The Best Independent Living Communities in Hennepin County, MN

"Havenwood of Richfield has proven to be a wonderful home for our mother. We visited many facilities before deciding to move mom here. The building is very nice as are the rooms and the food was very good also. The real standout advantage of Havenwood of Richfield, however, is its unbelievable staff, starting with Tammy at the front desk, who is always so helpful. The executive leadership team led by Michelle has been amazing. This includes Christine in marketing, Amber in the business office and Ryan in custodial. Even the cleaning staff, especially Dolores, went above and beyond to meet mom‘s needs. Most importantly, given mom’s memory care needs in the last few years, has been the exceptional nursing staff, including Michelle, Olivia, Maggie, and all the incredible CNAs who provided our mother with such loving care on a daily basis. They truly connected with her. We are so grateful for Donna, Kirsten and Gretchen for providing activities that were enjoyed by mom and appropriate for her demographic. Dr. Liz truly is invested in her patients well-being and we so appreciated her as well. We were able to coordinate mom‘s hospice care at the end of her life through Havenwood using St. Croix hospice and this really provided comfort to mom as well as all of her family. Thanks to everyone at Havenwood of Richfield for a job well done."

"For your money, Cornerstone Assisted Living and Memory Care is probably the best deal. They're significantly lower priced than the two places in Maple Grove. The apartments themselves are as good as the other two, but they don't have some of the fancy stuff. I had a meal there and it was pretty good. The dining area was small. I don't know if that was the time, but it seemed a little crowded when I was there. They had everything I would need. The staff was pretty good at presenting. Of the four I went to, she was probably the best."

"I went to check out Elim Shores' independent living section for my mom. It's in a great location, very clean, pleasant and quiet place. It had everything we were looking for, adequate room with a kitchen, great space for a bedroom. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They have a board that shows all the different activities that are going on. It would definitely be a place that I would consider when we come down to making that decision. "

"I'm moving into Havenwood of Maple Grove. The staff was very nice and caring. It's almost brand new, so it looks nice. Everything's clean and beautiful. My apartment here is about the same size as I'm getting at Havenwood. They had a nice, big dining area. There seems like quite a lot going on there, various classes and different activities. It was a busy place. I saw them in the exercise class. They were doing that. And then there was a card playing on two different occasions that we went there. We saw people playing cards. Everybody seemed happy."

"The staff is exceptional and made my dad feel part of the community before he even moved it. The building is well kept up and bright. Apartments are newer and bright. Highly recommend Havenwood Burnsville!"

"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."

"We came to Ecumen Seasons at Apple Valley unannounced, and yet there was somebody that stepped up just immediately. She gave us a great tour and was very knowledgeable. The dining room gave you the feeling of a restaurant. It was small, but looked fine. Nobody was going to be waiting for a table, but it was a very comfortable restaurant and they had a separate dining room so that some family members could dine in private with you. So, that was a nice feature. It was just too expensive. We had our mother at that facility before. So, we know the place very well. I've had meals there and the food was very good. Being an outside family member, those meals as a guest were very reasonable. They had pretty standard activities, like card games and puzzles. There's not much ground outside, but there were nice balconies in the room. If you do a very short walk (maybe not even a full block), you would be in a city park that would have young children and so on. So, you would have that advantage there to be able to do that."

"The other place that we looked at was The Wellstead. It was a phenomenal facility. The décor was a bit more upscale, which my parents preferred, but they didn’t have a two-bedroom available at the time. I was very impressed with this community, they just didn’t have openings. In the end, they were farther away from my home. The Wellstead has dining options, it is bigger, and they have more robust entertainment options. It is also closer to my home."

"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."

"My mother is at Global Pointe Senior Living. They told me two days before she got in, she was going to be in assisted living and then the day before at 2:00 in the afternoon, they told me she had to go to memory care. It looks very nice. The room is OK, but it's not the room I picked out because she was supposed to be in assisted living. It is smaller than the first one that I picked out, but it's OK. We got her furniture in there. The staff has been very good. They seem to be taking care of her as far as getting her down there to eat and everything. They have occupational therapy and physical therapy. They have a juggler coming in. They have different kinds of people coming in to entertain them. They have exercise groups. They have a library. The food is basic, but it's very good. Today, she's having meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy."

"We're in Aquila Commons. It's a co-op place. I like living here very much, it's very friendly. They do offer rides to medical appointments. They have parties every three months, and those are kind of fun. They have a gathering every Friday in the evening where you bring your own bottle and sit around and gossip. Because of the co-op, you get to elect those who govern the place. It's a pleasant place, it's in good repair. We're in an apartment, and there are four or five different floor plans. We're in a two-bedroom and a den. It's attractive. We just had new carpet put in, which was nice. They accept up to two pets. They have a library, and once a year they have a big party. We don't have a pool, which is kind of bad, because I would love a pool."

"Calvary Center Cooperative is a very nice place. It's a co-op and you have a lot of activities every day, exercise, crafts, and woodshop. It's not like a nursing home at all and it's reasonably priced. The people here are so kind. They have a full-time staff. They have maintenance. If you have something wrong, they come up right away. They have the secretaries and managers who are always here to hear your feedback. They have a newsletter that comes out. They have their board members. They have a staff member who is like a social worker, but she does activities and everything. You can come to her any time of the day, and you can talk about anything you want, whether it be a personal problem, whether it be a problem around the place, or anything. She is the kindest person that you can ever talk to. I've lived in so many condominiums in so many different places, but I've never seen a place run like this place before ever. They have videos where they have exercises you can do sitting down. They have stronger seniors who do exercise bands for strength. They have crafters. They have two huge rooms full of crafts. You can go into the crafts room anytime you want, 24 hours a day. They have a game room, movie night, and a library. They have everything you could ever think about. They have an underground heated garage for people who drive. They have a garden in there. They have an inside greenhouse. They have meals there that you can buy separately and they are very reasonable. They have big dinners for $10 and then lunches for $5. They have a nice sit-down dining room and you're served. You can get soup. The people meet with the chef, so they give them ideas for what they want. The chef is great. He makes complete dinners that are unbelievably good. They have homemade desserts, coffee, and drinks. They serve big sandwiches and complete dinners with mashed potatoes, gravy, and dessert. It's all homemade food. It's all made from scratch. You can bring your guest if you would like and they have a complete dining room where they have flowers and chairs and round tables around. It's very nicely made. We can volunteer if we want to serve. We all bond together. Everybody works together here. It's like a family. When people move in, nobody moves out. People have been here for 12, 13, 14 years. I'm in a one-bedroom here. The smallest rooms are maybe 700 square feet. Those run like $55,000 to move into and then you pay your fees maybe $800 a month. That includes your electricity, cable TV, and everything, but the food. They have a van that goes to the bank, Walgreens, and Target. The van comes and picks you up. The van service is included. They have presentations and movies. They have a firepit where you can roast marshmallows. We have hot cocoa. There's always something going on. They celebrate your birthdays. They have a church that is like five feet away here. There are little shops around here. Everything's very clean. They all embrace you when you come in. They invite you for everything. They get to know you. They give you a calendar of activities here every month. They'll give you a menu for every day. Nothing's boring. Most places I could never afford, but this place I can. This is a good place to look if people want to look."

"I found Parkshore Senior Campus to be a very clean and welcoming place. We did get to visit several apartments. Some were a little bit bigger than what I was looking for, and some of them were a little smaller, but I found two types of apartments that I found well within what I look for in senior living. The lady who toured us was very knowledgeable. It was a good experience. They had a lot of nice outdoor living space that I found very appealing. They're very close to a park and a lake and also very close to the Saint Louis Park Community Center where my grandsons play hockey, so that was also a very good fit for me. They have good underground and above-ground covered parking and I still drive, so parking is something that I am also interested in. They gave us examples of the activities that they do there and I found that very appealing also."