Brookdale Chambrel Williamsburg

My husband and I are really enjoying living here at Brookdale Chambrel Williamsburg. What we really like the most about the community is how the food is prepared, it is prepared by a certified chef. Also the grounds that surround the community are very lovely.

We have only been here for 2 -1/2 months and we are still finding our way, however what we really like about the Brookdale Chambrel community is that any questions and concerns we have had, have been answered and taken care of immediately with a smile. We haven't come upon an area that could be improved on. It really is a lovely place to live.

The person in charge of the memory care unit told the family that we couldn't keep our PCP and I knew this wasn't true. The staff didn't like the fact that the doctor was running tests on our loved one due to the doctor not changing medications, like the staff wanted. The staff kept a piece of medical equipment to assist my loved one all the time, and the piece of medical equipment wasn't supposed to be used for more than 4 hours at a time. After a fall, the community sent my loved one to the hospital, and they contacted the family. After this incident the community told us that our loved one was going to have to have a personal caregiver to watch them. If this were to happen it would have increased the price substantially each month. The ER doctor got on a conference call with other doctors and all the doctors stated that the incidents didn't have anything to do with the medications my loved one was on. I ended up moving my loved one out of the community to try to assist my loved one further and provide the necessary care. I'm sorry I took my loved one to Brookdale.

My parents hate the food and their specials are rarely available, the food is also served cold. We gave the value for cost 3 stars based purely on the food. They do have nice activities going on for the residents, our loved ones just do not partake in them. We would recommend Brookdale Chambrel to other families based on our experience, it is a lovely place - just not the food.

I would recommend it

We chose Brookdale Chambrel Williamsburg mainly because they were accommodating and the locaiton worked well for family. They are not proactive with communication on the care. I would tell others that you do have to stay on top of them and pry to get that information out of them, they do not just provide it. There have been a couple price increases and changes in what we have to provide since moving in. The staff really are great, we just have had a few issues. Overall I would recommend them to others with caution

Cleanliness is good. some people are really nice and some have an attitude. The care services is terrible, and they are not doing everything that they should be doing. The food is not that great. I have had several issues, in which my loved one is not always being well groomed/not always getting showers. There is lack of communication, and administration does not always return calls on time. Overall, I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Brookdale Chambrel is a very light, open, brighter and fresher community compared to the ones we had toured. It is very expensive but on par with other communities and we feel confident in saying we do not have to worry about our love one here. All of the day to day staff up to administration has been nothing but friendly and helpful since the beginning and that has not changed. They hare very accommodating and caring towards our loved ones. He does think the breakfast food is good. He does participate in some activities, but we have met with the activities coordinator and seen their monthly calendar and it all looks great. We would definitely recommend this community to other families based on our experience.

Brookdale is a great place, as long as you stay involved. If you don't stay involved I would say that the care is still good, but little things may pop up that can make you a bit concerned. They don't communicate unless you ask them to, and when they do it's not consistent and is oftentimes spotty. I'll get calls regarding a crisis situation and then nothing else for the next 48 hours. I had to go down there once to speak to the overall director due to their of lack of communication. If you decide to move your parent(s) in a community, stay involved in their care. No one will take care of your loved one like you will. You'll expect a certain level of care that you may not receive unless you insist on it. Don't fall victim to putting your loved one in a place thinking it will be perfect, because it wont be. As much as I love Brookdale, they have 300+ residents, so it's kind of impossible to think that your individual loved one will receive that specialized 1 on 1 care. Again, it's a good place; it's very clean, has a very nice staff, the food is great, and they have a lot of great nurses and caregivers. Just make sure you stay involved, because you won't be satisfied otherwise.

I chose Brookdale Chambrel Williamsburg because I have family down here close by and my mother lived here for almost 10 years after my father passed so I was very familiar with the facility. They have a considerable range going from a 1 bedroom apartment to 2 bedrooms and they also have cottages separate from the main building. I have a one bedroom with a den and it is a great size for me. It has a lot of natural light and a screened in porch. It is a very convenient location in terms of shopping. It is right near a main drag of drug stores, grocery stores, etc. It is a historic area and so there is a lot to do. I was able to move in very quickly and the move in process was very easy and they were accommodating. I would recommend them to others looking.

I think it's a nice, safe, pretty community. There are lots of outdoor spaces, and those appeal to me. I don't like the idea of high rises where you don't have access to the outdoors. All the apartments here have access to balconies or porches, which is quite valuable to me. There seems to be an adequate amount of space, and certainly plenty of choices for food. I'm looking forward to when it opens up more again and becomes more social. They're doing what they can now, for instance once a week on Fridays. I think it will be better when they're able to go out into the community - to the library, to church, out to lunch, that kind of stuff. But that's not their fault.

From the sales pitch, to the onboarding, to the continuous care, it has been consistent. We weren't sold one thing and then given something else. I feel very comfortable with the care they're providing. What I like about Brookdale vs. other places we looked at is they keep individuals with the same level of dementia together. For instance, my loved one has light dementia in the early stages, and she's with other people who are like her, not mixed in with people at all other levels.