Brookdale West University

My parents have moved into Brookdale West University. One of their favorite things about the community is that they are on the first floor, and there is a courtyard. There are six courtyards throughout the property. But the one that they look out onto has a bunch of rose bushes and a three-tiered fo...

My parents have moved into Brookdale West University. One of their favorite things about the community is that they are on the first floor, and there is a courtyard. There are six courtyards throughout the property. But the one that they look out onto has a bunch of rose bushes and a three-tiered fountain in the middle, and my father loves rose bushes. Because they're on the first floor of a three-floor residence, the walkway outside their apartment is covered because there's a walkway on the second floor above it. So, they have two chairs like they used to have on their balcony up there, and they have some of their plants from the other residents out there with them. All the residents are very friendly. The place will allow a dog. Although my parents don't have a dog, my dad likes dogs. Their next-door neighbor makes a cake every Sunday afternoon at 3:00, and they have a cake and ice cream social that is separate from the activities that the place has. My dad likes to play pool and there is a pool table in the game room. It includes all utilities, basic cable, three meals a day, and continuous service from a smaller area called bistro where you can get service from 7:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. If you had slept through or have an appointment and are not around for specific mealtime, you can still get food whenever you want. They have a full-size kitchen. There is only one closet, it's a big closet, but still, there's only one closet in their bedroom. It has a red button by the walk-in shower. You have to press the red button by a certain time every day or they'll come and do a wellness check. They have monitors around their necks that they can press at any time like if they have fallen and can't get up and they'll send someone. It has a heated outdoor pool where they have different kinds of water aerobics classes. They have an area called The Porch that has a bunch of rocking chairs, some other tables and chairs, and a lot of ceiling fans. They have a room where they have various meetings like a once-a-month meeting for the residents to express their views on what is being done. There is also movie night on Friday and Saturday. There is an exercise room with machines and their standard Stairmaster, elliptical, stationary bike, that kind of stuff. They have a physical therapy room. They have an activity room that has a lot of books, games, puzzles, audio CDs and DVDs that you can check out free of charge, and lots of large tables so that you could play a game in there or put together a thousand-piece puzzle if you want to. They have a van. You can make your appointment based on that travel schedule, and they'll take you to the med center and back, or to wherever else your doctor might be. It's free if it's within eight miles, and after that, they'll charge you $14. They have double washing machines and dryers in three places on each floor and they're free, but you can also have your laundry done for you for a small fee. They have weekly housekeeping. They do trash service three days a week. You just put the trash bag outside your door, and they pick it up Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They have a reception area, and they're very responsive. When you move in, you get 10 hours of free move-in assistance like hanging pictures on the wall, hooking up the cable TV, and hooking up the internet. They have classrooms with some computers and phone use. They do activities. Probably bi-weekly or monthly, they'll do things like an outing to the opera or the theater or something like that. They have a monthly birthday dinner for all the residents born in that month. If you have a handicap sticker, which my dad does, you have covered parking for free in any handicapped space. Otherwise, if you don't have a handicap sticker, but you do have a car uncovered is free but covered, there's an extra charge. It's a gated secured community, but at the same time, you don't need any money to have your account and you can have it auto-debited once a month. The apartment my parents moved into has all new appliances and fresh carpets. One of the main reasons they chose this one is that it is only a block from where they used to live, so their stores and things like that won't change, even though they're not going to need to buy nearly as much at a grocery store. HEB is next door and has a special gate between the residents, and the side door of HEB, so that they don't have to walk around the front entrance. They also do deliveries including prescriptions to the complex. The cost is pretty comparable. It was only about $200 more a month than they were paying where they used to live, once you add the costs, food, utilities, and cable, and all that.

I had an in-person tour of Brookdale West University. I liked the location to all the stores around there, and the fact that it was for an independent living, the way they take care of all the driving for the residents. The staff was super nice. Everything was super clean and nice. The amenities wer...

I had an in-person tour of Brookdale West University. I liked the location to all the stores around there, and the fact that it was for an independent living, the way they take care of all the driving for the residents. The staff was super nice. Everything was super clean and nice. The amenities were amazing. They had a pool, a brand new bistro for the food that they just built in, and three different washer-and-dryer sets on each floor. The layout was super awesome. They had a courtyard and a pool. For being in town, it very much feels like you're in the country.

Brookdale West University was worn. It was a little too dependent, meaning that I think the residents were a little more dependent on help. The reason my mother didn't care for it was because she said it felt like a motel when you walked out of your apartment. The staff was very nice. Some of t...

Brookdale West University was worn. It was a little too dependent, meaning that I think the residents were a little more dependent on help. The reason my mother didn't care for it was because she said it felt like a motel when you walked out of your apartment. The staff was very nice. Some of the rooms were very large and some of them were very small, so they had variety. They have activities, a lot of which are pretty comparable. The layout was fine, but the facility itself needed a little updating. The rooms were nice, but the outside needed some updating; you could tell it was old and worn.

I liked Brookdale West University. The location worked for me and I was impressed by it. I liked it personally and some things were very, very good for my friend. I liked the fact that it doesn't have all interior halls, personally, I don't like interior halls. All of those units had a por...

I liked Brookdale West University. The location worked for me and I was impressed by it. I liked it personally and some things were very, very good for my friend. I liked the fact that it doesn't have all interior halls, personally, I don't like interior halls. All of those units had a porch or an outside area and I liked that personally. And so that was kind of a tipping point for me. The people I came in contact with seemed very knowledgeable and it's hard to judge that with a one- hour tour, but yes, I was impressed with them also.