The Best Senior Living Communities in Sanford, ME

"The Residence at Silver Square was beautiful. It was a very beautiful place. It felt very energetic and very youthful. It felt very all-inclusive. Like you could continue with your life there, whether it's exercise and food. It was quite outstanding. The food was excellent. I was treated very well by the staff, but the main person was fairly new to the game. The Residence at Silver Square was a little uppity and upscale, and there was certainly a vibe about that. But I was thinking about my mother-in-law and that wouldn't be a place that would jazz her. It jazzed me, but I'm not going there. They had some very unique things that I thought stood out. However, the location was not that great."

"Spring Village at Dover was very warm and very professional. We saw the whole facility, and they explained it very well to us. It would be a good place for seniors with dementia. It seemed like a very safe and friendly place. It's very well thought out. The people that we talked to, the doctors and that, were very pleasant, understanding, and did well with what they do for the residents. It was a nice place. It felt like you were welcomed, even though you were just coming to visit and look. They welcomed us with a little open sign right at the door. I didn't think it was for us. I thought it was a party for one of the residents. So, the residents there are treated like they are family."

"Holiday Maple Suites was clean. They had activities going on. It was definitely nice and busy. People were coming and going. The rooms were clean, and of different sizes depending on what you were looking at. The yard was really nice. The staff was really good. I didn't have any issues with them at all. It was bright and newly redone. The food was good. It was just the plating was totally off. It was tasty, but it was very bland-looking. They could have improved on that."

"My aunt moved to Carriage Hill following several falls. She was so hesitant to move to assisted living, but settled right in to the warm, homey atmosphere that Carraige Hill provides. All the staff was wonderful to her and she definitely had a few favorites who treated her like family. Requests were met without hesitation or complaint. And everyone greeted the residents and their loved ones with a smile. The activities coordinator has a few fun things scheduled every week, including trips to restaurants, beach rides for ice cream, and shopping trips. Residents are encouraged to participate in as many things as they'd like. The big events that my aunt loved were the Employee Appreciation Picnic and the Holiday Party. My aunt was at Carriage Hill for only 7 months. Unfortunately, her needs increased rapidly and she had to be moved to memory care. I was out of town when the need for her to move occurred. Sara and the nursing team helped to secure her a room in a terrific facility and even moved her belongings in my absence. I can't say enough good things about Carriage Hill. If you are looking for an ALF that is small, personal, and has a family atmosphere, this is definitely a wonderful place to consider."

"My loved one has been a resident of Johnson Creek Village for 2 1/2 years. He has received consistently wonderful care by staff who go over and above! The food is very good and the surroundings are safe, clean and always comfortable. The residents are regularly engaged in appropriate activities by a very caring activities department. I've always been very grateful for Johnson Creek Village. The staff should only receive the highest of praise for the good work they do!"

"I loved Gorham House above and beyond, but they didn't have any openings. I liked the place, I liked the people there, and I liked the levels of care that they have. It's a comfortable place to live when you go in and out, and that's where I would have taken my father. The two beds in a two-bedroom had a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. It was small but adequate. I liked it very much. It had a microwave and a refrigerator. There was a daycare right there on the grounds, which was lovely."

"I toured Holiday Kittery Estates. I liked the floor plans and the amenities that they had. I liked the general atmosphere. I met the hairdresser, and the staff were friendly and informative. They were great. They've newly renovated a couple of years ago, so it was excellent. The rooms were a teeny bit small, but the layout was good. The largest room I saw was 940 square feet. The smallest was 500 square feet, so it's average for a place like that, but it felt small."

"My mom moved to Brookdale Spruce Wood. It was the nicest one that I went to, and it's not outrageously expensive. They also had a handicapped apartment, which is what I was looking for. The food is not fabulous, but it's okay. The staff is great, and everything is done well. It'as a very clean place."

"Sable Lodge Retirement Community was very friendly. We were very impressed with everything that we saw. We visited there several times. Each time we went, we had a different person to talk to in the management, but everybody was very, very nice, and informative. The dining area was also very good. We ate there at least twice, once with my husband and once with my daughter, and each time the head of the food services came out and spoke with us to see how we were doing. He was very, very pleasant, and made us feel very welcome. They offered a lot of things. There was an exercise room. They have people who come in and help with various things. They have a weekly happy hour for everybody. There are different groups that play cards there. They do performances and so forth, and movies frequently. They also offer some church services there. We were very impressed with those. My feeling was they've dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's. Everybody just did a very good job. The food we experienced was excellent and we liked the format. Some of the other places that we visited, everybody ate at exactly the same time, and one place took us an hour and a half to eat lunch. We liked the idea that you can go in and sit down and get your lunch within a timeframe at Sable Lodge Retirement Community. If you are in a hurry, fine. If you're leisurely, that's also fine. They sort of met all our standards."

"My spouse lived at Benchmark for 2 years. The love and care that he received was exceptional. The aides and nurses were always very responsive. The activities were engaging and the food was consistently good too. Management is professional and responsive. I am glad that we chose Benchmark."

"My husband is at The Pines of Newmarket. He tried to escape the first day, but the whole team is wonderful there, and they are taking exceptional care of him. He's eating and doing much better. They keep a close eye on him. The nurse who takes care of him first thing in the morning to help him get dressed has requested that, as long as he's there, she would like to be able to take care of him every day that she is working. They have been so helpful, and they understand that he has his issues. I call him every three days and talk with the nurses. When I tell them things like when he bangs his arm, they have to do Steri-Strips. They put the Steri-Strips on and a Band-Aid. I said, you need to put more of a bandage on there because he'll be picking at it, and they agreed, and the nurse, Bruce, said he would take care of it immediately. They all love him there, so they're very happy to take care of him because he's easygoing. He'll be at The Pines until I can come and get him and bring him back home. It's spotless. It's the neatest, cleanest place, and my brother went to see him the other day, and he could not get over how comfortable, homey, and clean it was. I'm a clean nut anyway, and I have been in a lot of other places, including hospitals that aren't even that clean. They have a good staff, and their food is all cooked right there. If they don't have something that somebody wants or craves, they'll get it for them. They post the menu on the wall every single day for a week at a time, so that the visitors have an opportunity to know what their loved one is eating, and you, as a visitor, are welcome to be there and have their meal with them at no cost. They do chair yoga, and they have get-togethers, and they take bus rides and things like that to different locations. His memory is so limited. I don't know exactly how much they've done with him other than make sure he's getting walking in and around the building, because it's fairly well laid out. For the cost, I would give it a five because of the atmosphere, the seating area, everything. I just can't get over the cleanliness because my mother was in another facility, and I did more cleaning in her room than the cleaners did. Even though I'm bringing him back home, if the issues arose again that I had to find a place for him, I would certainly consider them first."

"The Landing at Cape Elizabeth was in a lovely location. It was off of Route 77 with views of the marshes. The inside was decorated. One of the things my mother noticed right away was that it just felt comfortable and homey. The staff was great. The person that showed us around was very patient and answered our questions. The dining area was lovely. It had a lot of natural light, and then they also had a private dining room. If your family comes, you could sign up for a private dining room area. We were actually invited to come back for the food. We were just not able to do that. We noticed that there was a group of ladies who had just come back from a trip when we were there. Others were all in a TV/living room area watching golf and having ice cream. When we walked through, some of them stopped and greeted us. They had a snack bar that was open 24 hours with fruits, packaged snacks, and coffee for the residents."

"We toured 75 State Street. They had smaller rooms. However, they were very friendly. They have lots of bus trips. We just spent an hour there, but the staff members were very informative. With regards to the community, there are more older people than we wanted. And we were looking for a little bit younger crowd. They had lots to do like painting class, games, trips to the swimming pool, flower arranging, and stuff like that."

"Birchwoods at Canco Assisted Living is nice, clean, and new. I like community rooms and places to gather because I need the interaction with other people my age. There are a couple of churches that provide a lot of activities for the seniors, too. Like the congregational church here has various programs and bible studies. I'm kind of into that stuff. They're friendly and helpful. The staff who gave the tour was also very friendly and knowledgeable about the situation."