Novel Place Senior Living

Beautiful - residents are friendly. Was designed to be beautiful - but NOT functional. Rooms for card games etc. way too small for full capacity. Lounges are too small for gatherings - but beautiful sitting area around fireplace - beautiful - but too small. Fireplace in courtyard - beautiful but not not enough seating - etc., etc. Seating in TV room - too small and chairs uncomfortable. Kitchen is in constant turmoil. Head chef has an ego that turns off any assistant chefs or help. Only recently has there been improvement with serving staff and that's because they moved [name removed] from the front desk to supervisor position for kitchen servers. She's a keeper!! Any written communication to director - never a response nor acknowledgement. Even with everything said - the residents make this a 4-star!

Atmosphere is very pleasant, maintenance is excellent. Those who have not previously lived in apartment style settings need to be mindful of their neighbors.

Would prefer dinner to begin at 5PM. Some meals are tasteless. Menu sounds great but prep is lacking.

Lovely place to live! Residents and staff are friendly

The facility is clean and staff is nice. They do provide housekeeping every other week and do a good job. Mom sometimes comments that the food is plain, but other than that no complaints.

need regular communication with director of facility in a group setting . director needs to be involved on a daily basis

I toured Novel Place Blue Spring, and at the time we thought the added care would be better at the community we chose. The deciding factor between the two was the call pendant that the other community provided; whereas Novel did not.

The staff has been incredibly helpful, friendly, and willing to work with us. We had to pay for some of my loved one's expenses because her Social Security wasn't available until the middle of the month, so they've worked with us getting that taken care of with our credit card instead of hers. Anytime we've reached out to them or asked for clarification, they've been quick to respond. Everyone is just so friendly. My loved one is very happy with the quality of the food. It's fresh and tastes like restaurant quality. We just wish they offered three meals a day instead of two - a continental breakfast and dinner. The units themselves are very nice and essentially brand new. Hers has a very nice full kitchen, which is great for people who are self sufficient. And in her case, it has given her more drive to be a little more active and go outside of her comfort zone because she's cooking her lunches for herself and therefore standing and walking around more than she would otherwise. She's so happy there, and the cost with the promotion they were running was an incredible deal.

I think the location is great, it is right next door to a grocery store and restaurants. That has been one of the biggest plus's for me. I have a 1 bedroom with a den and it is comfortable for what I need. I would recommend to others looking, especially if you are more independent and able to get around on your own.

It's a very quiet community, and very open. The people are very pleasant, especially the residents. We haven't had too many issues with anything. My loved one tends to stay in her apartment due to health issues. I love the apartment. For her, it's easy to get around in. Everything is accessible to her. Really the only issue is the food. If you need food delivered to your apartment, they can do that for an extra charge. You just have to fill out a menu on a Tuesday for the following week. I did that for her Thanksgiving meal and then followed up afterward to make sure everything was squared away. But they missed her meal delivery on Thanksgiving day. When they finally got it to her, she felt like it was a bunch of leftovers, which was disappointing to her on a holiday. She just doesn't care for the food overall and says it's really bland. I ate with her one day, and we had tamales, chips and salsa, and a salad. I thought it was pretty good. But I'm not the one eating there every day. Overall I think it's a wonderful place. And the cost is great compared to assisted living. For independent living, they have a lot of activities and outings, and it's a great option for seniors who are more active/mobile.

Clean, well-managed, reasonable rent. Reason for poor rating? The light fixtures over the bathroom sink are mounted upside down. If you hang from the ceiling, very well-lighted. Down on the floor, it is DARK. I was told since government signed off with the fixtures upside down, they HAD to stay that way. Sounds to me like either the idiot electrician or idiot gov. official is lying to Novel Place people trying to protect their backside. Suppose the idiot electrician had wired something wrong so that every week it electrocuted someone? Would they still insist it had to stay wrong because of paperwork?

The people (staff) are wonderful. No complaints with any staff. Truly like them. The meals are not all that. Some portions are not enough for anyone and sometimes (not always) are really bad. Variety would be nice and meat at breakfast. Need to work on this part of the place. Some residents need more care than what this place offers.

The cook doesn't have any culinary training.

Food usually too salty. Now need to leave our table by 430 and not always served soon enough