The Best Independent Living Communities in Delaware County, PA

"My mom just moved into Pinnacle at Plymouth Meeting. We put her in on Friday. She is under quarantine and wants to get out. She hates it. It's a beautiful place, but she is under quarantine right now. They say after the quarantine, she'll be much better. Also, her phones aren't hooked up. They were supposed to be hooked up on Friday. She is not able to pick up a phone and call anybody, but we are contacting her through other ways. Right now, she is just very frustrated. They said it was to be expected. My mom said the food is good. They have activities, but she is not able to participate in them yet. There's a gym, a library, a bar, and a terrace outside. Everything looks beautiful. There are supposed to be activities planned for them throughout the day, but she hasn't experienced that because of the quarantine."

"I went to The Watermark at Bellingham. It's beautiful. It's old. I think George Washington slept there, they have rebuilt and redecorated, but it's it's delightful. Walking in the front door felt warm and comfortable, and the grounds were quite lovely. The rooms were very nice, except they did not include a washer and dryer in each room. I had a tour guide, a lovely woman, who was wonderful, very helpful, and had some suggestions of her own about the way some of the units were laid out. Also, she was friendly with the residents as well as the other staff people. Everyone seemed to know everyone and called people by their first name. There were two very nice dining rooms, and they brought your food to the table. I think they had, one of the dining rooms for people who needed help, but the other dining room was for everyone. They also had a complimentary breakfast every morning and a snack bar that was open the whole day. If someone told me that I had to go somewhere tomorrow, I would pick Bellingham."

"Springfield Senior Living is a good facility. It was very close to the neighborhood. What I didn't like was their snack bar because it's all old snacks in there. I toured their assisted living. Their coordinator was very professional, but when I came into the facility, the young lady at the desk just wasn't professional. Maybe she needs some training. Their cafeteria was not open, and the building wasn't modernized. They are still eating in their rooms. They are already isolated to a point, so that's a concern of mine. I didn't see any dirt, but it was just a basic facility. It wasn't pleasing. My thing is curbside appeal is everything; it just wasn't up to my standards. The location is good though because it's in the neighborhood, so it's convenient. It's also near a hospital."

"Ivy Creek Gracious Retirement is close to where I live. They have a nurse and a manager on staff. It's clean and friendly. The employees were very attentive. The dining area was good, and we were able to eat lunch, and it was fine. They had an art studio and a chapel. The one-bedroom was very small. The person who assisted me was very friendly."

"Ivy Gables' staff seems very caring and very accommodating. The food samples are excellent. They have single rooms and very well-appointed, clean, and attractive surroundings. "

"Everybody is very friendly at Woodbury Mews. They have many services. They take you shopping, they take you on trips, they have first run movies, and they have entertainment. Everything is fine except there's a railroad train that runs right in front of the building. It's a nice location and there are a lot of places to go and do things. I go to a church that is two blocks away, so that's not a problem. Their food is delicious. They serve three meals a day. The breakfast is eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, and hotcakes. They have veal parm at night, chicken parm, and all kinds of seafood. I've eaten there about four times already because a lady that I go to church with plays the piano there twice a month for the seniors. I've been there four or five times and have eaten there. The food is delicious. I haven't seen anything negative in the place. The facility is excellent."

"Echo Lake had a very small group of people, because it's so new, and they were all very lovely. We had lunch in one of the restaurant areas and there were a lot of people down there eating lunch. My husband and I were all by ourselves and everybody was very gracious. One by one, as they all finished lunch and left, they all came over and said hi. Some of them sat down to talk to us for 20 minutes. It was just a very friendly, very family feeling community. The people that took us through were very patient and very encouraging, but not at all pushy."

"We had a wonderful visit at Forwood Manor and it was very nice. They lady we spoke to at the sales department was very nice. We went in, toured the facility, had lunch and the food was good. My mom liked it. The atmosphere was also set up like a restaurant and that was nice. The rooms were in very good size, but it was set up like the older style. The kitchen was totally blocked off from the rest of the place. The washer and dryer were down the hallway. My mom was 85 and my mom would be much comfortable with the washer and dryer inside the apartment. However, they offered a lot of stuff too. They offered a lot of activities and there was a pharmacy in there. I thought there was a doctor and that came in so many times a week. I just wasn't where my mom wanted to go, but I would recommend them to others. "

"Arbour Square at West Chester was very nice, but we thought it was a little too fancy and more expensive. The interior was very nice. The rooms were very nice. There were apartments and studios. They had a movie room, lots of rooms for socializing and a nice dining room. The staff was very good."

"It is a 1-floor facility. My mother has a nice room, her own bathroom, and her own living space. They have activities. I have dined there, and it's fine. They've got physical therapy and a nice television room. It has easy access."

"We thought that The Philadelphia Protestant Home was where we're going to end up going, but it turned out to be undesirable in terms of price and facilities compared to other places. It's been there a long time and has a German background. We visited there several times, and the people who lived there loved it. They had a pool, a bowling alley, crafts room, a greenhouse, and really nice gardens to walk in with picnic shelters and lots of benches and flowers. They had a wonderful entry area with a fireplace and an open room. The staff was very helpful and gave us great tours twice. The only thing that was off-putting was that it costs $77,000 a year for an extremely small room. My brother-in-law is 6'2" and only in his 70s, so it's like putting him in a closet. We didn't have the money and I didn't want to put him in a box, so that's the only reason we didn't move there. They had continuous care and a good program. It's very lively, and I liked it a lot."

"We moved my mom to Saint Mary Manor. We choose it because it is closer to us, there seems to be some activities, and it is a Catholic community. People seem very nice, very friendly, and very helpful. She is in a shared room. The food has been good. They have mass every day, bingo, Pinochle, exercise class every day, and movies. They do take them out of the home once every couple of weeks to dinner or on a trip to Walmart or something like that. "

"I had nothing but a positive experience with Villa at Saint Martha's. My grandmother was a resident there for a year. She had memory loss, so she resided in a high security wing with others that had memory loss as well. The staff was extremely patient with her and my grandmother came to grow quite affectionate towards some of them. She knew that they were her caretakers and truly appreciated it. My grandmother had her own room, which we were allowed to decorate with things from her home to make her feel at ease. There were daily activities planned each week and my grandmother was able to attend mass every Sunday. Every time I went to visit, the staff would welcome me warmly and let me know how she was doing that day. The facility was extremely clean and the residents all seemed well taken care of. I would recommend Saint Martha's for those looking to place a loved one in assisted living. "

"I moved into Hudson Estates. I chose it because they didn't have any entrance fees and they were very cooperative on how much money was due at the beginning. It's new and I'm very comfortable. Everybody is very cooperative, very helpful, very nice, and very friendly. The rent includes 3 meals, but there are some days when the food is not so good. There's a good selection of activities and there's always something to do. I enjoyed the book club that I went to."