We have picked Carol Woods for our parents, but they haven't moved in yet. It is up on the mountains. There are lots of good walking trails and paved walking paths through the woods. They have a waterfall, which is really neat and very relaxing. Everyone is super nice. They let you sample the menu, and they let you meet the chef and the dining staff. The food is really good. Also you can either choose between a cottage or an apartment. My parents like the cottage option. They have all kinds of exercise programs. They also have a pool, a weight room, and a couple of different workout rooms where they do aerobic classes that are geared toward seniors. They have really neat activities, and they have programs every night as far like concerts and orchestras. It is really nice. The grounds are immaculate, too.

I can't imagine finding a better place than Carol Woods. It's very high quality and extremely well run. The outdoor landscaping and sidewalks are very beautifully maintained and extremely safe. It's easy for anyone with a walker or wheelchair to get around, and the paths are well lit. It has a very pleasant outdoor environment. The staff is extremely easy to reach. My mother-in-law is 86, and she's not disabled physically but she wears a cord around her neck with a button on it, so if she falls or anything, she can press the button and someone on site will come to her right away. It's one of those continuing care places where you can go in fit and healthy at 60 and stay until you die at 98. There's so much going on and a lot of programs. There's carpentry, ceramics, fitness, swimming - anything you want to do is there. It's self contained and very well maintained. The dining room is good and has a great variety of food. I can't say enough good things about it. It's wonderful. She's independent, but occasionally she'll have a medical issue, in which case they put her in special location while she needs care and then when she's able to go back to her home, she does. She has a dog in her home and when she gets sick, they make sure the dog gets taken care of and walked three times a day. It's a wonderful, educated community. It's a pricey place, so most of the people who live there have come from very educated, very successful backgrounds. They contribute quite a lot to the programming there. So, there are always interesting things to do and special speakers who are invited. Retired government officials live there.

I liked the apartments at Carol Woods, and they were bigger. It was a very vibrant community, and the people there were very active. We ate several meals there, and the food was excellent. There were many different styles of apartments, and you could find something that meet your needs. They had a swimming pool and gym. They had a very large library, and there were more activities that I would be interested in doing. They have book clubs, chess clubs, and speakers come in, and they allow Duke University to give classes to seniors, so we can use the facilities for free. However, there's no assigned parking, and the parking lot is not close to the building, so there's a lot of walking. The price was very expensive; it was not a good value for money. They pride themselves in having a long serving staff.

Carol Woods for me was a very nice place. The staff was wonderful. They had inside apartments and garden apartments and they were just beautiful. The dining room was very nice. I had not eaten there, but for what I had seen the meals were really healthy and delicious. It was close to a shopping area and not too far from a medical facility. They also had a bus that take people to where they wanted to go.