As [name removed] got sicker, they were unable to handle her and I had to move her to another facility. A couple of additional comments: it was difficult to talk to people because they all seemed so busy and overwhelmed. When I got someone's attention, they said they weren't busy and we could talk, but it always felt rushed and incomplete. Possibly trivial, but it bothered my wife (and me): I was there between 6 PM and 8 PM. The aids would communicate with each other from one end of a hallway to another by yelling at each other. Their voices were very loud. It was disturbing.... Read more
With more than 23 years of experience providing top-of-the-line assisted living and specialized memory care alongside the Charles River, The Falls at Cordingly Dam offers comfort and care that feels like home. Here, you’ll have access to a peaceful refuge where you can enjoy life to the fullest as well as features like outdoor dining, walking paths, and gorgeous water views. Our supportive associates are dedicated to nurturing residents, helping them to stay mentally sharp and emotionally fulfilled.
From golfing at Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course to quiet afternoons relaxing at Crystal Lake, you’ll enjoy the natural beauty as well as the storied streets of this quaint New England town. Nearby Interstate 95, you’ll find it easy to visit Newton’s diverse shops, restaurants, public gardens, local parks, and downtown Boston. Along with our convenient access, we also provide personal transportation services for residents looking to explore the town.
Our assisted living services include personalized assistance with managing medications, housekeeping, transportation, and more. Our mind and memory care services offer an innovative approach to memory care as well as experiences that enrich the minds, bodies, and spirits of each resident. Because we tailor care plans to each resident’s needs...
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Total monthly costs depend on room type, select services, and the level of care needed.
*Prices quoted are monthly rental charges and are provided by the communities themselves. Actual prices may differ due to one-time fees, timing and care services required. Speak with your Senior Living Advisor to learn more.
7.9
Review Score
Review Score
29 reviews7.9
Out of 10
5 star
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3 star
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A Place for Mom has scored The Falls At Cordingly Dam with 7.9 out of 10 using our proprietary review score based on 11 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time, The Falls At Cordingly Dam has 29 reviews with an average "overall experience" of 3.9 out of 5.
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As [name removed] got sicker, they were unable to handle her and I had to move her to another facility. A couple of additional comments: it was difficult to talk to people because they all seemed so busy and overwhelmed. When I got someone's attention, they said they weren't busy and we could talk, but it always felt rushed and incomplete. Possibly trivial, but it bothered my wife (and me): I was there between 6 PM and 8 PM. The aids would communicate with each other from one end of a hallway to another by yelling at each other. Their voices were very loud. It was disturbing.
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Don't send your loved one there. They don't have enough staff to care for residents currently living there ... but they keep doing tours and accepting new residents They have a lot of residents transferring to different communities. The aids are rude. Some of management are rude. Don't be fooled by the bling bling $10M remodel !!
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Excellent in activities as they keep him busy with all sorts of art and music programs, word games, lots of staff led projects. As for value, I chose what turned out to be the most expensive facility, but it's the most convenient for me and family. Hope I can continue to afford it. Staff/resident ratio is very good. Everyone is very well trained. Only problem I can see is that there isn't always a nurse on duty late at night.
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The majority of the staff (front desk and office ) are so friendly. You can tell they are passionate about their residents and community. I believe the housekeeping is okay, don't let all the bling and beautiful remodel fool you. Communication with the family was amazing in the beginning, however possibly due to staffing, it has gone downhill rapidly. The move in process was pretty simple, they assisted. The food downstairs seems wonderful, however my mother was moved upstairs to the Memory Care floor shortly after moving in. The food upstairs does not seem to be the same or as good as downstairs. At this point, I am not sure if I would recommend The Falls.
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My loved one is currently a resident at The Falls At Cordingly Damn and his experience at this facility has been great so far. We moved him here from a previous facility and things have been so much better here! The programming at this facility is most robust- and the facility is most convenient for me to get to! We have had no issues at this facility, they are very organized and everything is well run!
We picked this community, because of the excellent staff. Attractive surroundings. Fine accommodations and nice rooms. It was for my father who was particular.Would recommend it without doubt.
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We rated the overall cleanliness a 4 because of the construction that is taking place. The reason we gave the activities a 3 overall is because it is hard for non-English speaker to participate fully. We really like the sense of community. The staff seems to be made up of very caring, kind individuals who regularly tried (in their own ways) to make my grandmother feel included despite the language gap.
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Response from The Falls At Cordingly Dam
August 21, 2023Hello Alex, We are so glad to hear about your positive experience with The Falls at Cordingly Dam. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review!
It comes down to no one is going to take care of your loved one the way you would want to buy bottom line- my mom was safe and all her needs were met. All these places are sooooo expensive. I would mind spending the money if it went to the aids and the ones really doing the hard work not the big guy
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• There are 2 elevators 1 of the elevators was broken for weeks. • Doesn't seem like they can retain employees • The food is awful and there are no snacks out during the day i.e. cookies, fruit etc. for a resident to just grab • The "all day" menu does exist but it's a huge "imposition" for them when you want something from the kitchen • Activities are sub par. • I try to go once a week and use the kitchen to make a decent meal for my mother and another resident and her husband. Generally the cabinets in the kitchen are locked so you have to hunt someone down. I need to bring my own pots/pans, napkins, serving bowls etc. because they don't have any. Sometimes there are dirty dishes in the dishwasher because it hasn't been run. I've had to unload the dishwasher (not a big deal). • On two occasions I've been there when a resident has "gone missing". I was at the front desk one time and watched as three staff talked about it. Not one of them went outside to look around. Turns out the resident made his way to Starbucks to get coffee because he doesn't like the coffee at the falls. • Often times the front desk is left unattended • If you call for an attendant it can take 30-40 minutes for somebody to come. There is no way to differentiate between an emergency and someone just needing something non- urgent • The system to call an attendant has been down at least 2 times that I know of in less than a year • Parking is extremely limited for guests • when they have "happy hour" it's at 2:30 in the afternoon • The new bistro seems to be for looks, I've never seen it used • The staff is generally very friendly however, you can see some of the staff are just burned out and don't seem to enjoy their job • They seem understaffed yet keep taking new residents
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Response from The Falls At Cordingly Dam
July 7, 2023Hello, We are sorry to hear about your experience at our community. We always aim to deliver a great experience, and are disappointed to hear when we don't meet expectations. We take great pride in delivering the highest quality experiences, and have escalated this issue to our Community and Regional Leadership Teams. Please don't hesitate to reach out at customerservice@benchmarkquality.com if you would like to personally discuss this matter further.
The Falls is poorly managed and their only focus is on profits. They skimp, ignore and dodge anything that requires funding. For example they’re thrilled to show off the newly renovated facility however they don’t disclose that the HVAC system doesn’t work, the bistro gathering space is never open, they’ve been through several chefs in the past year, the $[removed] activity fee buys you someone turning on the TV or moving an employee from another area to quickly come up with a word game. The Fitness Instructor from the gym had to teach bridge, but had never played and didn’t know how, and was responsible for Easter egg decorating. We use the family dining room on occasion and every time we go we find it dirty, dishes haven’t been done - which only requires turning on the dishwasher, there are no pots and pans, no cleaning supplies and we’ve had to go down to the dining room to get utensils, glasses and napkins. They have mailboxes but apparently they weren’t set up correctly (and never fixed after a year) so mail is delivered haphazardly, and inconsistently and normally just left at their dining table for the resident to find. Packages can take days to be delivered and on several occasions we received packages for someone else. The food is horrible! They use poor quality ingredients, nothing is fresh, the menu is extremely limited and never changes, the run out of the most basic things. There is no where for a resident to get a water, cup of coffee or snack during the day. They are always short staffed yet continue to bring in new residents knowing they don’t have the staff to support them. My mom was told they could no longer arrive at the scheduled time to get my dad ready in the morning because they had to take care of several new residents. My father went to get a haircut at the falls and they lost him for 3 hours and no one knew where he could be. This was frightening for my mother. We’ve had several instances while visiting where we had to assist a resident back to their apartment and we’ve witnessed several instances of residents escaping. The front desk isn’t always staffed because of ongoing staffing shortages and the need for the front desk staff to leave to fill in elsewhere. Residents wear buttons to push when they need help. However on at least 2-3 instances the entire system was down and they have no backup in place. One evening my father got up to ho to the bathroom and my mother pushed the button because she couldn’t get him off the toilet by herself. No one responded. She continued to push the button and pulled the emergency cord but no one came. Finally after about 40 minutes she went out into the hall to flag someone down. We don’t know why no one ever responded but we did learn that the emergency system wasn’t functioning. The facility has only two elevators for all 4 floors. One elevator went down and it took them over 6 weeks to get it repaired. It’s a serious safety concern to only have one functioning elevator for all the residents, staff and visitors. I could go on and on but the point is The Falls is not a place to put your loved ones. I think they count on the fact that most residents won’t speak up and no longer have the mental acuity to recognize the significant deficiencies. This is not low income housing however that’s how it’s run. My mother is paying the equivalent of a monthly mortgage for a $2.5mil home to live there and is absolutely not getting services or amenities that even come close to what she should get for her money. I do want to say that the staff is wonderful! They work hard, care about the residents and want to do a good job. The problem is they have no support from management, they’re trying to compensate for the ongoing staffing shortage and they’re afraid of losing their jobs. The staff don’t feel comfortable identifying safety concerns for fear of losing their jobs. I’ve been told, but cannot confirm, that part of the reason for the staffing shortage are the very low salaries. I don’t know if this is accurate, and I hope it’s not, but these residents are paying a ridiculous amount of money to be there which should certainly cover above average salaries and benefits for these critical workers. I’ve personally told staff I would be a reference if they could find a job in a better place.
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Response from The Falls At Cordingly Dam
July 7, 2023Hello Laura, We are sorry to hear about your experience at our community. We always aim to deliver a great experience, and are disappointed to hear when we don't meet expectations. We take great pride in delivering the highest quality experiences, and have escalated this issue to our Community and Regional Leadership Teams. Please don't hesitate to reach out at customerservice@benchmarkquality.com if you would like to personally discuss this matter further.
They trick you on the tour. The food is terrible, watching a concert on TV is considered an activity. No snacks to grab throughout the day like other AL facilities. The everyday anytime menu, you need to be willing to wait a LONG time and deal with staff that is less than thrilled that you want to eat. You can’t control the heat or AC even though you have a thermostat. They can’t retain staff. In the few times I’ve visited, twice a resident has “gone missing”, not to hard to escape when the main door is unlocked and front desk is unattended.
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Response from The Falls At Cordingly Dam
June 22, 2023Hello Emily, We are sorry to hear about your experience at our community. We always aim to deliver a great experience, and are disappointed to hear when we don't meet expectations. We take great pride in delivering the highest quality experiences, and have escalated this issue to our Community and Regional Leadership Teams. Please don't hesitate to reach out at customerservice@benchmarkquality.com if you would like to personally discuss this matter further.
This was a beautiful place, with lovely outdoor space. I liked that you could walk along a private path to a nearby Starbucks. The rooms were very small with kitchenettes instead of full cooking. I thought the memory care unit at this facility was far superior to Maplewood. Cordingly Dam has a memory unit on the top floor with a dedicated garden/patio. It is flooded with sunlight and very upbeat. At Maplewood memory care is in the basement, dark and overcrowded.
We had some initial difficulty with complicated medication schedule which is why the overall experience receives 4 stars. The regular staff people are terrific. (They get a four or five). The new hires don't seem to have the same mindset and levels of conscientiousness and dedication that the longtime employees do about the patient's welfare. New dining room, impressively, variable menu. Too much food at most meals. Waitstaff remembers quirks of every resident, for example, what they drink. That drink is ready for the resident when they get to the table to eat.. Activities - quite variable, appeals to residence with different interests, constant during seven days a week. Value for cost probably is 5 stars but I will give it a 4 because it is so expensive. However they are taking great care of my spouse.
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We toured with The Falls at Cordingly Dam and it was a pretty good tour experience. We were neutral, there was nothing wrong with the facility.
I toured The Falls at Cordingly Dam and it was excellent. The people were really great, and they provided me with all of the information I needed. They have an absolutely stunning facility as well. When touring around, what you want is for someone to be candid about their facility, as well as providing you with all the information you need - and they were excellent in that regard. We chose another community because of location, and also because I don't think The Falls would have been a good fit for my loved one, but that's to no fault of the community.
I would totally recommend this community to others. This is a true community, and is a smaller community. All the staff know the residents and families. The activities and the atmosphere is upbeat. My loved one is happier than she has been in her whole life. The Falls was able to assist with the transition of our loved one into the community. They have been a resource to us with any questions.
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The community was clean. No matter what their job was, the staff would go out of their way to help out. And if they couldn't they would refer me to someone who could. My mother had private aids as well as the community's aids and they had some trouble with coordinating her care together. It took some time to work through the initial challenges surrounding this. The activities staff were terrific. They did a really good job with encouraging my mother to participate, which really improved the quality of her life. My mother also really liked the food and when we would dine with her, we thought the same.
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A very nice location with lots of outdoor space for the residents and visitors. The staff was very knowledgable and engaged with the residents and visitors. The area for visitors to dine with the residents is very welcoming. The facility was well maintained. Parking during the daytime is limited.
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The Falls was a very well kept community. The person that took us around was friendly and helpful. We really liked it but it was farther away than other places we looked into.
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My tour of this community went well. My tour guide was kind and helpful. She answered my questions and was very informative. The community looked nice as well. Everything was very nice and clean. The staff was kind and welcoming. I really liked this community, I had a very good tour.
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See what the neighborhood has to offer and what’s nearby:
The Falls At Cordingly Dam offers 2 Bedrooms, Studio and 1 Bedroom. Learn more.
A Place for Mom has scored The Falls At Cordingly Dam 7.9 out of 10 using our proprietary review score.
We assign review scores to give a more reliable view into senior living communities and home care agencies. Our review scores prioritize reviews that are recent — the past 24 months — because we know families need current information when choosing senior care.
Those with many recent, positive reviews receive a high review score, while providers with few recent reviews — regardless of how positive — receive a lower review score. Communities with no recent reviews will not have a review score, even if older reviews are positive. The maximum A Place for Mom review score a community can receive is 10 points.
Call (617) 928-0007 to reach a resident at The Falls At Cordingly Dam.
To reach a resident at The Falls At Cordingly Dam call: (617) 928-0007
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