The Best Senior Living Communities in Chesapeake, VA

"My sister will move into Commonwealth Senior Living at Cedar Manor. Everyone we saw was happy and having fun, and the place was clean. The staff was helpful and nice. They only showed me one room, and it was nice, and that's the one my sister's going to be in. We checked the dining area. It's clean and it's big. I looked at the menu, and I thought it was delicious food. The facility is nice. It's kind of like out in the woods with some nice lawns, driveways, and parking spaces which is good. It looks like a quiet country place."

"The service at Indian River Residential Care Community is wonderful because this is a facility that all the people there are all in auxiliary grant, which mean that they are not a rich facility and I don't know if they have patients with private pay. There are a lot of things that they do not have. But for people like my son who cannot go even for one month on a private pay and can no longer live on his own, I thank God there is a facility like this. There is no choice menu, but that's alright. These people are happy that somebody is cooking for them. If they don't like what the dinner is, they can always have a sandwich. They don't have a lot of activities and that's very disappointing because I think old people need activities. But for activities, you need money. These are not well read people, so I think a library will be wasted. However, if a van can take them to a dollar store or Walmart once every other week, that will be wonderful. They will have something to look forward to, but they don't have that. There are some downfalls and yet for people who have nowhere else to go, thank God the place is there. I will rate the manager of that facility absolutely the highest mark plus double it. She is a wonder on this earth and all the people in that facilityand these are her words are her children. She is a wonderful human being. She is very good. She does what she has to do. She has taken a person out of there because he is a danger to others. She gives him a number of chances but it comes to a point that she can't keep him there any longer. Nothing is perfect and I am not saying that this place is perfect. Not all people are as nice or understanding or as kind as she. But ultimately she is in charge and she listen when you talk to her. She asks how we are doing and is everything is okay. She speaks with us and gives us a beautiful greeting when we come in. She runs the place beautifully. It is the love of her life and it shows. The people who are there are on auxiliary grant and these are the people who are not well-off at all. They haven't any abundance of anything in life and some of them like my son are mentally ill and other problems. So, they can't go out and earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year so they can go to a private pay. This is a special place for special people. If somebody doesn't have enough money and can get an auxiliary, there is not that many places around to choose from. "

"My mother-in-law has moved into Lighthouse Pointe by Barclay House. She's in independent care, but they have a company there that we can pay, have a contract per month, and they check on her every couple of hours and make sure they order her food. She can't get to the dining room on her own. She is in independent care, but she broke her arm and needs help. She doesn't sleep in a bed. She can't lie down flat, so she sleeps in an electric recliner, and it's set up like a cute little living room kind of thing. It's the same size as my den. It's got a nice-sized bathroom, and it's roomy enough for her to get in and move around in with a walker. The living room is big enough to move around with a walker. It has a balcony on it. It's open air. It's got lots of windows. The kitchenette has just a little sink, a microwave, a little coffee pot, and that's about it. It's got three closets in it, which I love. She's got one of the smaller units. There are two or three different sizes there, and they are all very nice. Before you move in, they remodel them and paint them, and she had new carpet, new flooring, and new amenities in the bathroom. They did a nice job. For her, it's really nice. The food is excellent. We've eaten a lot of meals with her. They bring the food to her; that's part of the extra money we pay through that other company, but they forget silverware occasionally. They forget little stuff, but for the most part, the food is good, and we haven't had a bad meal yet. Everybody is extremely friendly and helpful. We needed an extra handrail in the bathroom, and they came in and sized it up to how she gets off the toilet, and they came in and maintenance put it up for us the next day. I am extremely pleased with everything about it. Parking is a little tough some days. You have to park out a little further, but for the most part, it's great. I highly recommend it. They have puzzle stations all over the place. They play cards and different things. They have activities that come through. It's very clean."

"My mother received excellent care at this facility. Staff is very professional and communicated regularly with the family. Atmosphere is very homey. I also appreciated the care she received during hospice. The care my mother received at "All in the Famiy" was better than the hospital . EXCELLENT!"

"My mom will move into Commonwealth Senior Living at Leigh Hall. I loved the way it's set up. It used to be in the 1950s, a luxury hotel that they've turned into an assisted living facility, and so when you walk into the main entrance, it opens up into this giant atrium, and that's the common room, and the floors are open. There are skylights, so it's like the natural light coming in, but you can see the blue sky and the clouds above through these big skylights. It was very open, bright, and welcoming, and I love its atmosphere and feel. I like the square footage and the layout of the rooms. They have a kitchenette. The staff was great. I like the ratio of staff to residents. I like the little dining hall, how it was laid out, and it was very open, bright, and cozy. Everything was clean. There were no weird odors or anything like that. A lot of the staff have been there for a long time, and they don't have a very high turnover rate."

"I toured Serenity Care of Virginia. I went by myself. It was very tidy and clean. It was inviting. There were no odors. It wasn't like a nursing home-type environment. It was refreshing. Everyone seemed very polite. It just seemed relaxed. My sister has to have pureed food, and they offered to buy equipment to puree her meals. They were selective and they wanted to make sure that it was a peaceful, happy environment for the residents. They have a Hoyer lift there, too, so that's important for what our needs are. They seemed to be more personal with the residents, and they were concerned about them and their needs. They're there for them. There are four residents, and I think there are three rooms. For the price, my sister would be in a room with somebody else. I also met her potential roommate as well. It's the type of environment I would love for my sister to be in."

"Karolwood Gardens Norfolk was really nice. We liked it very much. We chose the other place over it because we could afford it a little better. We were looking for respite care. The sizes of their rooms were nice, and the upkeep was nice. We didn't deal with the staff very much. The person who showed us around was very nice."

"We went to see Commonwealth Senior Living at Churchland House and toured their assisted living facility for my sister. I was impressed with it. My daughter was with me, and we both thought it was great. I thought my sister would fit in very well there. They were very polite, and the gentleman who took us on the tour was very helpful. He showed us samples of the rooms that were available and the courtyard where you could sit out and relax. I wouldn't mind living there myself. I think they also had a TV room where you could go in and socialize, watch TV, or just play card games."

"I toured The Waterford at Virginia Beach Assisted Living. I liked the community, and the director was hospitable. They were willing to put my mom in there because they had two room openings, but the distance was farther away. They were clean, and they had other Filipinos there who could speak the language, which would help my mom. The director gave me a nice tour, and it's a smaller facility. She was willing to work with me and even order a bed for the room that was for respite care because we were thinking that Mom would only be in there for six weeks. She told me to let her know by the next day, and then she could order and accommodate me because one of the rooms had furniture and if that was still available, she could hold it for me. She just made me aware of the availability because it could always change. But there was no pressure, and she was cordial."

"I toured Brookdale Virginia Beach. The staff was very accommodating. I was very impressed with the facilities. It was very well taken care of. I did not see anything that I was concerned about. Outside, when they had an art class going on, everything was set up for the residents. It was very clean."

"My mom has moved into the assisted living of Harmony at Independence. I like that it's a fairly decent-sized community, they have a lot of activities, and their menu is very nice. The staff is very welcoming and helpful. The place is very clean and easy to get around. They have an outdoor space, a library, and a movie room. They have movie nights and trips where you can go around the world via video. They also have happy hours."

"I toured Commonwealth Senior Living at The Ballentine. Everything was much newer-looking. I would put it in the same category as being able to go to a nice hotel. The folks that met with us were very informative, no pressure, very open, and very good."

"It was better. There were more activities, and there were nicer facilities too. The rooms were very nice and spacious. The staff was really engaged, warm, and inviting. "

"We liked the fact that Harmony at Harbour View was very clean when we went in. The staff was very willing to help and to assist. The young lady who showed us around was very knowledgeable and friendly. We also had an opportunity to have lunch to be able to taste the food. The staff was very good. They spoke to you and acknowledged that you were there. Everybody was very friendly. Everybody that worked there, if they walked past or whatever, they spoke to you. They had transportation. They had a calendar that showed whatever was going on that week that we could participate in. The units that she showed us were very clean, ready to move in, and accommodating. They had one-bedroom or two-bedroom, and they had a studio. It was just wonderful. It was pricier than the other place and what turns my wife off to all of them, not just this one, is the fact that you have to pay for your spouse. If your two-bedroom started at $3500 and if you got a spouse, then it went up another $1200 or $700 for the spouse to be there."