Overall sentiment across the provided review summaries for Ridgewood Senior Living at Historic Smithville is strongly positive, with multiple reviewers emphasizing the facility’s aesthetics, staff quality, and comprehensive on-site services. The property is repeatedly described as beautiful, brand-new, spacious, and updated, with reviewers noting a welcoming, home-like environment and a desirable location. Many reviewers highlighted the warm, inviting nature of the campus and named individual staff and leaders (for example, Director Lee Barieri, director Esha, Cathe, chef Gil, and an engaging CEO), indicating that leadership and frontline team members are visible and personally involved with residents and families.
Care quality and staffing are focal positive themes. Numerous summaries praise compassionate, dedicated staff who go above and beyond, provide personalized attention, and tailor care to individual needs. Reviewers repeatedly mention genuine smiles, kindness, and staff that make residents feel happy and at home. In addition to caregiving staff, the community advertises on-site clinical resources — physical therapy, a nurse practitioner, a psychiatrist, and a dentist — which reviewers call out as notable conveniences that support resident health and continuity of care.
Dining and culinary offerings receive strong praise. Reviewers describe a varied menu with restaurant-style dining, bistros and restaurants on-site, buffet events, and specifically praise a talented chef named Gil who helps create a homelike dining experience. Planned social food-and-drink events such as happy hour and well-received buffets were mentioned, and several reviewers explicitly said they were looking forward to dining experiences, suggesting that hospitality and food service are important selling points for the community.
Programming and social life are also highlighted as strengths. The community appears to offer a broad slate of activities — described as meaningful, creative, and engaging — along with library and movie room amenities, transportation services, regular family events, and active resident-focused schedules. The Activities Director received positive mention as a refreshing presence, and reviewers expressed that there is always something to look forward to, contributing to quality of life and social engagement for residents.
Management, communication, and community engagement are repeatedly commended. Reviewers note excellent communication, quick resolution of issues, regular family meetings, flexibility around changes, and a sense that the business office and leadership are actively involved (one reviewer even noted the Business Office Manager’s role in hiring). The community’s opening events — such as a positive ribbon-cutting with community leaders present — were cited as evidence of strong local engagement and visible leadership commitment.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive commentary, there are notable concerns that should be weighed. A minority of reviewers expressed significant reservations: one summary warns that "everything that glitters is not gold," another flags the community as expensive, and another alleges poor teamwork and a very high staff-to-resident ratio (one worker to 20 clients). These criticisms suggest potential issues with cost, staffing levels, or operational teething problems that can occur in new communities. Because the facility is new, some growing pains or isolated negative experiences are not unexpected, but they are important counterpoints to the generally enthusiastic feedback.
In sum, the reviews paint Ridgewood Senior Living at Historic Smithville as a well-appointed, hospitality-oriented community with strong leadership visibility, compassionate staff, robust on-site clinical services, attractive dining, and lively programming. The predominant impression is highly favorable — many reviewers explicitly recommend the community and describe exceptional personal interactions with staff and leadership. However, prospective residents and families should also probe cost, current staffing ratios, and any early operational issues during tours and discussions to ensure the positive qualities noted in these summaries are consistent with their expectations and needs.
