The Best Senior Living Communities in Buffalo, NY

"My friend moved into Elderwood Assisted Living at West Seneca. We chose it because it's local, and they accepted her. It was our first choice. It's a nice facility. They have lots of activities, and my friend joined right in. So far, she's enjoying it, and she's very happy. Everything has been spot-on. I'm very happy with the staff and everything so far. She has a studio apartment. It's not big, but it's got a little kitchenette. It's got room for a bed and a couple of dressers. It has a bathroom with all of the needed safety features, so it's very nice. Everything is going very well. I'm very thankful."

"My husband is on a waiting list at Brookdale Williamsville. What I like best about Brookdale is that the facility looks brand new and it's been there over 30 years. The staff seems very courteous and knowledgeable. The manager, Mary, is caring and concerned and has your best interests at heart. I was just very pleased with the facility. It felt like being at home. We saw two rooms. One was where you would have another person with you, and then there was a door open for the private room. And, it was a nice size. It looked like the woman had a dresser, a bed, and a couple of chairs. So to me, it seemed very nice, like a regular bedroom."

"My parents have moved into Heathwood Assisted Living & Memory Care at Williamsville. They are enjoying it. One of the main reasons I chose them is because they do accept Medicare when private funds are not available anymore. The other reason was when I talked to other people, they had good reviews from other people that I knew that have had family members stay there. They were very friendly. The manager was very accommodating and friendly. We had a tour and there were lots of activities. My parents were in a condo by themselves, and they weren't socializing. But once they get there, every morning, my mom and my dad, both of them go to exercises they have for them. They have religious services or at least prayer groups. They have bingo, and little field trips for them once or twice a month. They take them out to go places either for lunch or a field trip to go look in someplace or tour some facility. They also have movies and a popcorn machine there, a nice movie theater with movie seats. They also have crafts every Monday and Wednesday. They have card groups that they play with. They even have these little miniature ponies that they brought in. For the residents that couldn't make it outside, they brought the ponies inside to their rooms. There’s live music every Friday, they have like a trio or a duo come in or maybe even a single person, they sing and play instruments. They're always active, and always doing something. They have a dining room, and I was told that during Covid, they used to have like an open dining, but the residents prefer to have their own seating at their own table. Each time when they go over, they get the same table. So, they have a certain time they have to go to their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's a huge thing for my parents, they love the food. If you don't like something, you can order something that you want. They always get a snack, and they have snacks at night. I had a good rapport with the social workers and the care workers there. They have employees who have been there for 25 years, 15 years, and 10 years. Everyone was very friendly, I enjoyed it. I feel like it's a very good placement for my parents and they were very happy with it. There's a choice of room, what my parents have is called a large private room, so they have one room with a bathroom. They do have apartments and there are a variety of rates. It's very nice and large, but they took that room instead of an apartment because the apartment is divided. Even though it does have like a little kitchenette in it and a little refrigerator. They're pretty well set. You can either take your furniture with you or they can provide pieces for you. But my parents took their bedroom set into the king-size bed, that's why we took that room. For Thanksgiving, they had them into smaller groups instead of one large dining room. They only had 12 people at their table. My father said it felt like a family eating a Thanksgiving dinner. So, they were very happy. My parents’ room is very convenient to activity rooms and very convenient to the dining room, which was important. My dad struggles to walk. I would say it's average-priced. It's all very clean, and I can't find any fault. It's just that there are other facilities that are more updated."

"My mother-in-law has moved into Elderwood Village at Bassett Park. I was very impressed. I was handled over there by Erica, who I believe is the administrator. We've only been there a couple of weeks, but the staff seems to be excellent. They've tried to help us in every way they could. They came out twice to assess my mother-in-law. The first time, they kind of turned her down because they didn't think that she could get up out of a chair. I called them up and told them that day they were there, she was just having a bad day and she can get out of a chair, and if somebody just comes and gives her a little bit of a boost, she gets out of her chair into her walker with no problem. They agreed to come out and reassess her. Erica, who is their administrator, came out and when they came, my mother-in-law got up all by herself, walked around the room with her walker and everything was fine. So, they accepted her. I thought that was great. They hit availability rather quickly and made the process easy. My mother-in-law's living space is fairly small, but there are plenty of other rooms. She's got a nice lounge right outside of her room with a big screen TV in it and everything and a lot of people. She was having problems before she went in there. But once she got in there with a group of people that are around her age and she is 100 years old, so far there's been like a complete transformation, and she was happy. She's always been a social type of person, so she enjoys talking to the people out there. At first, they put her assisted, assisted living enhanced, which we paid for. Then the administrator came out to us, gave our check back which was $5,400 at first, and said, Destroy that check and write us another one for $3600, because your mother-in-law doesn't need the care that we thought she was going to initially need. So, she's just in assisted living right now. There's a $150 extra charge in there for something, but that has to do with some of the care she's getting. But we're very happy with what they did there too. I had lunch with four people out there one day. My mother-in-law was 100, the other lady said she was 100, might be 101 or 102 she wasn't sure, and the other lady was 96 years old. I sit at the table with them. I thought the food was terrific. The staff, they were good people. I don't see any problems at all with the place. I don't know too much about their activities, but I know my mother-in-law's been involved with the bingo and Wii bowling. She's been involved with a lot of things, so she seems very happy. In terms of value for money, it's very good. Most places we had talked to were more money, and so far it seems very good. Although they did tell us there's going to be an increase as of the first of the year, they told us approximately how much it was going to be, but that's fine. It's not that far from where we live, it takes us 15 minutes to get there, but it's not a big deal. I like the area where it is in Williamsville, and it's just a nice setting. It's kind of in a wooded area and kind of like country almost. It's very nice. Their aides and staff out there have been very friendly to my mother-in-law and very nice to her. I can't say enough good stuff about them. I know I have only been out there a couple of weeks, and things can change. But, so far, everything gets my high approval."

"I liked Tennyson Court, but they didn't have a resident dog. The plus with the other place was we could walk the resident dog there. It's beautiful. It's lovely. They're rated right up there the same as the other place, but the deciding factor was the dog. They have social events, lovely dinners, and meals. The rooms were bigger. The staff was very accommodating. The eating area was nice, but they wanted the people to socialize within their place whereas in the other place we could sit down and meet with our loved ones. They didn't want outsiders to eat there."

"The Amberleigh seemed to have more things to do the way they were set up. They had medical facilities within the building. They had activities. The staff during the tour was fine and very informative. They showed me around and gave me the information I needed. It was very clean."

"I toured Peregrine Senior Living at Orchard Park. I do enjoy the way it's laid out. This is a very nice layout for people with memory care problems. The staff was very nice and accommodating. When I walked in, they were doing an activity. They're doing Connect Four in the front foyer with a bunch of residents. They have an activity room. They have two TV rooms. They have a meditation room. They have books and stuff like that. It's very clean. It was just remodeled a year ago, and everything looks up to date. I would say it's topnotch. The rooms, they're not small, but they're not big. They supply you with a dresser and it is not shared. The bathroom is connected to the rooms. The shower unit is down the hall, which is a good idea for memory care people."

"I really liked Juniper Glen. It was my favorite. The staff member was very, very friendly, fun, and personable. They are quick to respond if you text them or call them. They always call you right back, so they're accessible. It was easy to get to. They showed me several rooms that were available. I liked their rooms. They were spacious. Their bathrooms were nice for the residents. They had outdoor areas for the residents that were safe. They couldn't escape and they could enjoy the outside. They were a couple of different patios. They have two courtyards. They have both private and shared rooms."

"The food at mealtime served restaurant style to us is excellent. We feel happy that we don’t need to cook or shop any longer. The Value for our rent is very good. )Especially after learning about other places prices first hand. ) The activities planned range from group games with staff or volunteers, mystery rides with the director , live entertainment. The library is chuck full of books in great condition. The nurses who visit are concerned and helpful to our neighbors. We don’t need that yet but we know it is here to hire. The management and owners know seniors and what we need. Five stars from us."

Connect55+ Wheatfield East in New York offers a friendly community where active seniors are free to live the life they’ve dreamed of. At Connect 55+ communities, seniors live worry-free with the luxuries of full-time maintenance, dedicated staff, and abundant amenities. Enjoy fun activities, social events, and educational opportunities designed to support a happy and healthy lifestyle offered on-site!

"We like Elison Independent Living of Orchard Glen for my mother-in-law. The price is a little high for us, but we might end up going there. The whole place was very nice. My mother-in-law liked it there. That is our top choice. However, they have no transition if she needs more care. It was excellent though. The staff were very helpful. They stopped and talked to her. They were great. I thought everything that she needed was there. They have a salon, a courtyard, and places to walk, which are pretty. They have a lot of activities going on that she's interested in. They have trips, too."

"I toured Elderwood Residences at Wheatfield. I was very impressed with the facility and the people there. I was looking at the patio homes, which were very nice. I knew somebody that used to stay there, and they were very happy when they were there. In one house, I saw the individual bring her appliances for whatever reason, but the other I saw had appliances that looked all modern and brand new. I looked at the other facilities, and size-wise, the pricing was higher than I expected. The staff was good."

"We toured the Elderwood Assisted Living at Wheatfield, and my husband's niece is in assisted living. It's a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. It was clean. People come in and help with the housekeeping once or twice a week. The staff we met who took us on the tour were very pleasant, welcoming, and patient, and tried to help us out with what we'd like at this level of care. They do the lawn care outside, and they send somebody once a week to wipe off the counters, do the vacuuming and stuff, and clean up the bathroom. There's an emergency call light in each unit, even though you're not in the actual nursing home."

"My wife is in Brookdale Niagara. This was the only place that I toured, and I liked it immediately. We chose it because she required memory care. She had been wandering and she just could not be left alone at any time in the house. It's just for her own safety. The staff is very caring and very upbeat, friendly, personable, and genuinely interested in helping all the residents. I did not get a chance to check the food. I'm not allowed to eat with the residents due to health concerns. We wear masks if we go to visit, but the residents do not have to wear the masks. If I wanted to eat with them, I'd have to eat in a separate room. There are activities scheduled throughout the day. They publish a schedule for what's going on every day. The rooms are very clean. The hallways are very well-maintained. The place is very clean. I was very impressed. I had asked for prices from other places, and I think it's a good value."