Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree

Kenneth

I toured Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree. It's a very nice place, but they didn't have an opening for my mother and father to live together, which is a very big part of it. They've been married for 62 years, and they want to be together. They just didn't have a room. There was no availability for a room for them to be together, and the wait would have been a minimum of six months to a year and a half, and I'm like, no. The place was nice. It was more set up as apartments than a senior living place. They are under construction, so a lot of the grounds are torn up right now. They're redoing the outside and redoing the porches. It's nice, it's a smaller place, but it doesn't offer as much. I wouldn't say anything bad about it, and I would have considered it, but all in all, it doesn't hold a candle to the place my parents are going. The staff was awesome. They were always very nice, but they didn't hit all the boxes or the one most important box. They had a couple of amenities but not as much as the place. They don't have as large a staff. It's not bright. There weren't as many windows as I would have liked. It's more of an older building. The layout of the building is not as great as I would have liked to have seen for an Alzheimer's unit. It's more like apartments with a big room at the end of the hall where they can get together where everybody opens the door and they're out into a community area.

Debbie

My mother moved into Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree. I just came back from there yesterday and they were having a St Patrick's Day, little party at the Bistro. There's food, and they had it all decorated. It was nice. The food is excellent. She likes the food. A lot of activities, we're still making sure she does her activities and stuff. It's a very clean and very nice place. She has only been there for about a month. The staff's been great, they remember everybody's names, and they're really on top of everything. They always ask for something to eat in the Bistro 24/7. There's always food available for them. The facility is very nice, and it's very easy to maneuver around where you're going, çause everything is kind of in a circle. You don't get lost, it's not an overwhelming place. It's a great layout. They always have something going on, bingo or they have crafts, and in the bistro, they have people coming in and playing music, so there's always something for them to do. A lot of the stuff is ala carte. You need something extra and you're going to pay for it. We pay for her medications to be distributed to her twice a day. Any add ons you have to pay, so they can get a little pricey. When she first got there, she ordered toast to be brought up to her room. I said, this is not a hotel, and you've just been charged five dollars. When you first get there, you're a little nervous, you don't know anybody, but they all make you feel welcome there. The residents look after the other ones, they all look after each other, which is nice.

Janet

My dad moved into Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree. So far, we love it all. The staff is warm and friendly. My dad's apartment is clean, neat, and relatively new. They have a library, a concierge service for their family members along with their residents, housekeeping, laundry service, programs, and transportation. The staff members have been wonderful, forthcoming, and attentive. They don't have a swimming pool, but they have a garden.

D.L.

Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree was my number two of the places I went to, and I liked that as well. It was a new facility, but I thought the layout of where the activities were and where to go, might feel confusing for an elderly person initially because things were up on different floors. The staff was very good.

P.R

The staff member who met me at Benchmark Senior Living on Clapboardtree was so knowledgeable, kind, and great. She gave a great tour. They had a very nice lobby, I got to see their dining room, saw what they have to offer in terms of activities and I saw where they post the calendar. A exercise or stretching class was going on, and I got to meet the person who plans the activities. They seemed to listen to what kind of things my parents would be interested in, and then told me that those things could be offered whether it was gardening, lectures, or trips to museums. They're very good about that. Also, they gave us tips on how to help parents in downsizing and stuff like that. The rooms had kitchenettes. They said most people spend more time out of their rooms so the kitchens were getting smaller since people weren't using the hotplates or stovetops anymore. When they were redecorating or turning over the rooms, they were keeping the kitchens small.