The Bristal at Holtsville

DebiSaint

My parents just moved in but seem very happy. Sarah has been wonderful and very helpful to us She has gone out of her way to make the transition easy The rooms are bright and bigger than I thought they would be. My parents are enjoying the food and interaction with other residents

Elisa

My father moved into The Bristal at Holtsville a few weeks ago, and my mother's gonna join him in two weeks. My father doesn't need any level of care. He just needs meals and things like that. My mother needs more help than he does. They have a one-bedroom. They turned the living room into a second bedroom, and it had a kitchenette, a shared bathroom, and a nice big closet. They have studio and two-bedroom units there as well. They have games like Scrabble and mahjong. They have a hairdresser and nail technician. They have a bus that would take them on excursions, which right now is just sightseeing. They took my father to the beach the other day, but they couldn't get out of the car because of the Covid restrictions. They said normally they would take them to other places. If it wasn't Covid, they would take them out to the movie theater. They also have a movie theater inside the place. They play movies twice a day, and they have a pool there. They have arts, and they have physical therapy right on the premises. I just have to order through my doctor and Medicare will cover the PT to come to the place. Also, if they want to switch to their doctors, the doctors would come right to their place. The dinner is really nice because they get to order off a menu. There are ten things to choose from every meal. If you didn't like whatever it was on the menu, there was always an alternative. They have a lot of variety of food available. They have music where people would come in and do piano or singing or whatever. They have the entertainment and bingo. If they don't come down for breakfast or dinner, they'll come and check on them; then they will send something to the room. They're actually feeding them really well, and they have snacks in between. They even have a happy hour where they have a glass of wine in the afternoon or order a glass of wine with dinner. It's very easy to check him out. Last weekend, I took him overnight and he stayed with me. This weekend, I'm gonna take him for five days. It's nice to be able to know that if I wanted to keep him here for five days, two days, a week, that it is not an issue. I just have to sign him out. With the excursions, they have wheelchair accessibility and mom could just go on the bus. When Covid ends, she could participate in other types of activities. They even take them shopping. They put them on a bus and take them to Stop & Shop, CVS, or The Dollar Store. When I went to the other place, they were saying that my daughter couldn't go in the pool and couldn't play bingo or do the art classes, but this particular Bristal said, "If your granddaughter wants to go have an art class with them or if she wants to swim in the pool while they watch, they can," and they had no problem with family members coming for bingo. To me, that was important. With all these activities, they're going to be more motivated if my daughter can come and join them. They just seemed more open for a family environment. It was just really, really beautiful and it just seemed to have everything. There's also a shopping center right there and restaurants. My father has an electric wheelchair so I could walk over there with him or it's easy to pick them up and just take them right there. There's the bank, Red Lobster, and a lot of options. They have the bus that takes them places. It opened up the options of me being able to take my mother to get her nails done. There's pizzeria and so many things nearby. The staff was excellent. The first day we went, they introduced us to the chef, the head of the housecleaning department, and the wellness coaches. Every time I come, they are telling me how much he's eating and if he needs any clothes. They're constantly updating me either by phone or when I'm there. They're very friendly, and they stop by his room. They're really good, really friendly, and really involved. They know my first name. They try to set them up with people so they can meet friends. They'll sit them at a table with another gentleman that lives there. They're always encouraging him to do things. They do a good job of keeping his room clean and doing the laundry. I said he wasn't eating snacks because he couldn't make it down in the afternoon. They said, "Oh, we'll stock his fridge with snacks." It's very nice. It feels like you're walking in a 5-star hotel. Everything looked great. They offered us a special pricing initially.

erubi

THANKYOU to all the staff for making this transition for my mom so seemless. Her room is big and sunny and clean. Everything/everywhere is sooo clean. The staff is extremely attentive, friendly and super inviting. After a year of Covid isolation, it is so nice to see my mom smile again.

ReviewerFY#0226

My dad has moved to The Bristal at Holtsville, he just went in yesterday. We chose it because of recommendations from friends and family, the location, and their reputation. The staff is lovely, they're very efficient, they're very on top of everything and I'm very happy with the way they deal with the family. They don't keep you in the dark, they tell you everything. It's up to the family to decorate everything in the rooms. His room is a nice size, set up very nicely, and I have no problems whatsoever with it. The dining room actually looks like a restaurant, it's lovely. They have groups, they go on trips, and there's a movie theater. There's also a salon, there's a common room where people visit with each other and there's a library. There's a number of things you can do but I have not investigated any of them because my dad isn't using all that at this point. For the money they're charging, I've seen many expensive facilities that don't offer as much.

Patricia

My experience with The Bristal at Holtsville was wonderful. It's a great place. The staff was warm, helpful, and professional. The rooms were beautiful.

frielkann

I would NOT recommend this facility to anyone. Things started off okay, but then rapidly declined. The quarantine during covid-19 did not help; but neither did the way the facility handled my father during this time. My father started in the assisted living side- and it was okay; not great, and the activities were sub par as well as the food. Then they had to move my dad to the memory care unit due to the fact that he was a flight risk (because they were not allowed to leave their rooms for weeks- not even for a walk around the building-which would drive anyone crazy). Once in memory care his health started to decline rapidly and he was acting in a way that was out of character for him. I believe this was due to him being mistreated and even abused by the staff there. I would receive phone calls about his behavior and also that they needed to put him on Ativan and Seroquel because he was agitated and aggressive (all of which he has NEVER been in the 41 years that I have known him). They also sent my father to the hospital 3x in less than a month during a global pandemic that was killing the elderly faster than any other thing we've seen. Not only that but, my father was malnourished (lost 18 lbs in 3 months), dehydrated, constipated, required depends (out of nowhere), overly medicated (hallucinating and slurring words when I would call), decrease in mental status, changes in personality, and multiple falls. All of these things were out of character for my father- who entered again, independent and on the AL side of the facility. Not only all of the above- but, with each hospitalization, I encountered a fight with the Bristal with my father returning to the Bristal when he was medically cleared by the hospital. The last hospitalization was the last straw for me- they refused to take him back for various reasons each time the hospital called (covid-19 negative tested 4x) all while collecting rent and care costs. He was in the hospital for 21 days the last time they sent him. It is unfathomable that anyone would do this. I am disgusted and shocked that any facility would treat their residents this way. And imagine all of the things that went on during his time there that I am not aware of because no visitors were allowed. Also, his belongings were "missing" when they moved him and also items were "missing" when he was in the hospital or while they had him overly-medicated. He lost cash, his wallet, a gold citizens watch (while in memory care), and many other belongings when they moved him from his previous room during quarantine. They refused to do anything about it- as they say they are not responsible for personal items. They have lied to me on many occasions as well. They tried to say my father had a history of falls (one of the reasons they wouldn't take him back, but that was not true), then low ans behold within a 1 week period he had 3 falls after returning from the hospital to their facility. The reason I believe he was abused/mistreated is because he is in a new facility and doing SO MUCH BETTER. He is walking better, eating, socializing and is mentally and cognitively back to where he was before moving into the Bristal. They only care about your money and they only want MODEL residents- who do not require much care. Anyone else will be overly medicated or sent out, so they do not have to deal with them. The staff was not helpful and out right lied to me on many occasions. Some of the doctors on their staff do not return phone calls and in my opinion will give anyone a diagnosis of dementia, so they can blame it all the incidents on the residents. The Bristal is like this with many other residents because when I called the ombudsman, they said they had multiple complaints and the social workers in the hospital also have dealt with issues of the Bristal NOT taking residents back to their facility. STAY FAR AWAY from this place if you love your family member.

Long Island Daughter

We placed my mother, 91 years old, at the Bristal at Holtsville mid 2018. She was critical of the change, but I encouraged her to stay a few months because it was the best solution for her well-being at the time. Two months later, during on of my calls to her, I asked her what she thought about her stay there. To my surprise she said to me, "I can't speak to you now, I am too busy". And she said, all she does is laugh all day long. She loves, her room, her friends, the food and special events. The family is so pleased with the decision.

Ann

The Bristal at Holtsville is a beautiful facility. It's very clean and the apartments are very nice. They're very nicely laid out as compared to a lot of the ones we've seen. There were problems that are getting ironed out. They need more staffing. The staff seems to turnover quickly, but overall so far, it's been pretty good. Their cafeteria has a wide variety of food every day and it's pretty good. The rooms are very nice and very spacious, and they have a tremendous amount of storage. They have a salon one day a week and they have all kinds of activities going on all the time. They have five different entrees every day.

Judy

The Bristal at Holtsville was very nice, beautifully decorated, clean, and new. It seemed like a very positive place to be. The staff was good and seemed to be very attentive. They have a pool and a library.

Debra

The Bristal at Holtsville is a relatively new place that's more appealing when you walk in because it seems like everybody is engaged. They have some nice amenities and their menu is more extensive compared to other places. They have day trips, clubs, and choirs, which appeal to my mom. I find the staff to be very helpful and pleasant, and they seem to be doing a good job.

Rose118308

I visited The Bristal at Holtsville. The staff was very accommodating. The room was clean. It was a lovely, bright, clean, and very pleasant community.

Richard120573

The Bristal at Holtsville was a very nice, new place. It was only about one-third filled when we did our tour. It was a little less expensive than the other community we toured. There was an exercise class going on when we walked through the facility.