We have chosen The Carolinian for my mom. As opposed to a lot of the other places we visited, they don't have a tiered system of care when it comes to assisted living. We found it beneficial that they had all the offerings that my mom would need in terms of handling her medication and making sure she was comfortable and happy all within one set price, as opposed to a tiered system where we would be unsure as to how much the price would go up from month to month essentially. The staff is very helpful and communicative. They have been with us along the way in the planning process. They've been very clear about what kind of documents needed to be compiled, and they've helped to make suggestions about how to do things like an assessment that most places require, but they're willing to travel a couple of hours away to where my mom is currently living to do that assessment, so they're making it very easy. My mom hasn't moved there yet and that's happening in the next week or so. They have all the standard kinds of activities that you'd expect in a place like that. Everybody gets together, they do card games, other games, and movies, that type of stuff. Then they do offer transportation, so if my mom needs to go somewhere, they can provide that.

The Carolinian was somewhat my favorite, but corporate would not allow a pureed food diet. I like their activities and the food they had and they were a little bit cheaper than the rest. They had a good community, I think, 30 or 40 residents. Some places only had 20, so there's a good opportunity to make more friends. In a small environment, you don't have so many choices. If you don't fit in, you're kind of by yourself. I like having a few more people there. The place was very energetic. The staff was participating in a luau day the day I was there. It seemed like they'd like to have a lot of fun and interact with the residents. Their menu was extremely good. It just seemed like a good place where you could fit in and call home. The rooms were nice. Each one had a little balcony overlooking the trees and had a nice-looking view. I enjoyed the rooms. My mother likes to watch birds and I just felt like it would be a good opportunity to hang a birdfeeder outside of her window and it would be a constant flow of birds come in there. There's a huge live oak with tons of lambs. It's a 50-year-old structure, so it doesn't look as good as the others, but it's got a better view out the windows.

My aunt is a resident and is well taken care of. The facilities are clean, her room is comfortable with a private balcony and the staff is a caring group. She enjoys her meals and is always in a pleasant mood when we visit. The facility appears to be very secure. We arrived for a visit on Saturday, August 25, during a fire drill. All residents were safely taken out and then returned to their rooms without trauma to anyone. I would definitely recommend this facility.

My mother-in-law moved to Carolinian last January. The staff is very nice and accommodating and take care of all her needs. She is well taken care of. They are very attentive and respect her privacy. She has a nice-sized studio apartment with a little balcony. The security is excellent. We are very pleased. For activities, they have bingo, different games,and trips out every Wednesday morning to shopping and doctors' appointments.

Everything seemed to be clean and neat at The Carolinian. I thought it was run very well from what I saw. The staff treated me very well during my visit and explained everything to me thoroughly. It seemed nice. The accommodations were very nice.

Carolinian was a comfortable place. The rooms were nice and their meals were good.

I went to the Carolinian. I liked it and my husband liked it. We have thought about going there, but he got sick. I just liked the rooms and stuff that they got because they have balconies in each room and we could go out to the balcony. The staff seemed to be very nice when we visited.

I moved my dad into The Carolinian last January. They bring in his meals and he doesn't have any complaints at this time. They only have a continental breakfast, not a full breakfast. But of course, when people get into that age as my dad, they don't really like a full breakfast. The facility is getting some improvements done but the infrastructure has been there for a while. When my wife went into the elevator, she felt that it would fall apart. My dad is in the independent living facility so there's not much that the institution can give you. If he doesn't take his medication for example, he would be dizzy and dementia would kick in. He also had a bad fall a month ago and no certified aide or nurse was able to move him or take him to an emergency room. They actually had to call 911. My dad laid on the floor for a while, until one of the CNAs came up. She said she wasn't able to move him because she isn't a nurse so she had to call the staff downstairs and they had to call 911. That was time consuming. That happened around 10 at night. The staff was there, the people were walking back and forth, and there were security checks; but after 9 or 10 o'clock at night, the staff became limited. I understand that, but there was no one around to check or double check. My dad could've been laying out there until security came around. It was my niece, who went to visit at the time, that found her grandpa laying on the floor.

The Carolinian retirement community was considered for my wife's aging grandfather who lives alone after the lost of his own wife of 60 years. He has been doing rather well handling the single life, but recent medical issues are making it increasingly more difficult. We started looking at area retirement and assisted living communities and found the Carolinian close-by. The apartments were very well designed and there were several different floor plan options to choose from. For one monthly fee they offered all utilities, cable television, housekeeping and linen services and an emergency call out system that would give him an instant connection to help 24/7. Although you hope and pray he'd never need it, it's nice to know it is there. The structures were a little older than I expected and seemed a bit run down. One of the key selling points is that all maintenance is performed by competent staff, yet, we saw several signs of neglect that ultimately caused us to keep looking. I strongly recommend you begin your search long before it is needed. Convincing loved ones that they need the security of a community and that they will have to give up the home and life they have created is difficult. Health can decline rapidly, so it is good to go and visit properties when you aren't pressured to make a fast decision. Other than the few plumbing issues a slight signs of wear-and-tear, the facility was acceptable. They provide two good meals each day along with a breakfast buffet of sorts. The residents we saw seemed very happy, though somewhat distant. The staff was friendly and made us feel welcome. They help schedule transportation for trips to the grocery store, doctor's office, and other errands. The library was a nice touch, but last Christmas we bought Pops a Kindle and he actually prefers e-books. All-in-all I rated this facility a three out of five. It is economical and has many positives, but I personally would not enjoy staying there.