Brookdale Plaza, if you are not aware of it, is a senior living facility next to the Alexian Brothers Hospital in Hoffman Estates. Good friends of our's mother is in assisted living there and they had a 90th birthday party for her.
While we did not go into any of the rooms, we did get to see many of the common areas on the first floor and lower levels. It is really well appointed. When you enter the front door, you are greeted at the desk by a friendly person (who is really probably a guard). We said we were there for the party, and they directed us how to get to the right elevators, to go to the lower level, and how to get to the right room. Frankly, I think if she didn't do that I would have gotten lost.
When you get on the lower level, I was really amazed by the services. What I saw (and I am sure there was more I missed) was a barber shop, beauty salon, gym, library, health center, party and meeting rooms and their dining room. There was a Christmas tree that had to be at least 20 feet tall, elegantly decorated. There were also a lot of residents around, many in wheelchairs or with walkers, all sitting around talking, waiting for the dining room to open.
The party was in their "convenience store" which has a small lunch counter and chairs. The items for sale had been put away, and we were given access to the kitchen, lunch counter, and tables for the family to bring in food and beverages.
What we saw was not a nursing home. There may be a floor dedicated to that, but we did not see it. What we saw was a mixture of people who are either living in independent living apartments or in assisted living. In the elevator, we saw a listing of the days activities - exercise, bingo, bunko, bridge and other card games - there were activities for the residents all day long. It really seems to be a top notch facility.
Frankly, I am not sure how to rate this. And, I don't generally think I would write a review for a retirement community except for the fact that we had to put my father in a nursing home this past year in Pennsylvania. He is in a memory care unit, so there is really no way to compare one with the other. But, the facility he is in also has independent and assisted living, along with special care units for those with particular health needs. When we saw the assisted living areas in PA and compare them to what we saw in Hoffman Estates, they seem to be on par.
So, three stars I would consider adequate for anyone's needs. I would love to learn more about how they operate - personally, I think we pay too little attention to the needs of the aging here in the US. I expect that after my recent experiences with two places built to house the elderly, I will really try t.o spend more time visiting and seeing where I can help out read more