The Bristal Assisted Living at Woodcliff Lake

My husband is in the Bristal, and so far we are very happy with the arrangement. Their memory unit is much cheaper, and that is the main reason why he is there. The other reason is that the Bristal happens to be a beautiful place, and I was more pleased with the way they had the setup for the memory care. The place is spotless. I have never eaten there, but my husband is very happy with the food. The staff people are very caring. They have a lot of activities. When I was there on Monday visiting my husband, they had a gentleman who -- for an hour and about 20-minutes -- sang beautifully and played the guitar and engaged all of the residents in singing and clapping and having a really good time.

My mother recently stayed at Bristal for several months - unfortunately she wanted to return to her hometown, so we had to move her. As a facility, this place was fantastic - everyone should remember that it's always a tough transition, especially if someone is moving from full independence at a personal residence - but I think Bristal really tries their hardest to make it work for everyone. The staff was extremely attentive, and knew where my mother was at all times. It was such a relief as she suffered from Alzheimers, but I knew she was in good hands. Everyone there is so warm, kind and caring - from the staff to the residents. Incredible nursing staff! They have many activities and outings (only complaint is maybe they can have a few more active outings for those that can do more). They certainly did their best to keep Mom happy - she never had a complaint and had only good things to say about everyone.

Mother liked The Bristal Assisted Living at Woodcliff Lake, but she’s just not ready to go. The staff is very attentive and very friendly. They seemed like they knew everyone, so they greeted them by name which was nice. The rooms were very nice and roomy. They showed us an apartment on the first tour that was bigger than my mother’s apartment is now. The price is higher for bigger rooms, but even the small rooms were beautiful. It’s a very big place. It had a swimming pool, which was very nice. If you’re in a room that’s closer to where all the activities are, it’s great, but if you’re in a room that’s down one of the many hallways, it’s a lot of walking for the elderly.

My mother has dementia and interviewed with the Director of Nursing at The Woodcliff Lake location. The director came across as insensitive and uncaring. We have visited other facilities and were treated with kindness and compassion. The bottom line is this.....If your looking for Tender Loving Care, don't go to The Bristal at Woodcliff Lake, NJ

Just visited the Bristal yesterday with my mother who has dementia. The Nursing Director interviewed my mother and treated her extremely poorly. The interview was impersonal , insensitive and unprofessional. Having a family member with dementia is so difficult and requires TLC from the health care community. I asked the Nursing Director privately to be discrete with her questions because we have'nt told my mother that she was going into Assisted Living/Memory Care yet. I asked the Director if I could answer any questions to reduce the stress on my mother as I am a nurse and am the Health Care Proxy. She rudely told me that only my mother could respond. We sat down together and she quickly asked my mother if she had problems with ELIMINATION!!!!. She wanted to know if she had bowel problems or urination problems. My mother was taken back and began to get upset. She continued to fire questions at my mother as she went down her clip board in her cold hearted manner. My mother could have been evaluated without offensive questioning if this director had the skills to communicate with the dementia population. I was not pleased and the Bristal /Nursing Director rejected my mothers admittance. They stated that her dementia was more progressed then their cliental and they dont have the staff to accomodate her. I informed them that the reason people go to Memory Care is because they have dementia. And guess what? Their dementia cliental will all advance to severe dementia. What will they do then..remove them from their facility??? I have received feedback from 3 other Assisted Living/Memory Care Units in the vacinity . They have received patients from the Bristal because the families are dissatisfied with the care . Ironically, my mother has been accepted at a beautiful faciilty and a client from the Bristal is arriving today. The Nurse at this facility was lovely and kind. The 2 other facilities that I visited were appauled with the details of my Bristal experience. Here's the bottom line..If your looking for Tender Loving Care, you won't find it with the Nursing Director at Woodcliff Lake, NJ

The Bristal is a brand-new place. It's very nice, and the food was good. I will be considering this facility at some point.

Every day The Bristal has something like sing-alongs, arts and crafts, dance, and therapy. They have socials where it could be just a specific people together for ice cream social or they have a hot chocolate social. They have arts shows, and people come in to play the piano. It is a wonderful community. Every day there is something going on. They have movies at 2 and at 7 so it is wonderful. The place is spotless and beautiful. It is brand new -- maybe about a year and a half or 2 years old. Everything is still brand new, but if something breaks down or something is not going right, the maintenance people are there right away. My mother has called a few times, and they've been so good and kind to her. They fix things right away. The staff is lovely. They are very helpful and very friendly. They know every one of the residents by name. They have a lot of help. Just recently when it snowed and the people slept over, they had accommodations for their staff. There are always people there to help, and that made me feel good. They serve three meals a day, and the three meals are like gourmet meals. They have like five choices all the time at lunch and dinner. They have salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs if you want to choose that. It is really lovely. My mother keeps saying that you couldn't have picked a better place. It took her a month and a half to adjust, and she wasn't that happy in the first month, but once she started making friends, it was OK.

The Bristal at Woodcliff Lake was my first choice. I thought it was wonderful, and they were new. However, they were telling me all the things that they were going to provide like the activities, but they had not started them yet. They were not established yet. They had very few activities, and they did not have any porches. The rooms were clean. They were lovely, and they did not smell. It was a completely locked facility. I think the security was overdone.