Great Lakes Management

Norbella Savage was a newer facility. We experienced some issues with billing and miscommunications, partially due to staffing issues and a change in ownership. While you could move belongings in on the weekend, they didn't explain that officially move-in day had to be on a weekday when staff was there. They also didn't explain very well requirements and things you're responsible for. Because it was newer, it seemed like a fairly nice place. And the staff seemed friendly and easy to talk to. We just had a lot of issues and weird things initially. For instance, we had moved our loved one's bed in ahead of time on the weekend, and someone had slept in it. And furniture had been moved. I was not really happy about that. When I came to them with concerns, it always took some time for them to handle, which was frustrating. Right now, my loved one seems comfortable there, and that's the most important thing.

I appreciate [name removed] giving my Dad a great tour. This facility is in the mid-range for cost but the bedroom is small. The pro is that it is close to Southdale Mall.

I found this place to be too dark,it had dark woodwork, the hallways were rather narrow. It just was not inviting, actually rather depressing atmosphere. Otherwise it seemed to have all the necessary amenities.

Very nice but Dick felt it was a little too upscale for his needs and background, and he might not fit in.

Our experiences in this community have been good for the most part. The community looks great, they keep everything very nice and clean. Most of the staff is excellent while a few need more training and supervision, particularly some of the overnight personnel. The Care Unit section is understaffed for handling the special needs of some of the patients in that area. Many activities and special events are offered. The food is good. The management staff is friendly, helpful and cooperative with family.

Mother has been here 3+ years. Place is very clean, staff very friendly and helpful. Meals uninspired and bland, though most of the wait staff (mostly young students) are cheerful and friendly. Additional services are very expensive and a very poor value. Tenants are required to pay for cable, whether used or not. Med and nursing management easily add $350 to $500 per month, for minimal service, and management (Gentle Touch) is argumentative, defensive, and need to be checked on constantly.

Needs something less like city. Pond and benches near by would be nice.

St Therese in New Hope a wonderful place, but not a good fit for Mom, apt's too independent and removed for her situation. Place is not updated enough for w/c accessibility either! Activity room teeny, hallways narrow etc.

Large facility. Able to meet many different levels of care. Food choices good. Activities were average. Staff was involved with residents and residents knew the staff.

I have a dear friend who has lived here for several years. On multiple occasions she has told me about lack of adequate food offered- - ie, no bread for breakfast. This means no toast whatsoever. This has happened more than once. Other times, There was no dessert at dinner, or as a last ditch effort, a package of mediocre cookies were passed around. These are just a few of the complaints re food, there were more. And they were ongoing, it was not an isolated incident. These folks look forward to meal times and have prepaid for their meals. This poor service is horrific, IMHO. If I worked here and saw no bread available for breakfast, I'd hop in the car and run to the grocery store and buy a few loaves! I am really disappointed in their food service. When I told my friend I wanted to make a complaint about this, she begged me not to- she didn't want to make waves and said she would be very embarrassed. So I took no action. But I note these food issues were ongoing last year and I don't know if they have improved or not. I would not recommend this place, based on Their high food charges and poor food delivery.

After five months, there are still things to work out. At 98 years old, Mother is blind from macular degeneration and very hard of hearing. Some attendants do not announce who they are when they enter her room. They go in and out quickly, not giving her a chance to ask a question or request additional help, even 'tho she is paying for 15 minutes of service time each time they enter. It took three months just to get the food service people to follow her instructions to cut up her food. There are individuals in management and on the attendant staff who are very caring and responsive, but overall, there needs to be more training of the aides, especially considering the cost of care.

The Glenn Minnetonka is a beautiful place with lovely surroundings and right in the heart of senior-friendly Glen Lake area in Minnetonka. [name removed] is right next door, dentist, hair salon, two restaurants, post office, service station and tax prep are also close by. If you or a loved one do not require daily assistance, this is a good place for you. If you require services somewhere between basic assisted living (which is identical to independent living except for the meal plan) and care suites, this may NOT be the best place. Anything extra will cost you (escorts, meal delivery, safety checks, med administration, etc.) and the cost will vary from month to month depending on your needs. You will occasionally be urged to consider moving into the higher cost care suites because of this. Some of the aides are great, while others are curt and rough. The food service recently switched over in the fall of 2017 and has taken a nose dive in quality. Do your homework. Many Assisted Living communities now offer tiered service plans which are determined after a nurse performs an initial assessment meaning you will know yours monthly cost is going to be upfront.

Generally the room his room was not clean when I visited. Generally the quality of care was poor when I visited something was always amiss with my that's care. Sometimes they would hustle in when they saw me and kind of act like they were always on their way. The food look like crap and my dad hated it all. I think the activities were lame. Not a lot of off property activities like going to actual church or going to the actual grocery store and they have the van but they didn't take people out. They're very quick to send my dad to the hospital when things got dicey without really giving us time to help. Some of the staff had extremely long fingernails which is not conducive to care of others. Many of his items went missing including his [fee removed] hearing aids. So generally I would not suggest this place to anyone. Sorry.

My experience was not good. I was looking for a place that my mother. The caregivers were inattentive. They were sitting with feet kicked up, and one man was sitting on top of the desk. I was not even greeted by any of them.

My mom has been @ The Glenn Cottages for a few months now. 1st her electric razor disappeared. Then PJs worth $50. Recently a $150 hooded cable knit sweater from Ireland disappeared along with a hoodie. One day magazines were spread around her chair on the floor. Fall risk. Yesterday I stopped by at 1:30 pm and she didn’t have her teeth, which meant she had 2 meals without them. She also didn’t have her hearing aides. Sometimes she has someone else's glasses on. Today no glasses. D/T being a fall risk she is also supposed to have hospital socks with grippers or shoes. Neither today. She recently broke her hip @The Glenn. When I voice my concerns I am told by staff that I have been warned multiple times not to talk to staff. (Not true). The director stated they had young girls working there and she was afraid of them quitting. She did ask me not to talk to staff at that time. I should be able to advocate for my mother. She’s moving as soon as we can find another place.

There is not a nurse on duty after 4pm or on the weekends. She doesn't get her medication for days before we find out. We have been through several nurse managers and its only been 7 months. Needless to say,, new problems with each turnover. Staffing is mostly pool or temporary staff. There is no way to reach anyone after 4pm.

They are doing well with the food and activites. They could do better with, communicating the billing procedures, and the leasing process. The administration staff is terrible.

Beautiful place. Nice common areas and nice units with a variety of floor plans. Food is good with a nice variety. Assisted living plan is pretty much a farce. Weeks go by without anyone coming in to clean or do laundry. Daily nurse visits, what's that? The place is woefully understaffed. If you want a nice place to stay and not cook it's probably a good choice. If you need someone to come help you with something, I'd look elsewhere.

Our loved one really likes the apartment she has for what it is - it is upscale, clean, spacious and new which is actually what drew us to the community. However our loved one is needed and paying for certain services and unfortunately she is not getting them, so they could work more on bettering their follow through process.

I would tell other families they're better off hiring home help than going here. I think that's true for any community. For what you pay for, you might as well hire your own help. One of the main reasons my loved one chose The Glenn Hopkins was the activities. They have an activities sheet that makes it look like they have all these activities, when in fact people don't show up for them. Before moving in, we explained that she really likes to play cards. They said they had tons of cards and Bridge players. After moving in, that was not the case. And they didn't really do anything to help with that either. She would show up for an activity, and there was nothing. They didn't have anything where they tried to integrate the person into the community. There was no real orientation/integration procedure. Also the food was not good. Often she was sick from it. It was very salty. And if she would ask for something simple like a banana, they wouldn't have it.