1715 Castle Gardens Rd, Vestal, NY 13850, United States
Cost cutting corners everywhere. Now price is going up. Food is marginal at best, dried out meats, cold food. Desserts are the only thing that's ok, guessing because it comes in premade. New Years party consisted of a boom box. Really for what they pay you could not get a guitar or piano player. They deserve better for the cost. UPDATE - picture of Chicken Cordon Bleu, this is wrapped in saran wrap. Look a little burned? This was served to my friend's friend that lives there. Another favorite dish for them is beans and cut up hotdogs. They are paying somewhere around $5000 a month. Also check the calendar on your web site. No bingo as stated, kitchen seems to be not functioning for a while now due to a broken pipe so that room is used to try and cook in? Items come off the menu and replaced with whatever is at hand. These people need good communication and help with things that's why they are paying for ASSISTED living. Unfortunately, and sadly, Castle Gardens has become a money maker for Brookdale. Not going to call you, these people are worried about retaliation. AMENITIES? Fitness Center - 1maybe 2 exercise bikes Transportation - Van not usable for at least a week now Theatre - DVD/VCR that's started by someone that lives there Game Room FYI the Game room, Fitness Center and Theatre are ALL the same room. BOX food kitchen still out. Sandwich and chips may or may not get a choice on sandwich or dinner choice.
Read More ReviewsCost cutting corners everywhere. Now price is going up. Food is marginal at best, dried out meats, cold food. Desserts are the only thing that's ok, guessing because it comes in premade. New Years party consisted of a boom box. Really for what they pay you could not get a guitar or piano player. They deserve better for the cost. UPDATE - picture of Chicken Cordon Bleu, this is wrapped in saran wrap. Look a little burned? This was served to my friend's friend that lives there. Another favorite dish for them is beans and cut up hotdogs. They are paying somewhere around $5000 a month. Also check the calendar on your web site. No bingo as stated, kitchen seems to be not functioning for a while now due to a broken pipe so that room is used to try and cook in? Items come off the menu and replaced with whatever is at hand. These people need good communication and help with things that's why they are paying for ASSISTED living. Unfortunately, and sadly, Castle Gardens has become a money maker for Brookdale. Not going to call you, these people are worried about retaliation. AMENITIES? Fitness Center - 1maybe 2 exercise bikes Transportation - Van not usable for at least a week now Theatre - DVD/VCR that's started by someone that lives there Game Room FYI the Game room, Fitness Center and Theatre are ALL the same room. BOX food kitchen still out. Sandwich and chips may or may not get a choice on sandwich or dinner choice.
The Apartments themselves are nice. I have a friend who lives here. Many of the residents don't like the food served at the restaurant, and they have been resistant to changing it. Also, the heat and ac are very hard to get regulated. Most of the time, the temperature is way too hot during the day and too cold at night from what my friend told me. There are several helpful and kind employees and a couple that are not.
Update: Pauline appears to be getting more support now that the holidays are past. She is participating in some of the activities and eating at least one meal a day with the other guests. She feels more accepted. This is great. My initial contact- George W continues to be approachable and helpful. The initial sales crew were very attentive and I would score them highly. They gave the impression Pauline would be supported through her transition to living at the Hearth. The place is pretty. The food is fine. The staff is mostly very friendly and kind. But it would have been helpful if the social aspect of living at the Hearth had been addressed more fully. Small things like being given a mentor and being introduced to the other residents would have been helpful. Recently she was actually frightened by the person assigned to pick up her garbage when he banged on her door. It takes time to adjust. Pauline felt like she was being snubbed by the other guests. Being frightened was not helpful. It would be a more positive experience if attention was given to helping the new person “fit in” to the new life style. Moving is hard at any age but missing friends and feeling vulnerable makes it especially difficult at an advanced age.
My father-in-law recently moved to The Hearth at Castle Gardens, and we cannot say enough good things about the entire staff. Everyone has been extremely friendly and professional. We worked mainly with George Welge, and the service he provided was outstanding. Moving in during a pandemic had its own set of complications, but every situation was handled promptly and efficiently. George went above and beyond to help us feel comfortable with the process from beginning to end, and he was always helpful and quick to respond to our questions. We feel very fortunate to have found such a caring group of individuals who continually strive for quality and excellence in the services they provide.
My husband Everett resided in your enhanced memory care unit until he passed away a month ago after yet another emergency room visit (unbelievably, my notes indicate there were 17 in all). I wish I could write a more positive review, but quite honestly, after all the disturbing events that have occurred, I am left to believe that no one who represents your facility there really truly CARES. And to some of us who are seeking a place for their loved one, that is an important criteria. While I believe there are some very honest and capable staff members who did care enough to make Everett's day-to-day living manageable and comfortable, there seems to be a lack of communication, staffing and follow through on the administrative end to really be able to meet the changing needs of the residents. Clearly, you are lacking a social worker who could have communicated to us when Everett should have gone into palliative care, which you do provide, I was told. I do believe that approach would have served him better and would have avoided many emergency room visits that did him nothing. There are numerous items that still remain missing, but not as significant as Everett's lost marriage band, (of all things!) his Jewish Chai that he always wore around his neck (we found the gold chain but the Chai is missing), and a favorite hat. And yes- I DID make the staff aware of these items but again, no one has followed up with me about this issue as I believe now that they just don't care and/or don't have the capacity. I would always ask the staff to remove these items prior to being transported by the EMS and to place them in a safe place until he returned. I was proudly told by the receptionist at the main desk that you've never lost an item of jewelry. Well, either this is a first, or you are just saying this. Worse yet, after my husband passed away, there was absolutely no gesture of condolence or sympathy extended to the family or me from ANYONE at your facility. (I did phone and left a voice mail message with the Case Manager at Keepsake the day after he died.) Visiting hours at Allen Memorial was basically right around the corner and across the bridge from your facility, yet no representative from Castle Gardens bothered to come to pay their respects. i received no card, no phone call, absolutely no acknowledgement of his death whatsoever these past four weeks. And he resided there for well over a year. I guess this how families are treated by you after their loved one dies. Can you even begin to imagine how this treatment must make the family and me feel, let alone what we now think? A protocol seems to be lacking when one of your residents passes away AND a social worker on your end could have prevented this hurtful and glaring lack of respect from occurring. Additionally, since Everett's death, I continue to receive emails regarding events, etc. that are occurring at your facility. You really do need to install a protocol that will enable your staff to not send these out to bereaved families. After your ghosting since his passing, getting notices from you is like rubbing salt in the wound, so to speak. And the most recent one that was received this morning got me upset enough to write this public review. I think, at this point, others need to know what they are signing up for. I suppose the only thing you could do right about now to begin to make this right, would be to make an attempt to find and return the missing items. A letter was mailed from me on 10/2/23 detailing these items to the Executive Director and Case Manager at Keepsake. Included were photos of those items. At this point, I am not surprised there has been no response or reassurance that you are even looking for them as of yet. Please feel free to phone or email me regarding my concerns as I have no plans to check back on this portal to view your response. Thank you, Suzanne M. Lachman
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