Overall sentiment across the reviews for Better Living of Walcott is strongly positive, with frequent praise for the facility’s home-like atmosphere, cleanliness, and well-maintained grounds. Many reviewers describe a welcoming, cozy environment that feels residential rather than institutional. The property’s location and landscaping — including nearby pond and bike paths — and a quiet setting are repeatedly noted as attractive features. Cleanliness and upkeep of both the building and grounds are consistent themes, contributing to residents’ and family members’ sense that the community is well cared for.
Staff and care quality emerge as central strengths. Numerous reviews highlight caring, compassionate, and attentive staff who are engaged with residents and enjoy their work. Multiple comments describe staff as having "hearts of gold," being very helpful, and creating a positive work environment — which reviewers see reflected in resident interactions. Reviewers specifically call out staff involvement in activities, responsiveness to needs, and an easy memory care transition for families who needed that level of care. The community is repeatedly recommended for independent, assisted, and memory care, with families noting that loved ones feel safe, comfortable, and well taken care of.
Activity programming and community involvement are also strong positives. The facility hosts a wide variety of events and social opportunities — examples mentioned include ice cream socials, Easter egg hunts, happy hours, holiday celebrations, trips, games, exercise classes, hobby projects, and on-site services like a hairdresser. These offerings are described as inclusive and full, with residents enjoying meaningful engagement and opportunities for family involvement. Reviewers often mention that the small size and welcoming social climate support a strong sense of community and resident satisfaction.
However, there are notable negative themes that temper the overwhelmingly positive feedback. A subset of reviews raises serious concerns about management and ownership conduct. Several reviewers describe management or ownership as rude, disrespectful, or classless, with at least one report of a caller having the phone hung up on them. These reports often link management problems to perceived shortcomings in care. At the same time, other reviewers explicitly praise new management and describe a turnaround, which indicates recent leadership changes and inconsistent experiences over time. This inconsistency is an important pattern: some reviewers laud the current leadership and team, while others reflect past or ongoing negative experiences with management.
Staffing and cost concerns appear in multiple reviews. Some reviewers say staff are overworked or that the facility is short-staffed, and a few tie those staffing pressures to lapses in care or service quality. There are also several mentions that services are expensive or overpriced, which may affect families’ perceptions of value, especially when paired with any concerns about staffing or management. These negative points are less frequent than the positive ones but are significant because they speak to operational issues (staffing, management communication, pricing) that can directly impact resident experience.
In summary, Better Living of Walcott is widely viewed as a clean, welcoming, and well-maintained community with compassionate staff, robust activities, and a strong sense of hominess that many families highly recommend. The facility appears particularly strong in resident engagement, social programming, and creating a family-friendly atmosphere. The primary areas to investigate further are management consistency (noting reports of both a positive new-management turnaround and separate reports of rude or poor management), staffing levels/worker workload, and perceived cost relative to value. Prospective residents and family members should weigh the many positive testimonials about staff and environment against the reported management and staffing concerns, and consider asking specific, recent questions about leadership stability, staff-to-resident ratios, and pricing during tours or calls.
