I knew from the beginning when AP calculated my mom's initial invoice incorrectly that moving her…read morehere was a BIG mistake. Pinebrook is nice, but the staff are very off-putting and somewhat dishonest. On move-in day, my mom went to the cafe for lunch, and I accompanied her. We were forced to sit with another man and his caretaker. There were several empty tables, but we were not allowed to eat privately. Next, the guy who is head of the dining room approached our table and asked who we were (as if we came in off the street to steal a meal). He assumed incorrectly that I was eating with my mom, but I had not ordered anything. He told me if I wanted anything it would be charged to her room. Ironically, that same evening, a Pinebrook Ambassador invited my mom to dinner. When my mom showed up alone, she sent my mom back to get me and my sister. She told the dining staff that we would all be eating for FREE since my mom was in the process of moving in.
My mom only lasted 5 weeks. The food is terrible. Their website boasts "delicious, healthy meals." The meals are not delicious, nor are they healthy. My mother reported that everything tasted like it was reheated from a can. I also witnessed people sitting there for 20+ minutes without being acknowledged or served.
Their website states they have a fitness center. The "fitness center" is about the size of a nice walk-in closet. It has a treadmill, a bike, and some weights.
24/7 concierge? Nope...... on the evening of Sunday January 26, after 8:00 PM, a few residents were locked outside. The automatic door was not opening to let them in. They pushed the button for help, and no one answered. One resident had to call her husband, who struggled with a walker, to come to the front door to let everyone in.
My mom gave her 30-day notice around February 8. On Thursday February 20, my mom accidentally let her kitchen sink run over. She started running water and got side-tracked. (People get sidetracked.... one day I went to visit my mom and a female Pinebrook employee left her car parked in the circle, in front of the door blocking traffic, with the passenger door open and her purse on the front seat - she got sidetracked - it happens.) Water was in my mom's kitchen area and ran out into the hallway. The receptionist, her name starts with an L, called me at work to tell on my mom. She gave me a story that was hearsay. My sister went to assess the water, but it was already cleaned up. My sister spoke to L and asked her why she called me at work. They may have exchanged words but me adding it here would be hearsay (see what i did). On my way home from work, I called to see if I could speak to the Director (NG). Of course, L answered the phone. I asked her to give NG the message personally. I asked if maintenance moved the stove/refrigerator to clean up the water. She insisted they did (but I found a piece of wet cardboard under the stove - so did they move it?). And, then told me the unit was "highly damaged." When I told her my sister had already assessed the unit, L continued with her story. In fact, she started to talk over me so I raised my voice so L could hear that I was still talking. L accused me of being rude when she, in fact, was the rude one. I reminded her that I had already said "please" and "thank you " to her three times in the conversation. She hung up on me.
On Friday, February 21, my mom went to the receptionist, L, and asked her to come and see the "damage". L refused and accused my mom of being aggressive. I would not be surprised if my mom said she would slap the crap out of L. My mom has a mouth. I do not believe for one minute that my mom was physically aggressive. As a result, I got a call from the director who told me that my mom could not stay there any longer. He also stated that my mom "had alcohol bottles in her apartment." I shut him down quickly as my mother does not drink. The bottles were in a box that was moved to Pinebrook in error. I left work on Friday and got my mom out of there.
We moved my mom's belongings on Saturday February 22. I returned the keys and spoke to the director around 11:30 AM. I asked him who said my mom had alcohol bottles in the unit. "I don't remember." Of course, you don't. The bottles he was referring to were all wrapped in paper and INSIDE a box. I let him know that the common denominator in all the chaos (incorrectly reporting damage, reporting alleged aggression) was L, the receptionist. NG admitted that he should have been the one to assess the unit and call me. He also stated that "this happens all the time" (running water over into unit). And we would not be charged anything extra for the clean-up.
After moving out, it took 3 emails and 2 calls to get a response from about the refund. We finally received a refund for the unused pre-payment of rent. I am thankful for that. However, the whole experience was unpleasant from start to finish.
