The Fountains at Crystal Lake

I had the pleasure of touring the grand Victorian in Crystal Lake, which offers independent living, assisted, living, and memory care. From the moment I walked in, I was struck by the bright, welcoming atmosphere, and the beautiful grand entrance. The staff was incredibly warm and friendly, many residents were enjoying the nice weather out front, which created a vibrant first impression. One of the highlights was the resident-tended garden, a truly special touch. I met a lovely couple out there; the wife was picking fresh zucchini and cucumbers, while her husband looked on. It was heartwarming to see such meaningful engagement. Paula, the director of sales and marketing, was wonderful, kind, knowledgeable, and passionate about the community. I stayed for lunch, and the food and service were excellent. The residence seemed happy and engaged, and the community itself is thoughtfully designed with large rooms, generous closet space, and beautiful views of wooded areas. Landscaping was also lovely The grand Victorian is a warm, vibrant place, and the staff went out of their way to say hello and make me feel at home. A truly impressive and carrying senior living community!

We are just in the process of finding an assisted living facility for my wife who had a stroke. We had the pleasure of dealing with Claudia for the presentation and initial meeting. She was excellent. She was knowledgeable, understanding and supportive. I give her 5 stars and a big “Thank you”!!!

Our room has stuck drawers in the bathroom the medicine cabinet had no shelf’s. The response time of the staff if you’re in assisted living is usually 30 minutes or so especially if they are taking others to breakfast lunch or dinner. I asked how many people they needed to be considered an assisted care facility and was told only one. They had a huge refrigerator sitting in the middle of the floor. The food is usually pre prepared by I believe by Gordon’s food service or a similar company. They cut out wine for dinner. They now limit bacon or sausage. They now only have sugar free jam. It is like cafeteria food where if your relative comes they want $18 per plate. We had what looked like a reheated Stoffers pot pie yesterday that you can get in the supermarket for a couple bucks. Most of the food is reheated and served and ranges from acceptable to somewhat questionable. Canned corn and peas. I had a breaded chicken that the chicken was 1/8” thick with 1/8” breading on both sides and it was hard and resembled cardboard. Dinner and lunch are 2 hours long but if you do not get to the dinning area within 45 minutes if it starting you probably will not be able to get what is on the menu special for that day. They run out of food. It seems that they order only enough food for one day at a time. They have table cloths that look nice but should improve food than table cloths. Substituting off of the LaCate Menu in stead. they usually run out of the good deserts. The portions are small because they say they order what they need for the number of people who eat. The breakfast is slim. Either bacon or sausage but not both on the same day. The jam is all sugar free. They run out of bread and say they have to wait till next week to get more. They do not list on the menu all what is available so you have to ask. Well it can get worse. Now jam is all sugar free. The morning staff is short on weekends in the cafeteria and it may take up to 20 minutes for service. Sunday mornings is the worst service of all.

Every department of the fountains is wonderful! Amy, the Director is a dream! Dining is very accommodating, and the apartments are very generous size. Watermark has put a lot of money into this facility and has made many improvements! there is always some thing special going on!