Independent Living Communities in Williamsburg, VA

"Commonwealth Senior Living is very nice. There seemed to be a lot of activities. The rooms are normal with a small kitchen area. The staff treated me very well. I was invited for lunch, and the food was very tasty and well-presented."

"I toured Harper's Station Yorktown. The staff was great. Everybody we met and were introduced to was great. He still follows up on me, calls, and checks to see what kind of progress he's looking at. We went down and met some of the people who are in the memory care area. The patients all seemed to be friendly. They seemed to be happy. It was a good feeling that you almost felt like you weren't in a nursing home-type facility. Everything around it is fairly new and clean. I would guess that place is probably no more than two years old. The landscape, the facilities around it, the amenities they have in that place, the movies, the outside court, and the entertainment areas they have for people were so nice. They have a band that comes in like once a week and plays. The pricing was right in the ballpark with everybody else. They explained how the lunches worked, that people could come down for lunch. They showed the different lunch rooms. They have a couple of different places and even a bar for them. And the bar is non-alcoholic, but it's like a bar you'd go to somewhere else with all these barstools, tables, and everything around it. It's just that they got all these juices and all kinds of stuff behind the bar. It can make you feel like you want to sit there and play cards with somebody. You could play cards and have your glass of orange juice or something. It's really comfortable. Their lunchroom has a menu on the table, with white tablecloths and menus for choosing what you want for dinner or lunch. Everything gets cooked and everything's done right there. It's not prepared like in a cafeteria."

"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."

"WindsorMeade of Williamsburg's rooms were a nice size. They had quite a few activities listed, a pool, and an exercise room. They had two, OK dining areas. The building is about eight years old and well-maintained. The residents appeared happy."

"My experience with the tour at Dominion Village at Williamsburg facility was great. They were proficient; they won't just do it. We saw all the amenities, it was a nice little place. We're leaning towards the other community, and one reason was that Dominion has a mental health care facility on one end, and the other end is more assisted living. I didn't care for the fact that the mental is on the other end. We also toured that area and it was terrible that people are in that situation. And my mother-in-law is not that far along, but we didn't feel like that we need her to experience anything more like that. The staff was excellent. They were very proficient and they were showing us things that were going on there, you couldn't ask for better people. They were great. We didn't try the food but the menus looked good. The layout of the place was fine. My only concern was because their showers have more of a step-in as opposed to just a straight walk-in, and people like my mother-in-law will have a bit of difficulty there. The rooms were nice, they were set up nicely. Although a little small, they would have probably been proficient. The staff, I enjoyed more than I did anything."

"Our friends are residents of Patriots Colony at Williamsburg. They're very good. It's easy to travel around. It's well-lit. It's safe. It's gated. It's beautifully landscaped and they have nice amenities and so forth. I think it's great. The place is immaculate. The staff, when we drive by, they wave. We've never had any direct contact with staff, but our friends say that whenever they call for maintenance or anything, they're there within 24 hours. They do serve food, but we've never eaten with them, but our friends, they all go. They all go there and they say it's good. They serve wine at dinner and everything. The ones that we have visited have some rooms and then they have a den, a living room, and a dining room. They have two bedrooms, two beds, and a kitchen. It's a small kitchen, but the refrigerator, dishwasher, and trash compactor, it's well and nice. The woodwork and everything else are upgraded. It's top-end. They take them on trips. I've seen tennis courts. It was expensive for them to buy into that and for the square footage that they have. It's not small, but I just thought you didn't get that back."

"Colonial Heritage Community is a very nice place. The staff is wonderful, they serve great food, and they provide entertainment. As far as I know, it's top-notch. "

"My mother-in-law was actually in Sanders for a little while in the rehabilitation part. Then she also stayed there full time for assisted living. This one I would give a high rating. Unfortunately, she could not afford it. It was quite a bit more money. Sanders Retirement Village is much newer, and the quality of things in there is much nicer. The rooms are excellent, and the furniture is of a nice quality. I didn't notice as much as activity as the other facility. But as far as the place, it is nicer because it is newer. I would recommend it if they can afford it. "

"Warwick Forest was a very good place, and it's probably where we're going. It was clean and well-organized. They had independent living, assisted living, and memory care. When your money runs short, they don't kick you out, but there was an upfront fee. They provide buses to the stores and trips. The environment of the place was good. "

"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."

"The Chesapeake was too large for me. The people were nice. I did not eat any meals there, but they offered. They offered quite a few other things that you could do that the other place did not. They had one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, and they were nice. They had therapy rooms and a few more amenities than the other place had. It was clean, and the staff during the tour was very good. I just didn't like the fact that they didn't have assigned parking in the location."

"The place is great. Before I even got there, the lady on the phone, her customer service skills were so good, I was done. I didn't have to come up there. When I went there, I was blown away. It felt just like at home, you weren't just another resident, you felt like part of things. I was waiting for my wife to get approved to go, and they helped us all along the way in, and I just can't get over that. The lady we just talked to answered any questions we had, and the layout was so great. It felt like home as soon as I walked through the door. We saw a one-bedroom apartment. Everything, like the bedroom, the kitchen was good, the bathroom, everything was great, and it had a nice, big closet. They were playing bingo, and they got other stuff there. They've got a whole activity board, they've got a calendar, they go on trips, they go shopping, there's just so much going on there. They made you feel like family. The food was excellent; good chef."

"My sister in-law found Seton Manor for my mother-in- law. The staff is nice. The studio room is big enough and it was nice. They quite a few things that they do there. You can’t get in without a code for every apartment you are vising. "

"Around last April, the family had come to the conclusion that Grandma keeping her house, as need of home repair and full of mounting bills was not worth it. She was aside from me living there (and myself moving out) was isolated from her friends in Hampton (she lived in Newport News). And driving was becoming an issue especially if it rained or grew too dark. Grandma though didn't want to simply be 'tossed in a home'. When you think of a home, you think of cantankerous older persons shuffling along yelling for water. My Ma found this place and it is almost an 'anti-home-. Grandma has her one unit that's fashion like an apartment, her mailbox it right down the hall that passes the great room. But the best was how bright and airy the place looks. You really feel like your in some high end apartment/condo complex. The place is so nice my Ma is serious considering moving there in a few years. I mean your food is planned for you and your right by the city attractions. Funnier still was that within a day of living there, Grandma met a few family and friends from way back in the day. She gets out, plays (or rather is trying to relearn) spades and is just living it up in a place she doesn't have to maintain. You barely feel the staff presence which is a good thing as you really feel like she's just a gray haired bachelorette having a ball. But small things like panic buttons and oversized bathrooms tell you if something were to happen help will be right there. Rather ace living space. "