NorBella Senior Living - Prior Lake Prior Lake, MN

I've already visited NorBella Senior Living - Prior Lake, and that one would be an option. I'm very impressed with that one. It was the executive director who was there and toured me, and she was very good. It's all connected and so she took me through the whole community. She showed me memory care and assisted living because I wanted to see both. It's a smaller facility. What I did like was when I asked her what's the experience level of their staff, and she said most of them have about 10 years experience, and there's a couple that is only 3, but they screen them fairly well. I saw the clients in the memory care, and they seemed very happy, and they didn't seem grumpy. That's impressive, too, if the patients are all together, and the staff was intermingling with the patients, which is something that it's good to see. They don't just put the patients in chairs and let them sit there and not even talk to them. The staff who took me around was very knowledgeable. NorBella is kind of hidden off the main road, so you've got to have the address and you've got to know where you're going. There is no signage on the road when you turn off the main road to find it. You have to follow your GPS because it's kind of down and behind, which is good. It looks more rural, which is nice and more relaxing for a facility. It isn't that hard to find, but if you're just going to go by signage on the road, you're never going to find it because it's down and behind.

My dad chose NorBella Senior Living - Prior Lake. It is a very small, intimate, pleasant environment that makes him feel welcome. The rooms are like a four-star hotel room, it's just very, very appropriate for his needs and very pleasant. The staff is all very helpful, kind, and considerate and they have reached out to me when Dad has had issues. They are very helpful. Dad has had some concerns that have required some special attention with a medical issue, and they have responded well to him. I thought the food was tasty, Dad said he preferred the other place but it was for me. He said when he walked in, that he is blind and deaf legally, that it was a beautiful place and that he liked it. That was his first comment, so I thought that was pretty sweet. I've enjoyed the food and I've eaten off of his plate because he isn't eating it. He can't cooperate with the activities but they have a gentleman coming in with a couple of dogs every other week, and that brightened up my father's day. They have a TV room, the dining room is quite beautiful, and they have a spacious patio at the back. Overall, we're very pleased.

We toured NorBella Prior Lake for my father-in-law. We toured the assisted living, and we did not go into the memory care area. I was very impressed. My mother, who is 85, and also shopping, was impressed with it. It was clean. There was a lot of general area seating for big groups and for small groups, which she liked. The rooms were like a college dorm room, but they were fine. We liked the fact that it looked fresh, and it was a very welcoming environment. They have the room set up nice. It's hard to envision how my personal effects would be in it, but they were clean. I was impressed at how big the bathrooms were and the fact that assisted living comes with the kitchenette. So, it seems more like an independent living more than I expected. The building looks structurally sound. It was clean, it smelled fresh, and the location in the prior lake was lovely. The dining area was not a cafeteria-style. It felt like a homey dining room that people would feel comfortable sitting and eating. When we walked in, it was impromptu. We're just going to stop and see if they'll give us a tour. And she was welcoming and informative. It was not a hard sales pitch, which was very pleasant. I would go with the four as a score only because of the location-based on where the rest of the children live.

I like the remoteness of NorBella Senior Living Prior Lake. It's kind of back in the woods, very quiet, and when I visited they were very hospitable. It just seemed like something that I could probably contend with and just have people come and visit. It's quiet and out of the hustle and bustle of the city, and I like that. The little bit that I know about the staff is that they're helpful and friendly, and one of them reached out and said that they'll call me every two months to see how I'm doing, and little things like that mean a lot to me. I thought of them pretty highly. From what I can see, everything seemed very clean, and it seemed like everything was very efficient. This is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, it's kind of back by a cul-de-sac, so it's remote and quiet. I probably wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but for certain people that like that, it'd be desirable. I'm very new and it looks like everything is well-maintained, and it just doesn't look like it's very old, so it's well kept up.