The reviews for Watercrest At Cherry Creek show a sharply mixed picture with strong praise from some residents and serious complaints from others. Positive comments frequently highlight compassionate caregivers, an active and social community, and comfortable apartment features. Several reviewers describe staff who are attentive, administer medications on time, and treat residents like family. The community is repeatedly praised for its robust activities program — bingo, dances, church services, shopping trips, resident councils, and monthly casino outings are cited — creating a lively social atmosphere that many residents enjoy. Some units are described as bright and well-laid-out with sliding glass doors and kitchenettes, and multiple reviewers noted that the food is very good. A number of reviewers also state the facility is affordable and has undertaken remodeling or improvements, which contributes to a better experience for those residents.
Counterbalancing those positives are recurring and significant concerns about cleanliness, pest control, maintenance, safety, and management. Multiple reviews report cockroach and bedbug infestations and general filth in apartments or left-over belongings from prior occupants. Several reviewers reported strong odors in hallways, including marijuana, and others described plumbing failures and unrepaired leaks, toilets not secured to floors, and closet doors falling off. These physical and sanitation issues create a serious negative impression and, in some cases, raise health and safety concerns. The facility’s condition appears inconsistent: while some reviewers explicitly praise the cleanliness and absence of odors, many others describe severe cleanliness and infestation problems.
Care quality and staffing are also described in contradictory terms. Some reviewers praise caring CNAs, a helpful head nurse, and timely medication delivery, emphasizing respect and personable treatment. At the same time, there are multiple reports of CNAs slackening on duties, understaffing, staff being too busy to help, inadequate feeding, and prolonged incidents where residents were left without timely assistance. Medication administration is an area of specific concern for some reviewers who allege withholding or inconsistent practices. These conflicting reports suggest uneven staff performance and possible shifts over time in staffing levels or training.
Management and organizational stability emerge as a central pattern in the reviews. Numerous reviewers mention management turmoil, staff pay cuts, and turnover tied to administrative changes. Several negative accounts attribute declines in care and facility upkeep to changes in administration — one reviewer directly contrasted prior better performance with a decline after a new administrator arrived. More serious allegations include theft, lack of accountability from management, eviction during COVID-19 for arrears, and at least one report involving police being brought in to document abuse. Such reports point to systemic issues with governance, transparency, and resident protections for some residents.
Overall, the sentiment is highly polarized: some residents experience a clean, active, friendly, and well-run community with good food and caring staff, while others report severe sanitation and pest problems, maintenance neglect, safety incidents, theft, medication and care failures, and troubling management behavior. The pattern of mixed feedback, with explicit mentions of improvement by some and decline by others (often correlating with administrative changes), suggests that experiences at Watercrest At Cherry Creek may vary significantly depending on timing, specific staff on duty, apartment unit condition, and recent management actions. Prospective residents and families should investigate current management practices, pest-control records, recent maintenance work, staffing levels, and incident reports; consider touring multiple apartments and speaking with current residents about recent changes to get a clearer, up-to-date picture before deciding.
