My mother moved into Buckner Villas, and she's doing well. We've been very happy with it, it's extremely clean, and when you drive up the grounds are immaculate; they're always working on the grounds. It's a very beautiful place, they have the villas for independent living, they have assisted living, nursing care, and a dementia unit. They check on her several times a day to make sure she's doing OK. She's very happy there, they have activities for them like exercise classes every morning, worship every Sunday, and she's made some new friends. The staff is very attentive and friendly. Her room is very clean and neat, they're cleaned once a week, and it smells good when you walk into the building and into the rooms. The food is hit or miss. They have a podiatrist that comes in once a month, and a massage table with a masseuse, so you can schedule a massage.

I really liked Buckner Villas Retirement Community. If they had been available in a day or two, that's where we would have put Mom. It was a clean place, and it didn't have that nursing home/hospital smell to it. The staff seemed very friendly and the place was really good. The staff we interacted with was really great. They had quite a few apartments, from independent living, to assisted living, to skilled nursing. It was a large complex with several buildings in different areas, and the grounds were well-maintained. It was a very pleasant experience.

Buckner Villas was a beautiful place with several levels of care. I went to the part that had people in the wheelchairs. I didn't see people talking to the residents. It was sort of custodial. They had activities and a piano player. My only concern was the lack of engagement with the residents. They need to talk and engage them more. The place is very clean and very organized. They do laundry and nursing help.

Buckner is trying to make money and save money, so where they should have probably more nurses, they have an LVN or two for a lot of elderly people. I heard people who sounded like they had pneumonia who then eventually would pass away. I wish there was some way the people could wake up and see what's going on. Most of the people, not all but most, were of African descent. It was not a happy experience for me at all. They did try to make adjustments, but if you have people working very hard at a very difficult job who are not paid well, they will just leave and no one can help that. They had physical therapy on site but no gym. If someone wanted some extra care, they would have to pay for it.

The staff at Buckner Villas seemed really nice. There has been quite a bit of literature and followup with several phone calls. They have a gym, a theater, and they have a scheduled transportation. They have a chef on staff who makes wonderful food and they also have a pastry chef. They are just incredible. This one is a continuing care community and they have cottages and apartments. We looked at the two-bedroom apartments and they were reasonably sized. They also have a storage facility in addition to the apartments and the houses. Everybody is allotted one storage unit. The staff seemed to care. Their staff has been there for awhile. That's what I like best about it. What they could improve on though is for the residents to have more say on how the facilities are operated.

The admission process was easy, but lengthy. We met with a very friendly woman in the front office who had a stack of paperwork about one and a half inches high! She carefully went through each page with us, showing us where to sign (if needed), and gave us plenty of time to read each page in full if we wanted to. We never felt rushed. At one point, we had a question about the level at which my mother-in-law was qualified versus what we feel her true capabilities and needs are. We were easily able to stop signing paperwork while she contacted the director in charge of that unit, who immediately came in and talked to us about what kind of accommodations needed to be made for mother-in-law, and whether or not Buckner Villas could make such accommodations. It turned out that they could, and we enrolled mother-in-law into the home.

The Buckner Villas is a lovely retirement community in Austin that we decided to visit while in the area. Our uncle needs a supervised place to live. This estate is quite large, and is very well maintained. The spacious and beautiful apartments were like high-end condos we've seen -- only they provide a higher level of service and care for its residents. They can adapt care needs according to the residents, which is really nice. They can accommodate memory care as well as skilled nursing services. They have plenty of space for every activity you can think of, and a few more. There is also space for family and friends to visit. The staff is caring and very good at assessing the needs of the residents, from what we saw. The resident also get to enjoy many outings on the town for afternoon adventures in the city. The dining areas looked really spacious and the food delicious. The nutritious menus feature a variety of options for seniors to enjoy with many types of food. Snacks are always readily available and offered regularly. It was clear to us that the residents here were all very content and the staff very committed to providing the best living environment for the seniors who reside here.