Elance at West End by Cogir

Brookes

Parent in need of daily care does not get consistent care. Lack of management and oversight of staff/aids duties. Nurses are very good and reliable. Lack of space to walk around outside is a minus. Nice terrace but no place to take a walk outdoors without driving to park. The building can feel quite small quickly. The activities manager tries hard to provide a variety of activities. The quality of entertainment is mediocre, could be better musicians hired.

Steven

I went to Brandywine Living Alexandria for my mother last month. It was without question the nicest place. They had lots of woods and very rich, thick carpets. They had a huge fish tank. They had a balcony that overlooked the entrance. They had a salon, the Chanel salon. They had very wide hallways that were well lit. It was quite a fancy place. They had a pool, which I think was for physical therapy. There was a small gym, which was also physical therapy. They had a courtyard that was contained inside the building, but open to the outdoors with a fire pit. They had really nice little kitchenettes in the room. They had a full sized refrigerator and microwaves there, which they might not allow in the memory care. I actually have a distant relative who lives there. We saw her in the dining room when we were going in. It was kind of fun to see her. She loves it there. The food that I saw in the dining room looked quite good. She was very enthusiastic about it. She said they've been there several years, and they love it.

Sterling

Brandywine Living at Alexandria was a beautiful property. It was well cared for. I guess it was relatively recently built compared to a lot of other places in the area. It was well-maintained, very clean, and very professional. The staff members were amazing and really nice. They sat down with us and spent a lot of time talking to my father-in-law, figuring out what he wanted out of it, and what he was looking for. They proceeded to walk us around the entire facility and showed us everything. We were able to check the menu and the dining facility. The menu sounded amazing. They've got a really good period of service for that, and they very much cater to the residents. The staff knows most of the residents who run into you by name. It was pretty cool. I guess we came on the back-end of a really big activity that they had. It looked like they had a lot of fun. They had like an inter-unit competition type of thing. The rooms were really nice and highly customized. We got to even see one that was under renovation for somebody that was moving in that had specific requests. So they're willing to accommodate anything, and obviously, that comes at a cost. They're willing to redo the building to suit the resident, and that sounds like a pretty good deal. To suit what they want/like, the one that we walked into was actually three rooms being joined together into a single unit.

Ann

Brandywine Living at Alexandria was excellent, very high class, and had a very inviting atmosphere. The staff was very helpful and caring. The food was good. The fish was really good, my husband said the asparagus and the cauliflower were good, my granddaughter had pancakes and she liked it, and my son had a crab cake and he said it was very good. I think my father will partake in the happy hour from 3:00 to 5:00 every day with an aquarium around their bar. The senior citizens seemed engaged. Even though they were in their 80s, they seemed to be able to partake in their activities. In comparison with what I looked at, the money value we got was good. If you have the money, you can live there.

Jim

We went to the memory care of Brandywine Living at Alexandria. The things we liked best about it were the number of healthcare professionals who are assigned to make sure that the residents are getting the right type of care, the cognitive therapy, and the physical therapy. I also think there's a nurse assigned to that facility so that there's on-site care depending upon the needs of the residents. I liked the fact that they have an in-house chef who can cook types of food the residents like. There's a butler service, or someone who can help make sure that the nutritional needs and food preferences are met for the different residents. There's a very good demonstration of safety and security in the memory care area. It's very secure; the residents are not going to be at risk as far as leaving the area that's considered memory care and going to different areas of the community unaccompanied. That's important, obviously. There seemed to be a lot of activities offered for the residents. I think they have a courtyard or a terrace area -- an outdoor-type area where during nice weather there can be outdoor-type activities. When we first walked in yesterday, we got the impression that it's a very new facility, a new community, and very well appointed. There was a huge tropical-fish tank that greeted us when we first came to the door. Not only were our temperatures taken as visitors, but we were given a rapid COVID test, which is the only place that we've experienced that. The Brandywine told us that not only did they not suffer any COVID-related deaths, but they never had any positive cases either, which speaks well for the fact that they were able to keep the residents safe. We are considering Brandywine for mom.

Chelsea A.

I was interested in this community for my parents whom since the beginning of the pandemic we’re starting to have issues. I called the building directly and I was greeted by a cheerful voice and transferred over to the sales person. She was so friendly and conversational, which I hadn’t yet encountered in any of the other places I checked out. She told me about them being covid clear through the entire pandemic which I almost didn’t believe but did verify with the health department, so kudos to them. The unit they showed me was like on a penthouse floor which I couldn’t believe they had but very cool. It even came with a concierge and a butler. Overall the total experience was nothing short of what I could have hoped for and I pray my parents chose the Alexandria Brandywine.