The Watermark at East Hill

Iwan1

The Watermark at East Hill was nice, but the apartment then was $450,000. If you die or you go away, they keep 20%. The restaurant was like a very expensive hotel in New York. The people were nice, everything was set up nicely, and I liked it, although it was a little hard because they would keep $80,000 in case you moved out or you died. Maintenance was very nice. They would clean every other day or every three days. The food was excellent. The seniors there weren't as old or as dilapidated as I have seen in many other places. They invited me several times back. I think I had three meals there. They have speakers coming in, and they invite you to attend.

Provider Response

Joanne

The Watermark at East Hill was lovely. My mother stayed there, and it was very nice, so I really got to see it. I didn't think we would ever find any place as nice as that. She was in independent living. Everything was very clean, they had good activities, they kept her mind active, and she enjoyed it there. Food was included, and that was part of the deal even though it was an independent living setup. They had an exceptional chef. I used to go and have dinner with her. The facility was designed more for activities. They had billiard rooms, little golf-putting ranges, a beautiful home theater, and a lot of outside groups coming in to do dance and piano shows, and things like that. It's immaculate and they're constantly improving. You never see a dirty spot on the carpet. It's just really clean. It was definitely higher priced, and there was also an equity buy in required. She was there for two years.

Provider Response

KB

Someone I know has been at The Watermark at East Hill for three months, and it’s been a positive and good experience. The staff is very helpful. The place is clean, organized, quiet, and generally topnotch. The grounds are well-manicured and well-landscaped. The apartments are very nice. She's in a very nice 1-bedroom apartment with a balcony.

Kristine12

My aunt is in the Watermark, and she is in the memory care unit. It’s beautiful when you walk in, and it’s only three years old. The room was nice and spacious with a beautiful bathroom. The food is OK, but it’s always the same stuff. I think they’re short staffed, but the girls that worked there are wonderful. The nurses are phenomenal and on top of things. It is a nice place, and she has enjoyed most of her stay there, but it has gotten costly.

Provider Response

Caring75084350

During our visit at The Watermark, we thought that it was very pleasant. We enjoyed talking with the marketing person. The people living there seemed to be very friendly. The apartments had variety of sizes, small and large. The ones we saw were pleasant. Some of them looked out on lovely wooded areas and others looked out on the roofs of garages. There were several dining options on this facility, which was very nice. They had what they called a bistro and a formal dining room. There was even an area where you could eat outside. We were told that there was a van that took the people to various functions off campus. They also have a lot of activities available there for handicapped people. They have a beautiful swimming pool, spa, and beauty salon. They even had a library. However beautiful the place was, we just decided that we were not ready to move yet.

lyssaszoo

The facilities were absolutely spotless and people were extremely pleasant. It has a full salon and spa, with a year-round heated pool (and a gas fireplace with cozy chairs at one end of the room), an auditorium for concerts and shows, a private movie theatre complete with comfy theatre seats (you can even ask them to screen a movie for you when they don't have one already scheduled), and multiple dining options. The Villa was my main focus - and when they say it's a brand new concept in memory care, they're not kidding. It's set up like a house, with an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area, so residents feel like they're in a home vs an institutional setting. They even cook and eat family style, right along with the CNAs ("Nayas"). The outdoor space is set up differently than others I've seen - nayas accompany residents on walks/outings, there are rocking chairs on the front porch, and a side porch with beautiful butterfly gardens and raised-beds for them to enjoy/plant - no feeling of being locked up like you sometimes have in secured memory care units. It's a spotless environment that feels modern/upscale but still extremely cozy. Apartment/room layout is easy to navigate for residents, with the bathrooms not far from the bed (helpful if there are incontinence issues). The bathrooms themselves are gorgeous - fully tiled (completely waterproof "wet room") so there's no step getting into the shower, just a shower curtain. If the grab bars weren't there, you wouldn't even know this was a bathroom in a memory care apartment. They encourage aging in place, so residents don't have to move to skilled nursing unless they require extensive nursing oversight. The level of personal interaction between the staff and the residents was what absolutely floored me compared to other facilities - these are highly engaged residents (regardless of the stage of their disease) who participate in extremely personalized activities constantly throughout the day. Nayas seem to know everything there is to know about these residents - where they grew up, their spouse's/kids'/friends' names, jobs, names of companies they worked for, interests...you name it. One even downloaded an app to translate German to English, because one of her residents slips into his native German periodically and she didn't want to lose the ability to communicate with him. The facility has the best resident-to-staff ratio of any I've heard of, and it really shows (plus, they just added even more CNA coverage to help during busy periods). The food is fresh food w/a really good variety (when I toured, they had a choice of ribs, chicken or quiche). There's an RN on-campus 24/7. Overall, the facility feels very well maintained, the staff seem happy at every level, and The Villa itself was unbelievably peaceful and welcoming - I could have sat there all day and just relaxed. This is at the top of my short list.