Affinity at Bellingham

Reviewer#RD1114p

Affinity at Bellingham calls itself a 55-plus community. It looked like a nice place. It's just that it's not what I'm looking for because there were no meals and no housekeeping. I didn't have contact with many staff. The place was pleasant. They have a pool and more things in the common area.

Happy and Active

Affinity at Bellingham has been my home for over 5 years. I have pleasant neighbors and the independence I love. Affinity offers many amenities but they'd be meaningless without capable management holding everything together. We have a second-to-none Maintenance Team that often responds to a request for service the same day I make it. Our common living spaces are kept clean, especially important during our recent COVID pandemic. Office staff, including Director, work well as a team. I see our Management Team as the human face of a successful business. This isn't an inexpensive place to live. But given the hassle-free life I enjoy, I'm definitely getting my money's worth.

Heather

Affinity at Bellingham showed me two apartments. They completely redo these apartments after every resident. They freshen them up. They use new paint, put new carpeting in, and just keeping everything up to date. They were really taking care of the building and the apartments. They have a lot going on. They have entertainment, movie nights, an area where they have pool tables, soccer board tables, and a bar. They stream some of the newest movies, too. The people were very helpful.

Marianne

I toured Affinity at Bellingham. The tour guide manager was very nice. She toured me around the facility and told me how it works. It's kind of an apartment complex for seniors. All the activities are done by the people. The company itself doesn't do any activities for the people that live there. It's all self-run by the community. You have to cook on your own. I didn't see any rooms. They have a very nice indoor pool, although you have to go outside to get to it. It was quite expensive. I didn't feel like something that I was interested in, but they were very nice.

Provider Response

Lizanne

Affinity at Bellingham was so clean and welcoming. There were so many different amenities that are managed by the residents. If they decide they want to do something, they all just get together, make sign up sheets, and do it. They were going to a movie last night, so they all signed up and drove each other to the movies. We met a couple residents, and they were all calm and just happy to be there. They had special amenities like a woodworking shop. I loved the saltwater pool, hot tub, and the movie theater was really special. It was really beautiful. They don't offer food. The staff was wonderful, we only met two of them, but they were really friendly, very professional, and very nice. The thing we really loved about it (especially for our friend), was that it just felt so happy, alive, and part of the community. It didn't feel like this separate, isolated nursing home type feel. Of course they don't have any medical amenities, so it's different from some of the other places that we've seen. It's for somebody who's a little more active.

mmorton

My mom has lived there for a few years. UtilitIes are supposed to be included, but in 2019 they started charging $150 more per person for more than one resident in a unit, even a two bedroom unit where standard occupancy is two persons. When the pandemic hit, most amenities were suspended (workout area, swimming pool, hot tub, Friday Happy Hour, pool room, etc) were suspended. Everyone understood that was necessary, but now that access is opening again, management acts like these are all extras that the company can’t afford to provide!!!! The pool heater has been broken for months, cardio equipment is broken, management complains about the cost of Happy Hours (really? Only 20% or so of the residents even participate!) and management recently announced they “can not afford” to provide the protein (turkey/ham) for the two traditional holiday potlucks! On the upside, rent has not increased, but we’ll see what happens in 2022. Overall, Affinity seems to be cutting as close to the bone as possible. The Bellingham rental market is very tight now, so I guess they don’t care.