The Best Independent Living Communities in Hennepin County, MN

"I looked at three apartments at Havenwood of Minnetonka. I visited primarily for independent living, but I was looking for continuous care going forward. For me, it's in a very good location. There's a grocery store, there's a bank, there's a hardware store, and there are restaurants. It's just very, very convenient for me who is accustomed to living on the western edge of Minneapolis. The first impression when you walk in is that it is a new building. It's very clean and it's tastefully decorated in the public areas. The apartments are smaller compared to what I'm living in now, but I'm ready to accept that in the future. I only met with two people. I met with one who gave me the tour and then the gal who was at the front desk. They're very accommodating and answered all my questions, plus they gave me more information, not just what I'd asked about."

"We moved into assisted living here. It's a brand-new building and it has so far been just fine. We're just kind of getting settled in. It's wonderful and it's really nice. The apartments are really nice. The staff is very good. The food and dining setup looks OK. They have a gym and craft room. They have an activities director who's doing a survey right now with all the new residents to see what activities they want. They offer daily grocery transportation and one-day-a-week rides to doctors appointments."

"My mom is in the memory care of Cornerstone Assisted Living and Memory Care. The biggest thing right now that I would say is they have a high level of staffing, and then their flexibility to work with an advocate on the care plan specific to that individual. The appearance of the place it's nice. It's accommodating. It's clean, and I think the facility is managed well. The upkeep of the place is very satisfactory to my standards. For the folks that are in memory care, I feel they need a little more one-on-one stimulation. It's a well-kept, large community. I specifically like the size of my mother's room. It is very close, comfortable, and accommodating."

"Elim Shores is a nice facility. However, there is no dishwasher. They need to update their kitchen. Otherwise, they seem like a nice bunch of people. They don't have meals there. You have to cook your own, which is fine, but the kitchen is kind of small."

"I toured the Villas at Pleasant Avenue II. They were smaller than the other facility, the apartment size, but they were brand new. They were nice. They were very clean. My friend did not like that the living room at the Villas was not carpeted. The staff who gave the tour was nice. However, she seemed to want to hurry us out of there."

"Havenwood of Maple Grove was very nice. The people were very accommodating, and some of the residents I met were nice. It's clean and brand new. If you're on the second level with the system, you can stay in your apartment, and then you just pay for the services for them to come in and help you. We didn't go to memory care, that's a separate area. The facility was very nice, clean, and bright. They had washers and dryers, which is wonderful. They had just come back from a walk, so I didn't see anyone at the time playing bingo. It was in the morning. They have listed some activities that were coming up. I was there about 11:00. But they had activities for the resident, so it's very nice. They showed us an exercise room. They had an area you could sit when the weather was nice. The dining area is very nice and very open. They charge for meals. The common spaces were all clean. Everything's very nice, clean, and sanitized."

"I toured Lofts on Rose. I like the staff, living facilities, and community area. That part was nice. It wasn't as roomy as the other one, but there was enough room to move around. It looked very clean. I didn't see anything out of place. Everything was where it was supposed to be. Even the residents looked clean as well."

"My mother is in Havenwood of Burnsville. The facility is pretty much brand new, so that was nice. They had decent staff, and the food is good here. The chef's homemade soups are really good. In general, it's pretty good. My mom has a two-bedroom apartment and a very good-sized kitchen. The appliances are good. They have studios and one-bedrooms. They have activities like happy hours and bingo. They took people to the grocery stores. They have a beauty salon and a community room. They have specials for every dinner, or you can order off the menu. They have a little patio with grills and stuff, but it's small."

"My dad moved into Benedictine Windermere Way. When you walk into it, it is so inviting. They always have fresh coffee and water there, and the staff is pleasant. The food was great. The facility is very clean. There's an activity calendar, and there's always something going on. They have bingo, and they have a bar place. They have a movie night. They play cards. They play left and right, and they play dice. They have a puzzle room, a library room, and a workout room. My dad has a studio, and I was impressed that he had a stove, a fridge, and lots of cupboards in the studio. They have a huge chapel. It's spacious, friendly, well-kept, and they have security."

"My father-in-law will be moving into Ecumen Seasons at Maplewood. The staff seemed really, really open and welcoming to people. When we did the tour, the residents seemed happy to be there. The residents said good things about it. It was very well cared for, and the price seemed good. His room has a single bedroom and a nice living room. It is a really nice size, and it looks like it has been well maintained. They have a chapel, which was a really big deal for him. It looks like they have a lot of activities in the dining area. Attached to his room, he's got a little deck that overlooks wetlands. I like the location and friendliness of staff. He also knows someone who's already a resident there."

"My Mother-In-Law was one of the first resident's to move into Seasons. My Mom-in-Law has moments that she forgets she's not the Lovely Princess and acts more like the Ugly Troll. :) Thankfully, the staff at Seasons look past her being the occasional ugly troll. Seriously, this facility and the staff are beyond the 5 stars. MIL is always well cared for in her assisted living apartment. We visit her different days of the week-every week, and her apartment is well kept, she and her clothing is clean, she is well fed, she considers some of the aides her friends, and she has never ushered one complaint (she was always complaining about another assisted living facility she lived in). I would recommend this facility to anyone whom wants to find a quality home for their loved ones!! "

"I really liked Wellstead, I was really impressed, and even going into the wing where they had severe cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s, people seemed happy. They all seemed active. The staff was really friendly, and I was amazed how they interacted with all the people that lived there. I know there’s a small library and a place for root beer, ice cream, and soda. They were cooking and playing cards. "

"I toured Oakdale Commons. As far as someplace to live and everything, it was a better location. I liked everything else, but it was just a little bit on the iffy side, too. The problem is, where it was at was pretty good for the most part, but you have to get through some parts that aren't that great to get to it. As far as the facilities themselves, I had no complaints. The person who gave the tour was nice. She showed me around. She showed me all the facilities, all the public facilities, and everything."

"We toured Oak Ridge Place. What I liked about it was the staff, friendly staff, and very knowledgeable. We were able to meet some, and what is important to us is they have nurses 24/7. We got to meet the person that's in charge of the dining room, which is really nice, and some of the residents. It was just a very pleasant, pleasant place. She took us to three different apartments and stuff, and a very, very nice, very open layout and stuff. I was really very pleased about the way the restrooms were, how much more safe it is for a person to take a shower with all the handles, and the cut out where they don't have to go over a tub, they can just walk into it. It was really nice. I liked the storage area that they had, so it was just a really nice place. They are pet friendly. The maintenance, they're 24/7 also. If you have problems, there's staff there, if you need them for questions. But one of the things that was really nice is that each resident gets one of those alert bracelets or a watch. If something should happen immediately, in the rooms themselves, there's like two or three buttons that they can push for immediate response from the staff there. I love that the mailboxes were indoors and not out. I thought that was really awesome."