Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living

Helen

Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living was completely elegant. It almost looks like a Castleburn over from England implanted in Tewksbury. Everything was beautiful. My downfall with the Heatherwood is there was only a kitchenette and not enough kitchen space because you eat all your meals downstairs. They have a community kitchen down on another level and you can't bring your own pans or use whatever's in the cabinets. I just like my personal space to cook for my friends or whatever, but everything about it, the property, everything was topnotch. The staff was very good. I haven't tried the food, but I've seen the people eating. We were through the dining room. They have 24-hour coffee, tea, water, infused water, snacks, and desserts that you can get at any time. The place was gorgeous.

Craig

My father is in Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living, and it's been good. It's a nice community. It's got a lot of services for him onsite, including medication assistance 24/7, and meals. It's a great, big facility, and it has lots of game rooms and gyms. They also have quite a nice coordinator who gets everybody involved in various activities, both within the unit and also outdoor activities. The staff has been nothing but friendly and helpful the entire time. They made things very easy for us to bring my father in there. They helped him kind of get settled. They appointed what they call an ambassador to him who can help him, introduce him to folks who have been there, and make sure he's included in a lot of the activities. He didn't have to worry about having someone. I have not eaten there, but he tells me the food is pretty good and he's enjoying it. He's certainly eating a lot better since he got there, so that's been great. They do breakfast, a large lunch, and then a smaller dinner. They do it in a large dining room space so that everybody gets together, which I think is nice, that everybody socializes over dinner. It's really a nice environment. Compared to some of the others I looked at, the physical condition was excellent and they really maintain it very well. They recently did a renovation of the halls and stuff, so it really looked topnotch. All of the kitchen, game rooms, and gyms are really nice and well appointed. The rooms themselves are quite nice as well. I have nothing but good things to say about it. They have quite a number of activities that they involve them with. It may be a little more expensive than some of the other places I looked at, but given the additional resources that they have available, particularly the onsite medication assistance 24/7, I think that puts it over the top, in my opinion, compared to many independent living facilities where you don't have that.

Provider Response

Susan

Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living was beautiful and spotless. When I was walking past the people eating, everybody seemed so happy. They were like, "Are you coming to stay with us?" It was like they were a big family. They have transportation and they had their bus driver come pick me up. She reminded me of a spirited soul that was just put on this earth to make people happy. She was wonderful. I only have 1% sight in one eye and I'm going to lose my sight in my other eye, so then I'm going to need assistance. They said, "Health-wise, as things get worse, you just tell us and then we figure out how to help you better at a different level." They were very good. When I called back the next day, the girl I had talked to left, so I talked to the husband of the woman who runs the place and he was more than willing to spend as much time on the phone to answer anything that I wanted answers. They're very kind and compassionate. If somebody got up to ask a question, they weren't like, "Wait a minute, I'm talking." They put the person first, which was very nice. The grounds were fine. The back could've gone back further, but they said that was because there were walking trails in that area for the residents. The only ones I looked at were studios. I'm going to go back and look at a one-bedroom because I have two cats. Even if it's a little bit more money, I need a one-bedroom.

Provider Response

Richard

Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living is relatively new, so it is up-to-date in design architecturally. The room is OK. It has a couple of windows and carpeting, but I'm disappointed it doesn't have more cooking facilities. The activities are typical. They have exercise, Bingo, and card games.

Anonymous116958950

I’m very happy with Heather Wood. Everything is beautiful, brand new, and modern. Everything is great. I have nothing bad to say about it. Their dining area is beautiful.

Bill114719650

We are very pleased with Heatherwood Gracious Retirement Living. We feel like we make the right decision, and it has been very good to us since we have been with them. They have been outstanding to us. They do a lot of internal services for entertainment; and they also provide shuttle bus services to outside entertainment, to doctors' appointments, and to grocery stores. My brother-in-law has been living there for more than a month.