Memory Care Communities in Murrells Inlet, SC

"I like everything about Portside at Grande Dunes. They're very nice, considerate, and caring. Food is good. It's a clean and fun place. We love each other. We're a family, and it is home. Their activities are great."

"My mother is in Spring Oak Conway. I've actually been very, very happy. They communicate very nicely with me, and she is happy with the food. She is the fussiest of eaters. She has very limited types of cuisine she likes, and because they have two options with all three meals, she's thrilled with the food. I never thought I'd find someplace where she'd be happy with the food. They take very good care of her as far as helping her keep her apartment clean and making sure her medications are fine. They're very communicative with me. What I love is that about six months ago, they got second place in Horry County for the happiest place to work or happiest employees. Every time I'm there, everybody is so nice and has a smile on their face, from the cafeteria to the nurses to the cleaning staff. Everybody is just so happy. I asked my mom, "Are they just being nice to me, or are they like this all the time with you?" She said nobody's ever been rude or grouchy. The room she has is wonderful. We got lucky because her back slider looks over a greenbelt and trees. She has a nice little patio. She and I love her little apartment. It's a one-bedroom. She and I looked at five places, and three of the five had a smell or a mustiness, and a couple of them were just depressing. This one, you walk in, and the lobby is beautiful. They leave up a permanent holiday tree, and it goes from Christmas to New Year's to Valentine's Day, so it's always cheerful. It smells good. The cleaning of the entire facility is top-notch. They have a handyman who, if you need help in your apartment, is usually available within 24 to 48 hours. I literally don't have a single complaint. Over the holidays, they had a lot of people come in for music reviews, and she would go to those. She goes to bingo five days a week. They could probably use more activities, but they've done a great job of pulling her out of her apartment and getting her involved. A field trip would be good if they were going to improve anything. I'd just like to see my mom more active and maybe going places, but she did make a friend there, and overall, my mom's happy, and that's all I want. The director there, Susanna, is also very responsive, very warm, and friendly. When we were looking, it was her personality, her attitude, and her vibe that also drew us to the place."

"I visited Hope Arbor of Murrells Inlet. The location is good and the place is clean. The grounds are really nice and they have transportation for the residents. The staff was very polite and professional. The only problem is that highway 707 is undergoing a two-year planned road widening project. The noise and traffic will be awful."

"I had a tour with Arbor Landing at Surfside. I have met some of the people that lived there, and they seemed very friendly. I liked it because it is the closest and my friends, of course, want me to be close so they can visit. But I don't think it is going to be that one only because it is independent living and I don't think that is good enough for me, unfortunately. The people that lived there seemed very happy. They spoke to me without my approaching them. It just seemed very nice. I don't like two floors, however, and I would always want to be on the first floor. The only staff I met was the tour person, I can't remember her name, but she was very good. I got something in the mail this year. It was not particularly addressed to me, it was just to anybody, and it said, "Come have a meal with us." And I might just do that. The place is not for me but I will certainly tell people if they are looking for independent living."

"My husband and I could rave about lakes at litchfield. They were so courteous and helpful to us when my husband had an accident he needed to recover from. The team was there day and night to make sure that he had everything he needed. Good food, respectful staff, top notch rehab center. Thank you for your hospitality!"

"Reflections Assisted Living was a small facility. I viewed it as more of a nursing home-type facility as opposed to assisted living. It was smaller, it had fewer amenities, and it was the same price as the other places. I was mainly interested in assisted living. I had a good visit there. I dealt with a young lady who was patient and knowledgeable, and I didn't feel rushed. It was an older facility and comparable in price to the newer facilities. It had fewer amenities than the other two that I had looked at. The dining room was small. They also had a porch out front and a courtyard out back."

"My mom is at Arbor Landing at Pawleys. We chose them because she gets her pharmacy there, her therapist, and all of the amenities that come with it. You basically do nothing but just move in. It was absolutely perfect and it's close by. Moneywise, I think it's pretty similar, across the board, with most places. The medical staff there is established. She had changed her primary over to their primary. They also have activities every day. She attends every one of them, from reading groups to meeting groups, and trivia to music. My mother is very social, so that's a perfect place for her because of the social contact. The community is 2 years old and it is set back away from the road, so it's beautiful and has a very quiet setting. "

"Our visit turned out very good. It was a beautiful facility. It's well-manicured. It's very very nice. We happened to go at a time where all the residents were in one area doing some kind of an activity. They looked happy and cheerful especially the women that we had spoken to. Some of them were very personable and had to come over and see what we're doing. Their hair was just so nice. They were dressed nice. It definitely made an impression. The staff was accommodating and very welcoming. We were very well received. I like how they had the place decorated. It was a very well lit area. There was plenty of room, nothing to get in the way of the residents moving around. That day we visited they were making cookies and they had asked us if we wanted to taste it but we did not, but it smelled very, very good. "

"Myrtle Beach Manor was older and the rooms were updated. It’s a nice place. It did not smell and the hygiene was very good. The staff is nice, caring and accommodating. The food was very good. They had jazz bands that my dad liked. "

"I moved into River Park Senior Living. It is a wide open community. There's a lot of socialization going on, and the food is excellent. They help you to the doctors by van, so you don't have to worry about going anywhere. They'll take you there and drop your back. The staff here is patient. I have a one-bedroom apartment, which is really large. I have a living room with it. I have my two dogs with me and there's plenty of room for us. The living atmosphere is excellent. The dining area is very large. You can do four at a table or six at a table. It doesn't really matter to them, and the service is great. They have bingo, card playing, shuffleboard, foosball, and a few others. We have a gym, but no pool."

"My father is a resident of The Legacy of North Myrtle Beach. He likes it there. It's an older facility, so some things could be updated. It's small, so the memory care unit part is also small. They also seem to have a little bit of a turnover. I wish some of the staff would stay a little bit longer, but they come and go. It has been a couple of years so I guess that's not out of the norm. He has good days and bad days, so he gives them a hard time some days, but he always gets good treatment, and they seem to be able to calm him down. He thinks he owns the place -- dementia will do that to you -- and they just go along with it. Some days he "fires" the whole staff, and some days he tells me to write a check for more money for them. They are very good with him so the only thing that I would like to see is more staff staying. My father doesn't really like a lot of changes, so with people coming and going he wonders where they went. He is in a private room, and it's not very big, but he has an armoire that he uses as a closet for his clothes. He has his own bathroom, too. Right now he has a hospital bed, but he also has a recliner, a rocking chair, and a dresser or a nightstand. It's enough room for him. He also has a window that faces the highway where he enjoys sitting and watching the cars go up and down. They took a little bus trip this past week, I think they went to the Olive Garden for lunch. He gets to go on little luncheons too. Yesterday they had a salad and spaghetti dinner and they tried to get the people involved in it. It's hard to do that in memory care, especially with my dad who is also legally blind. It's hard to come up with this kind of activity for him, but they try to keep him involved. They even help him play bingo and do different activities with the other residents, so he really seems to enjoy it there."