When I toured Sugarbush Manor to consider placement for my elderly father, I was enthusiastically greeted by Sarah and a resident who glowed about the cooking and book reading clubs. The Manor was very welcoming and the staff and residents seemed to interact very well. The available room was a good size with 2 closets and private bath. Mike, the owner, is very friendly and attentive. Some residents were chair bowling while others conversed. There is a large open area for jigsaw puzzles. While this might not be the place for a dementia patient who wanders, the Manor feels like a family environment.

I did a tour of Sugarbush Manor. It was very good. The lady was really nice, she was very considerate, very comprehensive, and showed us everything, the pros and cons. She had two of the residents, who wanted to come anyway, come and talk to my mom. They were so nice and helped her to be comfortable in understanding about some of the activities they had. They had eight people out of residence, so it was like two, maybe three people left there. Even knowing she didn't want to live with a lot of people, that kind of threw her off; there were only three people. I said to her, there's 14 beds here and you don't like it to be really crowded either, and she was OK with that. We attempted to make her feel comfortable. People were out at the activity club, another two had doctor's appointments; she mentioned why they were offsite. It just was different. She's 87, and it's a big building. You go in, and there's just three people sitting in the middle. I think she's just trying to transition this whole idea. So, that was fine. The staff member was positive, friendly, and welcoming. The time that we made it, she was the only person there; the person who gave us the tour, and the cook came in. She asked him about his meals and that kind of thing, and the people really like it. So, that was very friendly, but there were no other staff members or other people there at that time. I think they were even having the change of staff, but we didn't see anybody. They have an exercise room and activity room. They had a patio where they do barbecues when the weather is cooperative, not just in the winter. They had a patio for activities and socializing. There was a big, dayroom kind of thing. There were some people putting a puzzle together. Two of those three people were working on a puzzle, and the other person was kind of sitting over and just watching them. But, coming out of his room so he can be a part of that, we used to call it meliorant in social work. That was really good for her to see, too. You don't have to stay in your room, and people feel comfortable enough to come out. Other than that, they had a really nice kitchen that she showed us, and talked extensively about a cooking group that they have. They might even have a cooking contest, and all residents want to participate, or get to participate in the meal preparation. I'm not so sure about preparation, but the choosing of the meal. I think some people do participate in the preparation. The three people we saw, two of them were in a wheelchair. It looked like it was set up so even someone in the wheelchair could get close to the table, and work in the kitchen with them if they were interested. She talked about an arts program that they have, and my mom's an artist, so that was right up her alley. They do have crafts and would continue to have an arts program. She taught pretty extensively about, she referenced him as a deacon, a spiritual representative that comes onsite. For people who are not attending church, or have an activity, they really look forward to this particular person coming onsite. She showed us the programs that they put together, and it looked pretty much like going to church, so that's something my mom really liked too. We just toured, and at that time it must be an activity time because there were two people working on a puzzle. The carpet was really worn and looked like it had been washed millions of times, but you know that just because it was so large. One of the first things I noticed was that the carpet didn't look really perky, but everything else did.

We chose Sugarbush Manor for our dad and we're very happy with them so far. We chose this place because we met the owner of the place. We felt confident with him and we liked what we saw. They have activities for the residents like exercises. They gave him a very nice birthday party and lots of special attention that day; it was very nice. I'm very happy with them.

I moved my husband in Sugarbush Manor about 6 Months ago. Prior to moving him in he was at home on hospice. This was a very hard decision for my family and myself. My husband was in my opinion dying. He stopped getting up, stopped eating, and was just not doing well. With in the first week of living at Sugarbush Manor my husband was up and alert. To my surprise he was walking, eating and smiling again. He has now been taken off of Hospice and making improvements daily. I am proud to be a part of Sugarbush Manor and very proud of the work they do. I would recommend this facility to anyone looking for a place for a love one. It is a very family friendly place. You will not regret the decision.