Five Star Premier Residences of Yonkers

I haven’t been there yet but I talked to him every day and I’ve talked to him every day for 12 years. His family visits him and they like it very much, he says he is very happy there, he’s having the New York Times delivered and had me sign him up for a book delivery service; he didn’t bring all of his books from his apartment and he should have. Another friend who talks to him at least 5 times a week and has been there and says it's very nice. He had a couple bad times with his heart the first month so he was in the hospital just over night, he’s settled down now and its perfectly fine, he hooked up to HBO in addition to regular TV, he’s done a couple of the things, they have a cocktail hour once a week, he’s not the most social person in the world, I told him to start his own book club but they may already have one there. He loves the linen service he says he’s spoiled. I would highly recommend to anybody who is looking for a place.

Every so often the meal planning could use some improvement, the food is very good but occassionally the planning is not what I would have preferred. For instance, they would have rice twice in a dish, like rice and vegetables and then rice in the soup. For some of is that's an issue but there are choices. The most difficult part is finding physicians and getting them, five star provides transportation to certain areas at certain times so finding one can be difficult but the guy who drives us is fantastic. There's a lot of activities, something always going on, sometimes it's hard to choose what to do.

My mother has lived here for 5-6 years. It has changed hands 2-3 times in that time period and the care and responsiveness has seemed to go down, though not hugely. When my mother first moved in, many of the employees were social workers, including the sales people and the overseer of senior life. When my mother was thinking about moving in, the sales director talked to her about waiting until she was ready and not rushing into it--no pressure, only compassion. They would talk about team staff meetings to address things like residents falling asleep in public areas. Instead, of it being a negative, they looked into why this was happening and how to help the particular residents. Now it is much more of a business model. Apartments and facilities are beautiful, but pricey. My mother lives in a large (1110 sq. ft.) apartment with 2 beds and 2 baths. Activities vary, with lots of card playing and movies (a plus for some seniors, boring for others), and some trips to restaurants, stores, museums, shows, etc. There are also 2 days a week for transportation for local errands, and 2 other days for local doctors' appointments. There is a pharmacy nearby that delivers, usually one trip to the building per day. Staff are very helpful. When residents can't open a jar, they bring them down to meals and someone opens it for them. If they can't get their cable to work, someone comes to help with that, too. There have been some issues with air conditioning not working as well as it should both in individual apartments and in common areas. At one point it seemed they were keeping the hallways warmer in the summer to save money, and some residents were actually having minor breathing difficulties with the transition of the air. Residents complain of the food not being as good any more, but I have not noticed that when I eat there. The number of choices have food have decreased and residents are not happy about that, but there are still many choices. When my mother moved in, there were "heart healthy" choices on the menu; there no longer are. One resident, told by her doctor to reduce salt content, tried to get adjusted meals, couldn't, and moved to a different facility because of this. In the years my mother has been there, the monthly price has increased from $6100 to almost $7200. New residents are actually getting nicer apartments for much less because of the economy, which also adds to the disgruntlement. On the other hand, we looked into switching apartments to downsize a bit. I assumed they would jack up the prices according to the number of years she has been there, but she was given the same price as a newcomer.

Really did not like the facility. Did not like the way they segregate their memory care residents from the rest of the communities. Residents we met on the assisted care floor didn't seem happy. Were appalled by the way they treated their birds - don't have birds if you don't know what you are doing with them. Appalling. If you can't properly house and take care of your animals -what would you do to my mother! Horrible. Staff we saw on assisted care floors were very friendly within themselves, but I didn't see that translate to the residents. The take home brownie was a nice touch but was necessary. Put the money into the care, not the decor and marketing.

location not good

Receives 4 stars. I had a great tour there.

Assisted Living apartments on other side: very nice, comfortable, and spacious. Four stars for apartments.

My daughter-in-law is not a fan of the location though the residence seems fine.

I ended up have to reschedule my tour, but did tour the Hyatt on Saturday, February 12 with Leslie Schatzer. I was very pleased with residence, all of the selections would serve equally well as a place for mom.

nice.

Beautiful apartments. Going for a second visit.

Not as nice a setting as River Walk at The Hebrew Home for the Aged, and more expensive but, unlike River Walk, it had 2BR units and in general its apartments were materially larger. Riverdale location an important plus.