The Breakers At Edgewater Beach

my mother has been living there for more than 6 mos, the location is excellent, the people are very good and sensitive to the needs of the elderly, the activities they provide is such and varied that one can choose according to their interest, and mom is very happy there, though i hear that they could improve on the food, but then again mom craves filipino food. i like too that mom found friends there. so, simply put i am also very happy.

My parent recently moved into the Breakers. I had visited the Breakers on a number of occasions before deciding this was the place for my 86 year old parent. The apartment is beautiful and the grounds are very nice. The parking garage, although allegedly is under repair, is scary and looks like it will collapse at anytime. The laundry rooms are dirty with beat up equipment. I would not want to do laundry in them. While I understand that diets for seniors need to be healthy, the food is bland and fresh ingredients do not seem to be used. The service is super slow and not very friendly. But for the location and the apartment and the activities offered, I would not have moved my parent into this place. I hope management takes the negative reviews into consideration and does something about some of the issues at the Breakers as it has potential to be a great senior living facility.

This place smells very bad. And the food is practically inedible. The elevators are always an exercise in extraordinary patience. And the management is utterly indifferent to the needs of it’s elderly and sick population. My mother spent 3 months here for a «respite» visit, and they hounded her the entire time about moving in permanently, without leaving her alone. Some respite. And, the people who live here are not independent at all. This is not independent living. This place is populated by very disabled and sick people who cannot fight for whatever needs they have with the management who feeds them disgusting food and completely disrespects their needs as human beings.
I highly suggest you visit and eat here before moving in or someone you love into this dump. It is truly a dump that over charges and only interested in profiting off the disabled and elderly.

The Breakers was designed for senior independent living — emphasis on INDEPENDENT. Over time, more residents needed a higher level of care, so management brought in an outside company, Custom Home Care, Inc., to provide optional assisted living-​style services under the «Catered Living» banner. Services include a registered nurse (weekday business hours only), medication management, and caregivers. These services are available to all residents, but the 4^th and 5^th floors are designated «Catered Living» floors. Both floors are staffed with «concierges» and there is a small dining room on 4. The Breakers does NOT have a skilled nursing facility.
My mother was a resident at The Breakers for several years. In the beginning, this residence was appropriate for her needs. But she gradually progressed from living independently to requiring a live-​in caregiver ²⁴⁄₇. And as her health declined, so did the quality of «Catered Living» services she received at The Breakers.
The building and grounds appear clean and well maintained; public areas were refurbished in early 2014 and apartments are spacious and bright, with great views. Facilities, activities and events are above-​average. Having medical offices, a beauty parlor, and other services in the building is a big plus.
In the dining room, my mother experienced varying food quality and abysmally slow service. Four elevators are inadequate for a building where a growing percentage of residents uses walkers or wheelchairs; waits at peak times averaged 10 – 15 minutes and longer when one of the elevators happened to be out of service. The building hired exterminators to tackle bedbug infestations which migrated through apartments and common areas.
Residents and/​or responsible parties should review monthly rent Statements VERY carefully. I found erroneous fees for supplementary services on nearly every one of my mother’s bills. Having to dispute overcharges month after month was a drain on my time and patience.
As my mother’s needs increased, communication with The Breakers’ staff became more problematic. Important memos circulated among residents were not copied to family members living outside of The Breakers. Response to voice mail and email was often slow-​to-​none. Front desk concierges and maintenance personnel were often visibly stressed out and occasionally rude.
Ultimately, though, it was extreme dissatisfaction with the «Catered Living» services that caused me to relocate my mother (see my review of Custom Home Care, Inc. elsewhere on this site).

The Secret is Out!
The Breakers is a wonderful reason to retire. I say this based on several life experiences. Not only did I have a chance to live here with my Mother In Law but I have gone though the experience of seeing my own parents finding a place to live in their golden years. I found the breakers when I was searching for a way to find happiness for my dear Mother in Law. My wife’s family has truly been a life changing part of my life. Had I not been able to be a part of her family I would not have had the amazing life that I now enjoy. I say this only to explain why it was of such importance to play it back. I had working with my wife done a search for a place for my Mother in Law. But, what I got was a home. A place that she is quite busy and to such a degree that it is hard to catch her at times.
I call The Breakers a secret because I can’t believe more folks do not know of this wonderful building with apartments to equal the space and the views of many a «Gold Coast «Condo. She has now been at The Breakers for over three years and still manages to find more activities to keep her busy. My Mother in Law has had many tough things to deal with in her life. And, knowing that I had just a small chance to be involved in getting her a place at The Breakers allows me a tiny bit of pay back. I try to tell as many people as I can about this wonderful place on the lake in Chicago as I can. As many people know facing retirement in this age is very scary from a financial perspective. I currently live in one of the most expensive cities in the United State. And, eventhough I am able to maintain my current life style the knowledge that a place like The Breakers exist allows me to sleep with the knowledge that we ALL have a place to live our lives. Maybe not where I live but still someplace where people care and with a million dollar bill view to boot!!!
Enjoy, and do check it out

Elevators have been fixed (finally) for a few months now, so they don’t suck anymore, they work great.
My mother has been there a year, it’s a well run place. She likes the food, basically.
A lot of her cohorts, and her, enjoy having something to complain about, now and then. But from my perspective, it’s very good.

Placed a family member here six months ago from out of town and are extremely pleased with staff, manager, services, attention. Best activities calendar of any place we have found, very down to earth residents, very active engaging people. Food is fresh, desk staff alert, caring, courteous. Easy free and/​or very cheap parking, easy on and off LSD.
They know our family now and call if anything seems concerning or out of the ordinary. We think it is a great deal for the money and are very confident about their services. (We chose the Breakers over the Hallmark, Kenwood, The Claire, Sunrise)
When looking into senior care, many, many things can go awry. These are two worth mentioning.
1. Elevators suck, extremely slow and renovation process is tedious. Residents wait for 30 minutes to take elevator down to dinner. It is horrible and worthy of a call to building inspector. Does this sound horrible? It is but it doesn’t keep me from 5 star rating because they communicate well about it and everything else about this place is just so damn good. No place is going to be perfect.
2. Custom Home Care is a separate company in the bldg. that you can contract from medication reminders, shower reminders, etc. They are a great challenge to communicate with, very disorganized, dumb office staff.
UPDATE: Glad to read from others below that the elevator situation has changed. I also wanted to add another plus to this place — Their residents’ council. Many places don’t have them, and some have them but the directors don’t take them seriously. Not so at the Breakers. The directors meet regularly with the resident’s council and have open meetings where residents can voice their complaints and concerns and the staff actually take them seriously and try to resolve the problems… at least as of two years ago. It was quite impressive.