I went to BeeHive Homes of Albuquerque. The overall experience was very positive. The person I met with, her name is Joy and was very compassionate, and did a great job of listening and presenting me with the information that helps to make decisions that I was able to take with me. I got a tour of the different room sizes in the facility, and that was very nice to see. She was very thorough and gave me her personal cell phone number because I was having some issues with locating where my mom had been taken. And she was able to help me figure out where she was. So I feel like she went above and beyond more than she needed to do. Incredibly clean, and very well maintained. There were no obvious signs of disrepair and it was very, very nice. They were residents that chose to be out and about in the common rooms and what have you. The staff was very friendly. Anytime they would walk by someone they would talk to us, and say hello. So, it felt like a very welcoming environment. I did not try the food, but one of the things that were included was a menu. The information that was with me, and that was very interesting. They're the only facility that I toured that gave me that information, which I thought was pretty cool.

My mother is in BeeHive Homes of Albuquerque. We decided to leave her there for right now. We had a talk with the owners and we are waiting to find out if things are going to be better there. We were just unhappy with a lot of the things that were going on. She is in the unit where most of the people are bedbound. It's a village and there are several homes within that village. There are approximately 16 people per home, and they have various care levels. There are the ones that are pretty independent, and there's the memory care unit. Then there's the unit she's in, which is for the bedbound. She has a private room. All the rooms are private and the rooms are very nice. They have a big area where the bed and the dresser and everything is, and then they each have a big bathroom. It has a shower, a sink, and a toilet, but most of the ones that need assistance, they take them into a bathroom that they have there to give them their baths or showers. The area where she's in is very well taken care of. They keep it nice and clean. The staff is where we've had issues. It's very hard to find good people that work. There are some people that have not been very attentive, and then there are some people that are attentive, but it's not always. We have seen where sometimes one of the staff members gets angry at the residents. Sometimes, they yell at the resident. The other ones are really very, very good. Each house has a manager and they've gone through a few managers, but the one that they have right now in her house is very good. They have a nice dining room and they have two large tables. They put eight people per table, and they all have their assigned seating. Since the pandemic, there are not many people that go out and sit at the table. Most of the people are served in their rooms. They advertise gourmet meals, but they are not gourmet meals. She's not happy with the meals. She has dietary issues and they're always trying to find things that she can eat. The food I have eaten there has been fine with me. I'm lactose intolerant and I asked the cook (they've gone through several cooks), what would they do if someone was lactose intolerant? He said that they had never come across that, but they would have to deal with it. I have seen in the kitchen where they do have notes up that say that this person can't have nuts or this person can't have whatever. We chose it because it is a smaller community where they all have their own assigned seating. For my mother, that is something that she needed because she's not real outgoing. They have an activities person that goes in and does activities and does exercising with them when they're not bedbound. When they're bedbound, it's harder to do that. When your loved ones are bedbound, there are issues where they're not being attentive to their needs and not checking the rooms. It's important to check on them all the time, not just assume that everything is OK. You need to go in and go in at different times of the day to check their parents.

My parents were at Beehive. It sounded like just the place for them as I heard the sales pitch. The reality was disappointing. The management is changing and hopefully getting better. As people age, they have very little joy in life and meals/food should be a high point of their day. That was not the case. They did not get orange juice, they got fruit punch. They rarely got fruit but they did get lots of cooked vegetables. The cuts of meat seemed to be somewhat of the cheaper cuts. Meals did not compare to another assisted living that I have experienced. I think the idea of Beehive is good, I just hope they overcome their growing pains.

My husband is now living at Bee Hive, and I am happy with the care he is getting. They are helping him with everything and taking care of him because he cannot get up or eat. They are especially nice when he is having problems.

My brother-in-law is at BeeHive Homes of New Mexico. Services run the gamut from independent living to hospice. There are four cottages that are like homes; each one has about 12 people living in it. The rooms are very roomy. Each one has its own bath. The facility that he's currently in is very new. The staff is wonderful and very attentive. All of the residents wear one of those little alert bracelets. The food is wonderful. The setting is very homey. There are tons and tons of activities.

Beehive Village was very good. They were more into assisted living, and my dad didn't quite need that level of care yet. That is probably the only reason he didn't go with this one. They have activities there. They had people come in doing exercises with them. They had their puzzles. They are not quite on the same level of activities at the other facility.

Mom is in Beehive Village for three and a half weeks now. We choose it because we need a smaller place where the staff can monitor her more quickly and they can watch her more carefully. I like the facility and it probably holds only 14 residents. It is nice, clean and welcoming. They let us walk in at any time. It feels like another home to go to. I like the staff. They are very willing to listen to what we need and want. They are friendly. My mom is in a house with a bedroom. Their dining room is small because there aren't that much residents there. But it is in an intimate house setting and I like it. The food is really good. They take them out around town on a bus to do things. They do impromptu bingo and physical therapy activities. They welcome suggestions from the residents and they try to work things out. The only that I have struggle with them is that the price is high. It is more expensive that a lot of other places, but that I think because it provide more direct care.