5.0 out of 5 stars

Verified Review

Cleanliness

5.0

Friendliness

5.0

Value for Cost

5.0

Care Services

5.0

Staff

5.0

I would highly recommend as a retirement home.

I would highly recommend the place. I'm there visiting once a week, and I like being there. I 'd live there myself! Some people know me by name. I like the friendliness of the staff, and they are following the Covid guidelines very strictly. They have not had an outbreak. 99% of people have had both their vaccinations. One staff member did test positive, but she had been vaccinated, and they determined she contracted it outside of the facility. She isolated from everybody, and the city of health said there wasn't much risk of anybody getting it. I just find them all very accommodating there.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

2.5

Friendliness

2.5

Value for Cost

2.5

Care Services

2.5

Activities

2.5

Look beyond the glitz

A very senior relative has been living at Amica for more than one year and can now report to the family that it's a somewhat disappointing experience. While the building itself appears quite luxurious, the dining experiences are not nearly as wonderful. Amica has gone through several chefs in recent times. They seem not to know about Canada's Food Guide nor show any experience with seniors' physical difficulties while trying to eat. A young senior may be able to handle a fork and knife quite well, but older seniors cannot do this easily. The chef's food choices could be more nutritious and easy to eat and digest. Spicy foods may not be appreciated by everyone. Permanent staff members are for the most part friendly, helpful and experienced with the needs of seniors. The many student PWS workers lack such experience and too often have no idea how or when to reach out a helping hand, which leaves the very old and frail seniors to try to manage on their own. Often, this is a real struggle. Housekeeping as provided by Amica is not as good as it should be because of certain house rules. Dust collects freely on and under furniture but garbage cans are emptied regularly. Bathroom floors are damp-mopped weekly; sinks are kept clean. Unfortunately the apartment refrigerators are manual defrost and the very small freezer compartment ices up and requires occasional defrosting by the housekeeping staff. Some apartment floors are carpeted which makes it a bit difficult for wheelchairs or walkers to roll across. Hallways, too, have carpet. A hard floor requires less muscle power to move a walker or wheelchair but may present a slipping risk for some residents. The outdoor spaces are quite lovely and accessible for everyone. There are sunny and shady areas, flowers and other plantings. The outdoor terraces are nice for warm-weather lounging. A swimming pool may be a welcome amenity, as are the library and the bistro. A small tuck shop is open for a few hours during the week and a Amica bus takes residents out for shopping, banking, and even some church services. For the fairly healthy and active seniors, many activities are offered. For those who rent an apartment on the Assisted Living Floor, life is much more difficult and not as well supported as we think it should be. A business created to look after seniors is truly only as good as the staff who work there.

Response from Amica London

April 29, 2019

Thank you, Carol, for taking the time review Amica London. We are pleased to hear that you find our outdoor amenities beautiful and the staff are friendly. We take your comments seriously. In terms or the dining experience, there was a change when we promoted our Director of Culinary to become an Associate General Manage. The rest of the Red Seal Chefs have been here five years or longer, and our new Director of Culinary has more than ten years’ experience. All of our menus are reviewed by a registered dietician to ensure they meet Canada Food Guide standards for nutrition. Everyone’s individual palette is different, which is why we always offer two main entrees plus a-la-carte options to our residents. We have passed your comments on the freezers and the carpeting to our construction and design teams for consideration. Thank you for sharing this valuable feedback with us. Sandra Taggart General Manager Amica London

1.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

4.0

Friendliness

4.0

Value for Cost

4.0

Care Services

2.5

Activities

1.0

Beware of Amica,

It's very frustrating. The elevators are not working properly, and haven't been for years. Residents wait a long time for the elevator, and this has reduced/modified the activities being offered, as it is impossible for those that want to participate, to get down to the activity on time. Due to the ongoing elevator outtages, even meal times have been adjusted because the residents experience delays in getting on the elevator and can't get to the dining room to eat at regular meal times. The staff has to climb stairs to deliver meals, and this has lead to poor morale amongst the employees. Communication has been very opaque, and residents believe that they are not being told the whole story. Clear written communication would be welcome by the residents. In addition, the van that takes residents for outside trips has been out of service, once again meaning that outside activities were reduced, but in some cases taxis were offered. In short, for a high end retirement home, the services offered should be available on more than a sporadic basis.

Response from Amica London

September 7, 2017

Hello Wayne, Thank you for taking the time to post this review. We understand and appreciate that this has been very frustrating for team members, family members and residents alike. Our general manager and regional team have discussed your very valid concerns. Unfortunately the issues we have had with the elevators at London are similar to those problems that have been experienced at other retirement communities and apartment buildings across the province, recently prompting the introduction of a private members bill, the Reliable Elevators Act, to protect residents and other consumers. There is normally only one vendor to repair and replace parts who we are at the mercy of – the issue at London has been caused from a need to replace the entire motor. Our community has worked very hard in ensuring continuous service during the recent interruption, but the repairs are necessary to keep them functioning. We have a scheduled maintenance plan in place, and we ensure parts are ordered well in advance, however sometimes things go wrong and further delay normal operation as has been the case here. We appreciate your input that transparent communication would help alleviate frustration – we believe we have conveyed all of the information we have but will continue to seek further input from our residents and team members around how we can communicate better. The bus breakdown has unfortunately coincided with the elevator issues. A brand new bus has already been scheduled to be ordered. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. You are welcome to speak with our General Manager Sandra Taggart at any time by phoning [removed]. Sincerely, The Amica Team

4.0 out of 5 stars

Verified Review

Cleanliness

4.0

Friendliness

4.0

Value for Cost

4.0

Care Services

4.0

Activities

4.0

Nice place overall

Amica at London is a nice place, overall. It is clean, well kept, and the staff are all very friendly, and they do a good job with the food. My one suggestion for improvement would be to offer 3 meals a day. They provide a full lunch and dinner, but only a continental breakfast, and my loved one usually just opts to have a bowl of cereal in his room.

0.5 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

2.5

Friendliness

4.5

Value for Cost

4.5

Care Services

1.0

Activities

0.5

sad

[Removed] staff are treated terrible but for the residence is a place of paradise! i would never place my mother in a home where staff are unhappy and poorly treated i could not imagine how the residents are treated behind closed doors!

3.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

2.5

Friendliness

4.0

Value for Cost

2.0

Care Services

3.0

Activities

3.0

My mothers experience in respite care

The facility is beautiful and the staff are very friendly. My mother came to this facility for respite care. Unfortunately, the room was very small and the bed was not a proper bed for someone requiring respite care. For the price that we were charged, which is 1 1/2 times any of the other facilities, you would think that a proper suite would have been provided with a comfortable bed for a person to recuperate.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

5.0

Friendliness

5.0

Value for Cost

5.0

Care Services

5.0

Activities

5.0

Excellent

Excellent for mom

5.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

4.5

Friendliness

5.0

Value for Cost

5.0

Care Services

4.0

Activities

5.0

Amica an excellent move

The process from showing to signing up and moving in to Aimca was very smooth for mom. Staff are very friendly and helpful and all the residents we meet are very happy and welcomed mom into the group. By all accounts, mom feels this has even an excellent move.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

5.0

Friendliness

5.0

Value for Cost

5.0

Care Services

5.0

Activities

5.0

Best experience

Suzy and Sandra made the whole experience of moving my recently widowed mom from Oakville to London so easy. This community is amazing! From the very structured process to ease mom in, to the fabulous meals and amazing care post hospital there is no place that I believe comes close.

3.0 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness

3.0

Friendliness

3.0

Value for Cost

3.0

Review of Amica at London - London, ON

The appointment was set up by Suzy [Removed] and was conducted through the GM Sandra [Removed]. Sandra knew the property and many of the residence at the property and demonstrated this through the way she engaged with people on our tour. We also liked the fact we first sat down with her to discuss our Mothers needs and character before going out to see the facility and learn about the community. AMICA seems to know how to cater to those who are outside the London area. Based on Sandras answers to our questions - they showed a can do attitude and if there was a challenge they seemed to be prepared to figure out a way to find a solution. This was very reassuring for us considering we are not from Canada or live-in the London area. The facility is very beautiful and reminded us of a hotel like atmosphere. Their amenities and services are very top-shelf. And the community seemed to be suited to this type of environment.PROS - beautiful outdoor scenery surrounding the property (with the exception of the road [Removed] Rd) which is a busy road so any units facing this will be exposed to this traffic....but to be honest this is a minor inconvenience to those residing in the units - amenities were aesthetically beautiful and truly designed around their Wellness them (however this obviously contributes to the higher maintenance and cost of the units most likely - and the overall monthly occupancy costs) - the staff we did meet seemed very professional and quite diverse. - the can do attitude and willingness to cater to everyones unique needs CONS - the hotel like atmosphere may be suitable for those visiting but does give a residence potentially of feeling of home. We did not notice as much of the individual flare within the public space of the community. We found that things were polished on the outside - nevertheless inside a persons own unit they could potentially do what they want - We noticed that the community who resided in this space was quite diverse in that you had a 13 female widows 3b 13 male widows 3b 13 married retired couples. Plus there was a sprinkling of convalescing patients - people recovering from surgery and are now outpatients. This mix creates a broader range of services and needs which may dilute or conflict with the ability to truly cater to those who are widowers and may impact how people commune or interact with one another - the amenities and costs are suitable for those who have recently retired and are very active - and potentially have more retirement savings at their disposal. - The assisted living floor of the place felt too clinical and separated residences from the other part of the community. The existence of this allows AMICA to continually treat a person within their facility if their health deteriorates. However it also acts as clinical wing for their other convalescing services. And it seems according to Sandra that some folks seem not wanting to stay on this floor which could be attributed to the fact that they want to continue to participate in the greater community....but the greater community is not designed to support those who require assisted living under the AMICA structure in London

Amica London

Senior living options offered

Reviews

for Amica London