The Best Independent Living Communities in Thurston County, WA

"I toured Revel Lacey, and one thing I liked about it was it's a newer building. It's only about 6 years old. I like their meal hours. Their meal hours are 7 in the morning till 7 at night, so you're not locked into a set time to eat. They've got two different restaurant facilities. One is kind of like a bistro and one's more formal. So, if you want breakfast at 10:00 in the morning you're not locked in, and what other places are doing is 8, 12, and 5. You've got all day to get your meals. I had clam chowder, and it was very good. What they do is give you like 520 points a month for food. Their menus are served with a point factor when you order. The clam chowder was five points, and then other things were 5 or 10 points, depending on what you wanted. It's like using dollars except for points. They were very nice. They showed me a studio apartment that fits my queen sized bed, and it's got a wall partition to separate from the living room. It opens into the kitchen area, but you can put a curtain over it and make it more private. Each unit has its own washer and dryer, so you don't have to go down and use a community washer and dryer. The facility was very clean."

"Patriots Landing is very nice. It's more oriented towards the retired military because there are lots of retired military in DuPont. They have shuttle busses to VA hospitals, the parks, and the commissary. They have quite a few events like they take them to baseball games. So it's quite nice. They have a single bedroom, and double bedroom and their cottages are very spacious. They're about 1500 square feet and they have a full kitchen. I met the coordinator there, she was nice. They have a game week, and movie week, they take people to movie theaters and stuff around the area. They have a barbershop and salon, a library, and the meals are included. The facility was clean and well taken care of. It seems especially for the retired military, there's a lot of camaraderie with the other retired people who live there."

"My father moved to Prestige Senior Living Rosemont. We chose it because they had immediate availability and they were close. It's only like a 20-minute drive for me. So, the main reason was the location and that they had the social programs and stuff that we needed. My father is in a studio, so it's just one room and then a bathroom. He seems to like the food. I've been there when he eats and it looks good. It's a good variety. They have a lovely outside area, like a little back patio where they play some different little games like lawn bowling. They have a huge dining room. They have a lobby with the TV and stuff and then they have a little activities room where they play games or shuffleboard, and there's some games up on the second floor. The staff is very friendly and very professional. It's a fairly new facility, so everything is in good shape."

"I toured Cogir at the Narrows. What I liked best was the atmosphere and the ground. Their staff was amazing, friendly, informed, and outgoing. You can tell that they love their jobs. The facility was very well kept, with modern and updated furniture in the common areas. It was beautiful. It's like a park-like setting in the middle of the U-shaped building facility, and that would be someplace that even my grandkids would want to go. They could go there and run around outside. It just feels like a hotel or resort."

"I toured Aspire Care Adult Family Home. I like the idea that there's a person there to resolve issues as opposed to a waiting list. They have a good ratio. It's a family neighborhood. It's not a huge building. It's just a single-family home. They have wheelchair-size doorways that can handle wheelchairs and wheelchair-accessible showers. I looked at their menu. It seemed OK."

"The guy at Brookdale Allenmore was personable. He's still emailing me asking me how I'm doing and how I'm feeling, because he heard I was sick. They had quite a variety of different apartments to give you, which I thought was good. Instead of maybe one or two, he had four or five and different ones for the same thing, like for a studio, he had four different kinds of studios. I was very impressed. The guy was waiting for me outside. They had a big old sign out, "Welcome..." They had two other ladies with him, greeting me and my friend. He knows what he's doing. It's top-notch. It's very nice. Some apartments have patios. They had a lot of shopping and a lot of things to do. They were talking about their 4th of July thing they were going to be having."

"I am a resident of Holiday Peninsula. They are all brand new. They just remodeled the whole building. We added brand-new hardwood floors and carpeting in the bedrooms. I got a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with a balcony, granite countertops, and a small refrigerator. The housekeeping, the cooks, everything's been great. Everybody's been helpful, and I'm loving it. They let me move in before they even got the payment, which was wonderful. The food here is fabulous. Last night, I had a smothered steak and mushroom gravy, cooked to my order, and a baked potato salad. I had ice cream for dessert, and it was fantastic. They cook it to your order. They've got things all day, every day. They've got movies every night. They've got outings for shopping. They have everything. You can pick and choose what you want to do daily. They've got an office room for you, gardening, and arts and crafts. They've got sewing and a book club, and they have a band coming in every Friday night, providing music and dancing. You name it, they have it."

"I toured Life Manor Independent Living. I like the surrounding area outside of the building. There was a sitting area and a park area where you could walk your dog, so the surrounding environment was pleasing. I'm moving from a three-bedroom home. It was a bit shocking to me that the sizes of the apartments are small. There's a stove and a refrigerator. They were very pleasant and helpful and answered all my questions."

"We toured Sound Vista Village. It's very nice, clean, and comfortable. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. They have a library. They have a lounge and all sorts of different things in there."

"I loved Solstice Senior Living at Point Defiance. Ten being the highest, I'll give them a ten. I like the cottages offered. I also looked at the main building, where they have a room big enough for me and my dog. It's the same building where the dining facility is, so that's very convenient. I love Point Defiance. It's very accommodating. The staff is excellent, very friendly, and knowledgeable. I looked at their one-week menu, and it was very diverse and looked so delicious. It's prepared there by the kitchen staff. They toured me to their kitchen, and it was very, very clean. I can't think of any negative things. I almost signed up with them, but I changed my mind for now."

"I toured GenCare LifeStyle at Point Ruston. It's quite expensive, but they offer a lot, and it feels like a hotel walking in there. The residents seemed very happy, and the people who worked there seemed more than competent and informed. They have a dining area and a nice pool. The rooms were great, clean, well laid out, and had everything a person would want, but I felt a little claustrophobic. They have a library, a movie room, a fitness center, and personal trainers. The place is nice. The food was great. They have a nice menu that changes every week."

"We visited Silver Creek by Bonaventure in Puyallup, and I think the woman who took us around was a really good ambassador for this place. She was energetic, had a lot of good information, and had a good sense of humor. She did a very good job. She's been with the company for seven years. We visited their independent living because there were no assisted living places open for us to tour. They're in one wing of the same building. I thought the upkeep was excellent. The rooms were a good size for such a facility, so I was impressed with that. They have two dining areas, and they seat at different times. For instance, at lunch, they seat around 11:45 and then at a later time so that the residents can go either earlier or later. They have two areas, and they're roomy. It's nice and open, and the whole place, including the dining room, has a lot of natural light, which I like. They have a gym, a library, and lounge areas. It had been recently upgraded and remodeled, so it was very nice. It's someplace we would consider living."

"I live in Julian Estates Gracious Retirement Living and I like the community. I like the fact that it's newer and well-kept up. The food is OK. Sometimes it's really good. There's pizza and spaghetti. They have something different going on every day. There's bingo and poker, and they play Mexican Train. Every week we have mocktails and then we have a special food item once a week prepared by them. It's expensive to live here, but the staff is excellent and the facilities are nice. It is almost looks like a hotel."

"I visited Woodland Village. They were great. They were updated. Everything was really clean. They had activities going on while I was there. The dining room was beautiful. I didn't taste their food, but they told me how it was and everything. It all looked good. I only dealt with one person, and he was great. They've got a friendly environment, and it looks like they have lots of activities."