The Waterford at Williamsburg

The administrator is very efficient. Makes an effort to have a relationship with each resident. The receptionist is cheerful and helpful to visitors and residents. Nurses are also available 24/7. CNA's are cheerful and helpful for any needs as well. The activities director arranges entertainment once a week and various activities through the week. Library is freely available. The food is good too. The cook is great at remembering individual dietary restrictions.

Waterford is not quite as homey as others, but the living environment, the individual apartments, is larger. It is multiple levels and I would put a higher functioning person there, but not one with dementia because if you have these people on the second floor and you don't have enough staffing to help redirect them, they sometimes get confused. But families have chosen to go to Waterford because of the larger living space.

The Waterford was more like a nursing home facility. That would not be for me at all, because my husband and I are still very active. He does have Alzheimer's, but right now he gets around really good. He's just a little forgetful. We did not like the surroundings of the facility.

Haven Manor Assisted Living was a wonderful experience for my Great Aunt. She was reluctant to move into an assisted living after having lived in an apartment on her own for so many years but she quickly became comfortable. The staff were always very friendly and made her feel welcome. My Great Aunt developed friendships with the residents and the staff and she was always in a good mood when I went to visit her. Toward the end of her life she had a hospice service come to her room and make her feel more comfortable, which was great. Haven Manor also had pets come in every week to interact with the residents and my Aunt truly enjoyed it.The only negative aspects were that there were many changes in the staff during her stay there which made it frustrating for my Aunt at times because she would get to know the employees and then they would leave and new people wouldn't know her preferences or her personality. I understand that staff retention is just a part of the profession, but perhaps the transitions could have been more smooth. Maybe it would have been nice to have charts with each resident's picture and likes/dislikes. It might be fun for the residents to get to know each other too and it would ease the transition between new staff members.The facility itself was in the Havelock area and the rooms were very cozy. There was a nice feel to the building because it was smaller and more intimate. It had a "country" or small town feel to it which was nice because it felt more like a family. There were lots of nice big windows, and a little bird cage by the living room which added to its charm. The meals were usually very good and my family and I were able to join my Aunt on special occasions for birthdays and holidays. There is a small room off of the dining area that is for celebrations and family meals so that was great to take advantage of.I would definitely recommend Haven Manor.