Castlewood - ALF

My father stayed at The Residence at Castlewood. They're excellent, and they've got very caring and very nice people. The place was small, very clean, and very personalized. It's assisted living and not for an active person. It's more for somebody with dementia and for somebody who needs one-on-one close supervision. It's like an intimate home setting. They had activities, and they had a lot of private duty people working there.

I went to The Residence at Castlewood. The tour was excellent and the place was very impressive. If my family decides to have my mom go to an assisted living place, it would be someplace bigger like that. The staff was very good. The owner walked us around. I liked the community and I liked their philosophy. It felt like a home, which is what I want. Two or three rooms are private -- meaning they have their own bathrooms -- and others have shared bathrooms. They have activities too. There was a woman there who seemed to need more assistance than others, so somebody was sitting with her at a table doing some activities. The others were sitting around watching TV and talking casually.

They're perfectly wonderful; that's why we put my mother there. She is 94, and she has Alzheimer's. I needed a place that was secure because it comes to a point where they wander. It is a very small facility, which I really like because she gets very individualized care. My brother's girlfriend discovered The Residence at Castlewood, and we loved it. They only have 14 beds, and presently they only have six residents because it's new. They have such individualized care, and the people who work there -- the aides and the nurses -- are incredible and wonderful. I see how they work with the patients and how they really care. Plus the cost was one-third of what we've been paying. It's a very lovely place, very new, and when you walk in, it's fresh smelling. I never smell urine. It's just very pleasant, and it looks like someone's house. She moved in about six weeks ago.