Overall impression: Reviews for Sterling Court - Sky Active Living are polarized, but several clear patterns emerge. The single most consistent strength across the reviews is the quality of frontline staff: many reviewers repeatedly describe staff as caring, friendly, attentive and go so far as to praise individuals by name (for example Lillian, Marlene, Kelly, Ray). Multiple accounts describe smooth, compassionate admissions and move-in processes and staff who create a warm, family-like atmosphere. The community offers a broad set of amenities and social opportunities that many residents love — an active calendar of activities, a heated pool and attractive grounds, private cottages and roomy apartment floorplans, on-site therapy and some medical services, transportation for outings, and on-site convenience services such as a salon and drugstore. Renovations and cosmetic upgrades are underway or completed in many areas, leading some residents to describe the property as clean, modern, and well maintained in common spaces.
Care quality and staff: The strongest positive thread is staffing at the resident-facing level. Numerous reviews praise dining servers, receptionists, housekeeping staff, activities directors, and individual caregivers for attentiveness and genuine care. That said, staffing is uneven by department: the dining/kitchen and housekeeping teams are repeatedly described as short-staffed, creating service delays and inconsistent room cleanings. There are also recurring mentions of staff turnover and morale problems, and some reviewers indicate that management changes and corporate constraints limit what staff can do. Several reviewers call out a constraint where a helpful general manager is hamstrung by corporate policy or turnover.
Facilities and amenities: Many reviewers praise the pool, grounds, and cottage-style living options. Apartments are frequently described as roomy, with pleasant décor, patios/balconies, and updated flooring in renovated units. The property’s location near shopping and easy access is repeatedly valued. Some on-site services (transportation, therapy, on-site nurse practitioner, guest apartment) are highlighted as valuable perks. However, these positives are counterbalanced by a significant number of reviews reporting deferred maintenance and infrastructure problems—particularly roof leaks, water damage, mold, dead landscaping, failing key cards, and an elevator system with breakdowns (notably only one elevator for multiple floors). Those maintenance failures have led to real safety and comfort issues for some residents.
Dining and kitchen services: Dining is the single most frequently mentioned negative area. A large portion of reviews report poor food quality (overcooked or tough meats, dry dinners, cold coffee, inedible items), food shortages (meals or coffee running out), long waits for meals (sometimes up to an hour), and inconsistent adherence to dietary restrictions. While some reviewers praise an executive chef or report “fabulous” meals, many others describe the food as “borderline yuck” or “disgusting.” Several reviews note a short-staffed kitchen, serving delays, and problems with backup foods or alternatives when someone cannot eat the standard meal. A few comments indicate a new chef or dining leadership change that residents hope will improve the situation.
Activities and community life: The community is frequently described as active and social, with regular offerings such as bingo (up to six days a week in some reports), bocce, cornhole, card games, bridge, crafts, exercise classes, movies, and organized outings. Residents often comment that people are the best part of the community and that the activities director has been effective at increasing engagement. That said, a subset of reviewers feel the activities are boring or repetitive; the quality and range of programming appear to vary over time and with staffing.
Management, communication, and operations: Management responsiveness and corporate oversight are recurring areas of concern. Several reviewers allege poor communication, billing errors, attempted or unexplained charges (examples include attempted high check-in fees later rescinded), and rate hikes without perceived value. There are multiple reports of administrative missteps — from lost keys and difficult access after hours to unhelpful responses when relatives request wellness checks. Management turnover and recent ownership change are mentioned multiple times; some residents view new leadership and renovations positively, while others say the changes have been disruptive or insufficient. A few reviews describe problematic behavior by staff or management, including rudeness or mishandling of incidents (e.g., theft accusations), which heightens perceived risk for some prospective residents.
Maintenance, cleanliness, and pest control: Cleanliness receives mixed reviews. Many visitors and residents report clean common areas, well-kept pool space, and freshly renovated units, yet numerous reports contradict this with descriptions of dirty carpets, poorly cleaned laundry rooms, intermittent housekeeping, and even outbreaks of pests (cockroaches, bed bugs). Pest-control responses are described as inadequate in multiple complaints. Maintenance backlogs — especially roofing leaks that led to buckets in hallways, slow fixes for bathroom or AC problems, and broken elevators — contribute to significant resident dissatisfaction and occasional safety incidents.
Safety and health incidents: Several accounts describe serious events: elevator malfunctions trapping residents, an outbreak of stomach flu leading to hospitalizations and lockdowns, and delayed repair of safety-related systems. While some reviews emphasize safety features like life-alert pendants and helpful staff, others note restrictive visiting policies, jammed emergency doors, or infection-control challenges during outbreaks. These reports suggest variability in emergency preparedness and operational consistency.
Cost, fees, and value: Pricing and fees are a major pain point for many reviewers. Multiple mentions of rent increases (examples: $1,800 to $2,000; hikes of 14–18%), mandatory activity or insurance fees, and billed charges that surprised residents have caused some to view the community as overpriced. Conversely, some residents feel the pricing is competitive relative to local alternatives and cite travel benefits or move-in concessions as value adds. The mixed sentiment on cost correlates with the mixed experiences of service quality — residents who feel services meet expectations accept the price, while those who encounter food, maintenance, or management problems view increases as unjustified.
Overall patterns and recommendations for prospective residents: Reviews reveal two dominant patterns — many residents experience strong, compassionate staff, plentiful activities, attractive amenities, and a comfortable social environment; another sizeable group experiences issues with dining, maintenance, pests, and management responsiveness. The community appears to be in transition in several respects (ownership changes, renovations, new chefs, management turnover), which may be improving some areas while exposing operational weaknesses in others. Prospective residents should strongly prioritize an in-person visit that includes: tasting a meal, inspecting multiple apartment units and common areas (including laundry rooms and less-renovated wings), asking for recent pest-control logs and maintenance turnaround times, confirming elevator redundancy and emergency procedures, reviewing the fee structure and written contract for extra charges and rent-increase policies, and meeting current residents and frontline staff. Also ask specifically about recent or planned dining staffing changes and any outcomes from recent ownership or management transitions. Given the polarized feedback, a careful, up-close evaluation focused on the specific concerns most important to the prospective resident (food quality, maintenance reliability, cost transparency, or social programming) will be crucial to making an informed decision.
