Vintage Westwood

My mother, who passed away in December of 2014, lived at Vintage Westwood for 10 years. It was very convenient for me because I worked at UCLA and was able to visit her every day. That is probably the only reason I kept her there. I would not recommend this place for the following reasons:
(1) Location — Westwood Village is nice, but the traffic generated by the university is a nightmare for visitors at most hours of the day.
(2) Food — In the 10 years my mother lived there I NEVER ate one bite of their food. That should speak for itself. If you move there I hope you like fish because they serve it almost every night. The buffets they serve on holidays are very nice, but they are only on special occasions and guests are charged accordingly.
(3) Decline — As others have pointed out, the latest change in management has brought cuts in services, quality of food and activities. There used to be an art class which my mother enjoyed quite a bit. It was discontinued and replaced by a crafts class which she wasn’t allowed to attend regularly due to lack of space.
(4) Safety — While most senior residences are a few stories high, Vintage Westwood is a very large building with 14 floors. Those living on the higher floors will have little chance of evacuating in the case of a fire or earthquake, especially if they have difficulty negotiating stairs, as many seniors do.
(5) The management — There have been several individuals/​companies managing the building during the time we were there. I have found all of them to be deceitful, arrogant and/​or stubborn when I’ve tried to solve disagreements with them. They ranged from unethical to just inept.
(6) Plan ahead — Probably the most important caveat about placing an elderly person there is that it is NOT an assisted living facility. Unlike other senior residences, they do not even have their own nurse on duty. There may be an independent caregiving company on site, but their services cost extra. Be sure to inquire about exactly what is available and what it costs. It is almost a sure thing that at some point, even if healthy now, your loved one will have health problems and need assistance. If you need a caregiver, you must hire your own at great expense, an amount which can even exceed the rent which is quite pricey there. As people age, they eat less and are not able to participate in activities. At some point you may be paying many thousands of dollars only for a small apartment with basic housekeeping services (once a week). By that time it will be too late to move them elsewhere without disrupting a life.

So unless you don’t need to visit often, don’t expect your elderly loved one to ever have a medical problem or emergency and don’t expect to ever have a disagreement with the management, then it’s not that bad. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Having toured the community on numerous occasions, I have witnessed first hand, the quality of the management and frontline staff as well. All the residents seem pretty happy to live there and I hope one day I can live there when I’m older. I would definitely recommend Vintage Westwood Herizons to any of my clients, friends or family, without hesitation.
Aidan Moloney
Managing Director
Compass Senior Solutions

My mother has lived in Vintage Westwood Horizon for the past 7 years. It is a wonderful place. The most important factor, we believe, is the staff. Everyone from the management, to the front desk/​front line staff, to the waitstaff & dining room supervisors, to the cleaning & maintenance staff are competent, friendly, helpful and many have been there since before mom came — another telling marker.
Next, the location and building couldn’t be better: urban so residents can safely walk to stores, restaurants, theatre, doctors (UCLA med center across the street — with a free on demand shuttle) but on a quiet street, with indoor parking for residents and guests. More pluses include on-​premises library & exercise rooms, nightly films, lectures, games, exercise and health activities and holiday events, plus field trips for shopping, museums, and other LA sites. Never a dull moment. The rooms are spacious, with nice views; there’s a large interior patio with comfortable tables and lounge chairs. The place is not new or fancy, but is clean and well cared for — in our view much more important. Having on site a la carte nursing/​caregiving by American Caregivers is a major plus, as short and long term check ins, help and caregiving is needed. There is a diverse array of residents; the place has an active, lively vibe. It is a place where seniors can thrive. We highly recommend it.

We moved my mom into Vintage Westwood Horizons in April. She had been living alone for over a year. Westwood Horizons was the right place for her. She has never been so busy and active with all the daily activities that are offered. She has met many new friends and really enjoys meeting people and just sitting and talking with them. She is no longer lonely and loves the social aspect that she missed.
Ferri, Norman, Leah, the front desk and maintenance staff could not be nicer, friendlier and accommodating. They truly made the move so much easier for my mom. Manny in the dining room is wonderful with my mom and always makes sure she is taken care of. I have watched Manny with other people and he is very caring.
At age 87, Mom left a full-​time job, a house and gave up driving all at once. A big change at this stage of life. She has never looked back and has adjusted very quickly.
She loves that she can be independent and go to Target, Starbucks and Trader Joes, just to name a few stores right outside of the property. As well as attend plays at the Geffen Playhouse.
This is a great location filled with wonderful people who totally understand this stage of life and how to make the best of it. I highly recommend Vintage Westwood Horizons.

We want to commend the excellent staff at Vintage Westwood Horizons. We are entertainers and have been asked to perform for the residents on several occasions. We enjoyed working with Activities Director Lucy Ramos and have been impressed with how smoothly every show we’ve done has gone. The staff has been especially accommodating. We look forward to our next visit!
Wayne Smith
Paul Del Vecchio
Standing Room Only!

I worked with Norman to bring my parents to Westwood Vintage Horizons from San Miguel de Allende. I have looked at many retirement places and it is a tough change of scenery.
I am impressed with Norman and all the individuals who helped me move them
Into their suite.
This is never an easy time in one’s life, but I am thrilled with how everyone was there to help me to help my parents get settled.
I highly recommend Westwood Vintage Horizons for you or your parents.

My parents were living at Vintage Westwood Horizons for a little over two years and in that time the residence has deteriorated badly since the prior executive director was removed about a year ago and costs have been steeply cut. See the difference in the other two reviews, which are a year apart. It went from five stars to two and now it isn’t even one star. The maid service is included and when I moved my parents out last week I could write my name in the dust on the window sills and furniture, and Mom’s scale wasn’t broken, the dust was so thick you couldn’t see the numbers. The carpet had not been cleaned since they moved in despite requests every six months, and the windows were thick with dirt. The apartments are not air-​conditioned and there are not individual thermostats for each apartment so my parents were either too hot or too cold. My mother also had a caregiver through a service with an office at Vintage Westwood Horizons. When we went to move their beds, they were stained down through the box springs and plastic wrap had been laid over darker matter. The movers were kind enough to dispose of them. And the bed linens belonged to Vintage Westwood Horizons and they were changed weekly and the beds made daily. So the caregiver and maids didn’t notice?! I would have had the beds replaced with sealed mattresses and box springs. And toward the end of their stay there, my parents were refusing to eat the meals. There were lots of «stews» and the same cheap fish over and over again. There was very little meat and the portions were stingy. They never received a full place setting of silverware and often had soup spoons for their coffee and salad forks for their main dishes. Glass was recently placed over the tablecloths. The tables for the second seating were dirty. Mom and Dad’s rent was recently increased to over $ 7,200 a month plus about $ 1,200 a month for the caregiver three hours a day five days a week. They have moved to Pasadena Highlands where it is far less expensive, there is a happy hour every evening, the tables are set beautifully, and the food is excellent. There are full breakfasts delivered to everyone’s rooms and lunch and dinner are served in two different dining rooms. They have a choice of dining rooms and a lovely menu. There was flank steak with a citrus sauce, freshly made soup, and salad with dinner, and soup and salad with large shrimps and avocado for lunch, which was brought to their room when they didn’t make it in time for the dining room. Mom and Dad are thrilled to be there! The day they moved out another couple was moving out and waiting to use the

My mother lived here. The place ran on the minimum necessary. It is a converted college dorm. For example, they have slapped the same color paint an carpet on all of the hallways, rather than having different ones on different floors to help residents remember where is their apartment.
When my mother moved in with me they guaranteed that she could come back and stay there any time for a vacation. When she tried they informed her that she was too infirm. This sort of ‘honesty’ was about par for the course with them.