Holiday South Hill

Reviewer RC#0201b

The people that I talked to at Holiday South Hill, the staff, were very nice, but I didn't choose to go there because there wasn't enough storage in the unit. It was a studio. The food didn't seem to be as good as the facility I am in. Also, the cleanliness wasn't as good.

SueE

We have 2 bedroom/2bath apartment which is quite large, comfortable and quiet. The food is very tasty with several choices each meal. The staff is very friendly and caring, making you feel at home.

Frank

I have moved into Holiday Willow Gardens. It's great. The apartment is great. It's comfortable. There's plenty of room. The kitchen is big. It's more of a plus studio because of the bedroom and the bathroom. It's perfect. The dining room is magnificent. They have their own furniture. It's beautiful. The food is great. I just had breakfast. It's well-balanced. I don't live to eat; I eat to live. And that's the kind of environment you have here. It's very nice. The staff members are so patient. The cleanliness of the place is very good. I was impressed since day one. Even my brother-in-law was impressed, too. This place is very nice. It's very clean. The value for money is very comparable and fair. For all you get out of that, it's very reasonable, especially with the prices today.

Marcia

I liked Holiday Willow Gardens. It had a nice atmosphere as far as the rooms and decor. I liked the apartment I looked at. It had a lot of storage space and a balcony. I can envision my furniture there. They're going to do a remodel. So, it's going to be upgraded more. They have a library, some kind of exercise room, and activities (they gave me a copy of their activity calendar). Their activities tend to be more like playing cards and watching movies and stuff like that, but it didn't seem like they went to events that much. It's in a nice area. There's a lot of woods around it and stuff. The lady that gave the tour was very nice.

Susan

My parents have moved into Holiday Willow Gardens. It is very nice. The dining room has needed updating for at least 18 months. The chairs are worn, and the carpet is worn and has holes in them. The grounds are very pretty. The apartment is very spacious compared to others. My parents are eating three meals a day, and they are eating more than they had before. The food is good, but sometimes they run out. In terms of activities, they have a pool table, places for playing cards and poker, exercise bikes, and activities for exercising, and they have a theater, too.

Kevin

Our experience with Holiday Willow Gardens has been good. They have an activities director and they offer activities for Mom. They have a dining area (which most independent communities do not have), and they offer transportation within five miles of the facility for free, which is included with your rent. They also offer laundry and they have washer and dryer that you can use for free if you want to do your own laundry. They don't do a lot overall, but they have painting classes and bingo games. They could probably do a little bit better with that, but something is better than nothing. Mom's room is definitely adequate. She's in a studio and it's a good size. It works for her well. They have a staff of five or six people that work there. They have a leasing person and someone that does the tours, so when there's a question, sometimes you might have to wait a day or two for an answer, which normally isn't a big problem, but it's inconvenient sometimes. They can try to stay on top of everything, but sometimes it's difficult. For the things that are in their control, I would say they do it. They respond to cleanups and take care of things fairly quickly, usually when you ask them to.

Tracy

We toured Holiday Willow Gardens. We liked the way it was put together. Fortunately, we were able to get a ground floor apartment for our father, because he has mobility issues. The staff member is super nice and went out of their way to try and make it work for us. I've kept in contact with her getting ready for the move. Mainly, it just seemed really nice. The grounds were nice. His room is going to be really nice for him. Also, the location is very close to our house, so my husband will be able to go and like have lunch with him and do things like that, so that was really a big plus for us choosing them. Also, the people are so personable, and everyone seems happy there. We're very happy with the room. It's right down the hall from the mess hall. My father would get a little patio right outside his room. It's kind of small, but he really doesn't need much more than that. We like the way it's put together. It's very clean, very nice, warm, and comforting. The lady in charge there, her name is Beth. She was very accommodating and worked to get us the best rate we could as far as to move in, and so we were really happy with how well she worked with us.

Terry

I liked Holiday Willow Gardens. I ate lunch yesterday there and the food was OK. The people were nice and it was in my price range. They provide everything. Housekeeping, three meals a day, and transportation. They don't take Medicaid though.

Marilyn

We went to Willow Gardens. We had a meal there. We liked it very much, but it was too far from where all of our friends are and our church. I like the atmosphere. It's almost like New England. It's a beautiful facility. I ran into one of my former colleagues in the dining room, so I have friends who are living there. It was healthy food, and it was good tasting. I highly recommend it.

Joan

We liked Willow Gardens and that was one of the places we planned to take my mother-in-law into. It wasn't as nice as the one we chose, but it had some perks that we thought would be perfect for her with the dog because it had patios off of the rooms. But it had set times for meals and that was hard. It had a lot of other amenities like the salon and the other things that we wanted her to have there at the facility. Specifically, they don't have in-home care, we would have to hire a nurse separately if she needed care eventually. That was our second choice. The staff was really good, we liked her. They have great amenities, they had a great activity calendar, and their menu was really good. It just was like set times when she had to be there that were going to be hard for her, and then because of her arthritis and stuff, she just doesn't get moving in the morning well. They had the salon and they had a chapel, right in the facility. They had a theater, they had transportation as well, and then they did physical therapy right there.

Krista

My father is at Willow Gardens. Everybody is nice. It's really clean. All the residents are friendly. They provide three meals. I saw a little workout area, and they had bingo and stuff going on. The dining area looks really clean, it's like restaurant-style, so you have options to choose from. My dad said that the food was good, but I have not had anything there. They have an option if you're not feeling well and you don't want to go down, you can order something and then go down and pick it up. It's kind of like takeout, but you have to pick it up yourself. We had a little bit of problem setting up the payments and whatnot and there's a few questions that we still have outstanding with them, but overall they've been great. The parking does get to the point where there's no parking available. They have a secured gate, but they have not communicated what the gate code is to get in. They are a little bit pricey, but it is a nicer area.

Donna

Willow Gardens seemed nice and they seemed like nice people. They answered questions. The thing that we liked about them is that even though they're an independent living place, they offered three meals a day so my mom wouldn't have to cook because she is 92. They have lots of little activities they could do and get people together. I get a good feeling since they were behind a gated community, the gates are locked so safety was a good matter there. We only met the one person that did the tour. She was nice and informative. She gave us a little snack while we were doing the paperwork and then it was around dinnertime so we went ahead and had dinner there. My mom seemed to like it. The facility looked clean, you saw people walking around so it didn't look like people felt like they had to be locked up in their rooms because there was nothing to do. I guess you would call that more inviting. I liked the idea that they had planned get-togethers. I know that they had signed up for a thing called Cherry Yoga. My mom's pretty social so she might benefit from things like that.

Sue

My in-laws moved into Willow Gardens. We chose it because it was independent living, but they have caregivers on site 24/7. So as our parents progress and need more assistance with things, we are going to be able to do that right there, just by adding more services. It's been very good, and it's worked out great. All the staff we were in contact with were very pleasant, very helpful, and informative. The environment there, as far as the building itself goes, was very pleasant. They have a lot of activities going on, so we just kind of felt that it was a good match for them. The location played a role because it's pretty close to where we live, so that helped also. We sampled the food and we liked it. It was good. The upkeep was very good too. We didn't see anything that looked poorly kept. It all looked good. I haven't experienced a lot of activities yet, but it appears that it's going to be really nice. They have a very nice schedule of activities. It's a good value. I think it's covering the majority of what their expenses are going to be.

Lacie

My parents are at Willow Gardens. They live in independent living cottages around the building. They love it, and we love it. It's wonderful. There's a little issue in the beginning because of the virus with the food situation, but they're trying to resolve that now. They've been very kind about it. There's a beauty shop, a barber shop, a dining hall, a library, and a craft room. They've bent over backwards. The repairman put the TV up for them, and they're helping out a lot because of the food situation. They're bringing the food to them, but they assured us that it will get better when they can open their dining hall and have a real person cooking. We've looked at several places, and this was the most reasonable for the price especially because they have their own cottage and a little garage.

Provider Response

Kasmir52

I urge you not to consider this facility. On the surface, Willow Gardens presents as a friendly, caring, and well-run institution truly interested your well-being. However, these values are paper-thin and are demonstrated by the following observations: • Food: Portion sizes are extremely small and are often more on the child-size. It is highly unlikely that the daily calorie requirements are satisfied by the sizes provided by the kitchen. Although residents can ask for “seconds”, they must wait for completion of the entire service only to discover nothing is left. Making things worse, management is often observed taking “double-sized” portions while residents eat undersized portions. Food is heavily based on carbohydrates with little attention to fruits, vegetables, protein, etc. And deserts are heavily vetted on cookies! • Housekeeping: WG claims to be guided by an incredibly detailed checklist, but their small housekeeping staff only permits 20-minute limit to complete a superficial job. And, they have limited service to once every two weeks during the Covid crisis with further limitations on an already reduced service! • Maintenance: Service takes a long time. A simple light bulb will take 3 weeks to complete. However, I have to give them credit for acting quickly on urgent things like heat. But, management hampers the ability of management to act quickly. For instance, sprinklers cannot be repaired because they are “bidding” the project. Consequently, we have flooded sidewalks, at times. • Management: Managers are new and inexperienced at large hospitality facility management. They readily pacify residents with “we’re doing the best we can” and “we’re working on it” excuses. While they hold resident meetings, they do not readily seek out resident perspectives on their needs or satisfaction. • Appearance: As I walk around the facility, little things pop-out that signal these problems. Pictures are not hung at the same height. Dust is everywhere. Chairs are askew, and clutter hallways. Managers are sitting at their desks, not walking around interacting with residents. Smells from the rooms can be pretty obnoxious, at times. Some residents have reported, as noted in another report, about these smells. So, why am I here? Well, it’s for an entirely different reason. Other things overcome these obstacles. It has to do with location and the offerings that would give away my identity, but these problems are still overwhelming and deserve mentioning. I suspect, though, that I’ll be shopping after the crisis.

Provider Response

mustspeak

Well, I’ve been here for less than a year and for the last few months I’ve had to deal with a neighbor who needs more help than this place can offer and if you haven’t smelled the stench of a broken colostomy bag, you will here. I need to place a towel along the crack of my door. Bugs are crawling in my pipes and I hear everyone I’ve talked with say the same. No one can stand the smell and I need to call the office to spray the hallway all of the time. Right now there’s a room downstairs that also has a terrible odor and they found maggots in the room with uneaten food stacked. The tenant who again cannot fully take care of himself kicked out the staff who were trying to help him and his family won’t come to help at this point. But what’s interesting is this place doesn’t fill up quickly so they bring in ‘anybody’ even if they need help. Right now the minds of these here that need the extra care are not convinced that they need the help, so that’s the type of people they prey on to fill the spaces in here. News right now is my neighbor who needs to leave is adamant about staying. Welcome to Willow Gardens! Nobody here is thinking about the betterment of the ones who are affected by this excruciating experience this has been. I have not had one person come to me to let me know what they are going to do and frankly I don’t think they care. This is supposed to be an independent living place, but it clearly isn’t that. This is the cheapest place to rent and evidently some can’t afford anymore to get the care they need. It’s looking more like a drop off place for families to feel good about, with all the amenities, well, we won’t talk about the unappetizing food. The tenants are very nice and I enjoy visiting with them though and most being elderly do not know really what all goes on around here, so the management uses that to assume nothing’s wrong If the issues don’t get fixed soon I may need to leave. But I hope they get it all worked out as right now they’re dealing with peoples rights, the ones causing the problems....I wouldn’t recommend this place at this time as it becomes a headache to try to get management to listen to you no matter how many times you try to make them see there is something wrong with this picture here in all that’s going on. I’m numb, I’m just numb.....

Provider Response

Laura

We liked Willow Gardens. It was clean. The people were friendly. The place wasn't new but we liked it. The person who helped us was good. The dining area didn't look amazing, but it was OK. We saw the calendar of activities. My mom liked the idea of some of the activities like outings to the casino and to the nursery.

SP

Willow Gardens was a beautiful and friendly place. It's a very lovely place to live. They showed me different one-bedrooms and studios. They were great. Wendy, the girl who took us on the tour, was energetic, friendly, and positive. The place was clean and neat.

Kathy

My dad chose Willow Gardens and he loves it. They have a beautiful facility, a gorgeous dining room, and he likes his room. It’s a 1-bedroom, it’s huge, the bathroom is huge, it has all the safety features. He could be anywhere and they would be able to help him, which was comforting for the family. He has a backdoor, his car is parked right by the backdoor, and he is able to get in and out of his car easily.

Provider Response

Vickie

Willow Gardens' location is very good because it's very close to stores for people to visit without having to go far out of their way. It's a really beautiful place with a lot of options for the size of apartments, including studio, one- or two-bedrooms. The common areas met all of our expectations for types of areas and the size of them. It was very clean and seemed like a place where we would feel very comfortable putting our mother. The prices were actually very good as in comparison to other places. They are part of a travel program and have multiple locations in the United States where as a resident, you can go to those cities, make a reservation, stay there, get all your meals, and it doesn't cost anything. I think that's a really neat concept.

NotTooHappyWithFood

The common areas are nice and clean, staff is nice, but underpaid and rotate often, From management to chefs, sometimes there isn't one. They are cutting costs of food, so the meat is scarce and they use canned soups. Its sad since the highlight of many seniors is the lunch time and desert.

Vickie847844

My father chose Willow Gardens after going to seven different places. He likes the people and the staff. He enjoys the different activities that go on throughout the week. The atmosphere is the biggest thing for my dad. The food is excellent. He plays bingo every night and plays with different card groups every day. He also likes the pool table, puzzle table, craft classes, and the reading area.

Mary062322

Willow Gardens was great. It was very nice. One of the things why my dad did not like it down there is that it was too far from where he was, but we had a really nice time there. It was our second choice.

Nancy637246

I visited Willow Gardens. They had nice apartments and dining area with small tables, so five people could eat and talk. The apartment had a kitchen area with a small refrigerator or microwave. It had a place to have a table and a couple of chairs. Some of them had one bedroom and some of them had two that were a nice size.

AC620352

Willow Gardens was very good, and the manager talked me through. They had everything, like a small gym and dining room facilities. They had quite a list of activities daily and I was very impressed with it, except that I didn’t realize they were expensive. I spoke to two residents and the manager, and all of them were very pleased with the apartments. It was a little bit older but more responsive to the needs of the individuals there.

Dan111978150

My father seems to be quite happy with Willow Gardens. He doesn't really complain about them. The people have all been willing to help him when he needed it. It's nice, fairly new, and kept clean, and they have a nice dining room. He doesn't get too involved in the activities, but they have things on the holidays. They have entertainment, and he goes to those.

Christina19

He is already settled in Willow Gardens, and we are quite satisfied with it. The staff is very friendly and caring, the food is excellent, the facility is very clean with lots of activities going on, and the managers take time to get to know each resident. Possibly a little more flexibility on the bus; they have an in-house bus, there are set times, and my father is having a little trouble adjusting to that, which is partly personality and partly because of the schedule. It is a good and safe place with a very convenient location and very nice setting.

Julie45

Willow Gardens is OK; it is independent living with caregivers. It’s actually working right now maybe not as much for him, because he is not used to being alone. People treat them with the respect that they should. This place is a lot different than what I was told it was going to be, but it’s a beautiful place -- very well-kept up.

Christine36

My mom's been at Willow for about 12 years now. It's awesome, and it's really hard to beat. It looks like a 4-star hotel. The building is amazing, and they have beautiful decorations. I would want to live there. They have beautiful, big hallways. There's no way you feel like you're in a care facility. It's like a motel. I love it. They do meals for her downstairs. She's not needing any care. She showers and does everything herself, and she's doing really well, except she forgets to take her pills.

Caring69010050

My mother-in-law stayed at Willow Gardens for less than a month. It was very nice and well set up. The staff was very helpful. They had a really nice separate eating area where they could go any time. They had a lot of activities. They had a library, a theater, and a craft room. It had a lot of nice things. I wished she could have stayed there. There's nothing wrong with it, she just didn't blend in there because she was not a very social person.