Encore at Buckingham

Junia

We're in senior living right now here in Encore at Buckingham. I appreciate the good communication between the office, and if we ever need anything fixed, they send a repairman very quickly. We have good interpersonal relationships with the office staff, and I appreciate that. We have our own food. Five mornings a week, there's a communal breakfast, but it takes me a lot of time to get my husband dressed and everything, so we haven't attended that. The timing is not good for us. We're in a one-bedroom apartment. What was a positive thing to come here was the bathroom is large enough for a wheelchair to get into and there are grab bars in the bathroom especially, for a handicapped person, which is very good. I like the layout of the kitchen and the tiny cupboard space, and it's open to a small dining area. We have pretty much our spot with office and living room. We have a very good west window, so we have plenty of sunlight, and the bedroom is two single beds. My husband needs his own bars and stuff on his bed. Between our bedroom and the bathroom, there's space with the closet so I can go right from our bedroom to the bathroom, and then the bathroom is accessible to the hallway just as one comes in. It's a good place for a washer-dryer. The layout is very helpful. There's an exercise program every morning, but the timing isn't really good, so I do my own exercises here. They have movies. There's also a beauty parlor, and I have appreciated the haircuts I can get there. Every so often they have a special time as I went to a baby shower Friday afternoon. It was for someone that had worked in the leasing part of the office, and she had been so helpful to us, so it was fun to go to her baby shower. They have all kinds of different activities. My husband is invalid, so I have to help him with walking, and he has some exercises to do. We are not looking for too much outside activity. We do have friends that stop by, but I know that the activities that they do have here for some are the things that they're looking for. In our case, it's not so much. They keep things clean. They just had a big, massive clean a month or so ago. They have a bus that takes people to some outings. They also take people to Wal-Mart. People can sign up for their time to leave for grocery shopping and other kinds of shopping. Pricewise, I think they are honest with what they charge, and I believe we're getting a good take from what we pay here. Compared to what we did then with what we have now, I'm much more pleased with what we have here. We're thankful here.

Lisa

I almost didn't go to tour Encore at Buckingham because I read the reviews and it used to not be nice. They have fixed their issues now though so I went. The lady was very nice and I got to meet residents who have lived there a long time. They have a movie room with popcorn. They have different interest groups. They have a communal eating area or a dining room and they have a library. She made it clear that it's a good place to make friends. The apartments were nice. They do have a gas water heater and I don't like gas so that's one thing I don't like. Some people might not care about that though. They have balconies and the appearance of the place was very nice. I did not eat anything but I saw that they have a dining room. They were playing bingo in the dining room.

James

I toured Encore at Buckingham and it was great. It offers the things that I am looking for. I like the layout of the apartment they showed me, and I liked the amenities. I liked the location really because it is close to a grocery store, a drugstore, and a whole bunch of things. The facility itself, the amenities they offered, and the programs that they offered would just overall fit my needs the best so far. The staff members were extremely helpful and were willing to answer any questions and go into detail about what the facility was all about. They do not offer a meal plan. It flows very well in terms of facility offerings like an exercise room, the ballroom, and all that kind of stuff.

BillieBog

The staff is very gracious and friendly, however I had numerous problems during my year of residency. The staff has no flexibility to negotiate lease terms after you have signed. So read the lease carefully to ask for modifications before you sign. Clauses that I found particularly difficult/onerous after the fact: —a $200 surcharge when you go if you go month-to-month, —60 days notice even if you are month-to-month, —Extra door/gate opener’s are a flat fee of $75. It is not a deposit or a sales price. If you do not return the extra door/gate opener you will be charged again. —A $500 upfront charge, not deposit, if you have a pet. After I leased the apartment, I left a steamer and a few other items in it while moved my furniture from my home. When I returned, the steamer was gone. I was told they would reimburse me for the steamer, but this never happened. Every appliance in my kitchen had problems, most had to be replaced. —The electric sockets trip frequently. —The disposal did not work and the sink was backed up for over a week. —After the disposal was replaced, we found the dishwasher did not work either. —The microwave stopped working and had to be replaced so I was without it for over a week. —The burners on the stove were loose and would come unattached. I would think I was cooking, but I was not. There was a roach infestation which took months and was never handled. Eventually I had to remove everything from my kitchen cabinets to have the apartment fogged. This was difficult for me to do and I was not provided any help emptying the cabinets. The roaches were gone for a couple of days, but then we’re back. And they are in the walls and I was told they would spray my apartment but otherwise I just had to live with the roaches. I paid deposit $75 for an extra door/gate opener, but when I left they declined to refund me that money. My toilet regularly backed up and had to be plunged. The toilet seat broke and I was not reimbursed for the cost of a new seat. I paid $25 a month extra for a storage closet that was supposed to be re-keyed so my apartment key would work. This was never done nor was I given a key for the unit but I was charged $25 every month. Everyone is friendly and as helpful as possible, but there were serious facility problems. On the positive side, in general, I loved my time at Encore. The staff is very helpful and friendly. The facility is beautiful and the courtyard/pool area is well-maintained. The staff were supportive and approved (but only after approval by “corporate“) allowing community involvement presentations I recommended. The overall point related to the staff is they have no real authority.

CA

My tour of Encore at Buckingham (formerly Bristol At Buckingham) was excellent. They had little apartments and I saw their exercise room. They had a number of different activities going on. The person who gave me the tour did an excellent job. They had a swimming pool at the back. It was a nice facility. They had movies and different things each day and events that they plan throughout the week or the month.

Dan

Encore at Buckingham was beautiful and we liked it a lot. It was extremely clean and the buildings were very nice. The amenities were very nice, too. The outside environment was very clean, spacious, and very neat. The person that assisted us was extremely helpful and very informative.