Independent Living Communities in Chesapeake, VA

"My mom has moved into the assisted living of Harmony at Independence. I like that it's a fairly decent-sized community, they have a lot of activities, and their menu is very nice. The staff is very welcoming and helpful. The place is very clean and easy to get around. They have an outdoor space, a library, and a movie room. They have movie nights and trips where you can go around the world via video. They also have happy hours."

"My tour experience with Acclaim at East Beach was good. The size of the apartment was good, and the windows looked out onto a courtyard. They also had a breakfast bar downstairs. It reminded me more of hotel living, where they had a formal dining room set up with linens and china. It was nice. They had a gym, where they could go on the treadmill and bike. The staff we met were nice."

"Harmony at Harbour View has a very good, caring, and attentive staff. My dad is in an efficiency apartment and it's very clean. The facility has a nice environment. I feel good about having him there. It smells good and seems safe. They have a lot of diverse activities."

"First Colonial Inn is a place where everyone is open and friendly. I have been here for five years. Partly because I am a former pastor’s wife but also because I am curious and like to investigate, I have visited a number of other retirement homes nearby and have been impressed by some of their new features. However, I noticed people weren’t interacting there as they do here. I do feel that with pristine surroundings a certain air of formality may be present. This is not what you should look for in your home. There are more activities at FCI than at any other place that I observed. Further, the Residents are always being asked where they want to go, so the destinations vary as to interests, location and level of exertion required. Transportation here is a real plus. I go out in my car on near daily errands, but I also use the bus and think why should I park, especially in bad weather, when I can otherwise be taken to the door? I also enjoy the companionship of others like myself on bus rides as well as the activity to which we are travelling. Anyone, man or woman, contemplating moving into a retirement home should also consider its beauty salon. I have seen many different ones, good and bad, but none with the services and happy atmosphere ours has. It’s so much more than just a place. When you pass by the door, you always look in to see and hear the happy buzz. It is a pleasure to walk into the First Colonial Inn Dining Room where every server knows what I drink (and that I only drink decaf!) and suddenly it appears, perhaps while I am in the process of sitting down. One server said to me, “It’s my job to make you happy.” Sometimes people think they prefer to stay in their own homes. I have been closely involved with three, one of whom has a caregiver. I cannot help but be aware that while some aspects of their lives may be good, these are very lonely people. In my five years at FCI I have seen many very different types of people come to live here and experience happy lives. I appreciate the effort the staff makes to keep us all happy. I enjoy the activities. Eating each day with my friends is a pleasure. I hope the reason why I am writing this is obvious. I like living at First Colonial Inn "

"It was very nice and a lot like a hotel. Everyone was very nice and very inviting, and the food we had was pretty average. It was easier to access. They had outside activities and in a nice area. They had a common room, a library, and a really nice dining room."

"We toured The Chamberlin. It's a very nice facility. We just felt like it didn't line up with my mother-in-law's needs as closely as the other place that we chose. It seems like the impression we got was that maybe the residents were living there. I know that they have a lot of couples there, more so maybe than singles. They also have a lot of residents who still drive. So we just felt like maybe the people were a little bit more active in their lifestyle or perhaps even a little bit younger than my mother-in-law who has a little bit more limited mobility. So we just felt like it may not be the best spot for her. They serve one meal a day and their dining room, but you have to make a reservation for that if you wish to go, and we just didn't want her to have to deal with that kind of formality. The staff was nice. It's a beautiful building. The building itself used to be a historic resort, and it's right on the Chesapeake Bay. It's a beautiful place. It just seems a little bit more like you're living in a hotel than living in an apartment community. The rooms were small but very nice."

"I visited Commonwealth Senior Living at the Devonshire. I really liked the building itself. Everything's updated. The memory care was clean and brand new. It had a homey feeling with couches and a dining facility. They had different stations for the memory care residents to trigger their memories. They had towelettes for different scents. To tell them it's morning time, they'd have a citrus smell. To tell them it's evening time, they would have a lavender smell. I feel like they had a lot of things that actually were very thorough and thought out in terms of dementia care. I met the director and the marketing staff, and they were very friendly and professional. I would have liked to see some more of the nursing staff, but I didn't really see any. It was beautiful, and it didn't smell. It smelled good, and everything was clean. For the memory care, I know they had a lot of activities and crafts. They said they had a whole calendar full of activities, but I didn't really see exactly what they were. They take trips and outings every week. They have some "tour of the world" thing where every month they do a different activity that is associated with a certain country, so that looked cool. The only thing I didn't like was the pricing. They don't do an all-inclusive memory care, so everything is extra. Laundry is extra. You have to pay a big deposit to even get on the wait list, and it's non-refundable. Otherwise, I would have committed to it."

"We visited The Arbors at Port Warwick. It was a great location and it's where my dad would have wanted to be. He felt like there was everything there that he needed, the people were wonderful, and the grounds were beautiful. It's just that there were a couple of things they didn't include that some other places did like cable. My dad also felt that they were a little more expensive than when he had previously checked them. He's interested in their independent living so that's what we looked at. He is not at a point yet where he needs assistance. The person who showed us around did a wonderful job. She's just very professional, knew the facility well, and she told us about things that he was interested in. It was a great, great experience."

"I toured Harper's Station Yorktown. The people, the community itself, are very welcoming. I got a chance to eat there. They had a lot of choices, and the food was very good. The washer/dryer was good, a closet with doors. That's the only thing I was hesitant about, but good size. This facility is practically new. They have a pool and exercise equipment, and everything you need."

"The Cottages at Great Bridge was small and convenient to where I needed to be. They didn't have meals. They had very nice, quiet grounds. They also game rooms and social areas for the seniors, which were very acceptable and nice."

"My mother-in-law is at Greenbrier Senior Apartments. They have a pull cord in every room so if something should happen you just pull it to get help. She still can pretty much take care of herself. We have to do grocery shopping and doctor's appointments but she can still dress and cook for herself. The place is very clean, the staff is wonderful, everybody there is very nice. The leasing manager is super good and when we need something done, they do it right away. My mother-in-law was one of the first residents to move in, she's been there for a long time now, it's been over 13 or 14 years."

"I visited Jamestown Commons. They have two days a week of socials, and they have a bus to take you around. Everything is strictly independent there. They have a courtyard, an exercise room, and a game room. "

"I lived at 900 Acqua Luxury Senior Apartments for four months, so I know what to expect. I really liked it. I liked the location, management, facilities, rooms, and the gym because they have a good variety of exercise equipment. I really enjoyed living there. I'm hoping to get back there because it is less expensive than the other place. The staff was very pleasant. You do your own food. It's independent living. I did not take advantage of their activities because most of them were like card games and stuff like that, or they would have like a little party and everybody would bring something purportedly. By today's prices, it is appropriately charged. They have an excellent maintenance staff. If anything's wrong, they are Johnny-on-the-spot. I would definitely give the maintenance a five-star rating."

"I love The Vero at Chesapeake. It's great. I take care of a friend's aunt there. I take her to get her hair done and take her to lunch, and we do puzzles and have fun. She's got a huge room, which is a suite. She's got a little bedroom in the back corner, and the next bedroom is like for a husband and wife sort of thing. In the other bedroom, they've made a little living room with a TV. Then they got a little kitchenette on the one side and a pretty big bathroom with a walk-in shower. They exercise every day in the gym. They have somebody come out there and do chair exercises. They have beautiful two or three different patios that you can go out and sit on. They have umbrellas and patio tables that you can go out and sit around the gardens, which are very nicely landscaped. They have a lot of activities going on. Something is going on every week. People are coming in to sing. They have a social hour where you go up and get punch or soft drinks, snacks, and visit with a lot of people. They make a get-together kind of thing. They have a couple of different games. They have cornhole tournaments every day. In the afternoon, they have bus rides. They go out and get ice cream or go out to a farm or stop and get coffee or something like that, something fun for them every day. I love all of the staff. I eat their food every week. I take her to the big dining room and we have lunch together. Their food is great."