasing another living facility. Would definitely recommend you check them out, if you are looking to place a family member."

"We have not chosen any facility for my parents, but we're leaning towards New Horizons At Marlborough. The tour was excellent. The staff was very friendly. All the people that were there seemed happy. The things that they have for the people to do there are excellent. They had a heated swimming pool with water aerobics, an art room for painting, and a greenhouse and plant boxes outside to grow vegetables if you want to during the summer. They have libraries. They have on-site pedicure-manicure. They have a barbershop, a hairdresser, an on-staff nursing 24 hours, a pharmacy on-site, and PT people that come to the place. They have transportation and they will transport from Marlboro to Framingham and Natick if necessary. There are a lot of good things. They're pretty good there."

"The Overlook wasn’t as new as the other facility I visited, but it did have the advantage of being able to go from assisted living to nursing care. It is all in one facility, so that’s good. The rooms were of a good size and could be set up however you wanted to set them up, which I thought was a good thing. They have patios, which was also good. The staff was very nice. They have lots of things that you can do, like visiting the library and playing games. "

"I liked the style of Linwood Mills Apartments. They have a loft type of apartment. It's an old mill, which is rustic and pretty. It's in a nice rural area. The staff there were very nice. We were looking for a cheaper place and the price was great. I'd definitely recommend this facility to others. "

"My mother-in-law is in Shillman House. The people are caring, and the facility is nice and clean. They have activities. She loves the food. Everything is pretty good so far. My wife said the food is very good. It's very new and kept up very well. They're just starting to open up due to Covid, but they have activities every day. It's good value for the money. We checked other places that were charging more, and this is absolutely very good for the price."

"Camellia Gardens Maynard has all of the details and specifics that we're looking for, so it made it very, very easy with the pricing and the different kinds of protocols. Mostly, the best impression that we had was the capacity of the individuals, or the teams that were looking at supporting us, really came through. So that was the main thing. In terms of the physical look of the complex, it is one of the better ones that I have seen, and I have toured many locations in Virginia, Florida, New York, and Montana, and also now in Massachusetts. The grounds are absolutely impeccable compared to pretty much every other location I have been in. Not only that, they have the grounds. However, now it is a new community. And as of yesterday, I believe they had three locations left in it, as they were doing the initial filling up of the location, so when my brother signed up he got the last one-bedroom in the location, and there were some two-bedrooms and studios left, but I believe they were also taken up. I think they may be maxed out at this point. So obviously there will now be a waiting list as people leave, and so on for the next group of people that want to come in. The staff who assisted me during my visit was amazing. The food is good, and part of the process when we looked up this one was the menu. Some places I have seen in the past start out with a menu, and then they go to a fixed meal. This is a full menu and they have three meals. And again, typical of most retirement communities, they have the heavier or main dinner at lunch, and then usually a lighter meal in the evening, so that's pretty much typical of them. They have a fair amount of activities going on. In terms of amenities, everything at least matches or exceeds any of the other communities that I have been involved with, which are quite a few. So I took a look at things ahead of time and tried to do as much evaluation as I could. So the amenities either match or exceed beyond what I have found in other locations. The staff who assisted us was excellent and very personal. They got to know us and my brother immediately, and remembered their names too. They were quite busy, but they were very good. The gardens were excellent. There's enough rest areas like little libraries, little game rooms, and they're very well-appointed."