Overall sentiment across the reviews is highly mixed, ranging from strong praise to serious alarm. Many families and residents describe TerraBella (Carillon Assisted Living of Hendersonville) as a clean, home-like community with warm, compassionate staff and an attractive campus. Positive themes include a small-community feel, secure and attentive memory care, pleasant outdoor spaces and walking paths, and an active social calendar with crafts, outings, and special events. Multiple reviewers singled out dining and chefs as strengths, reporting restaurant-style table service and varied menus; others enjoyed shuttle/concierge services, pet-friendly policies, and the presence of on-site nursing/CNA support. Several reviewers commended supervisory leadership (notably Executive Director David Moore in multiple reports) and noted that management initiatives had improved staff stability and resident satisfaction in some cases.
However, an important and recurring counterpoint across the reviews is inconsistency — both in the quality of day-to-day care and in operational reliability. Many families reported that care and responsiveness varied by shift or over time, often linked to high staff turnover and periodic staffing shortages. Concrete and grave safety concerns appear repeatedly: missed resident checks, multiple falls, bruises, instances of alleged physical abuse, medication problems (including alleged overmedication), and reports of hygiene failures (soiled bedding, urine odor). Some reviews describe clinical lapses such as failure to assist residents to the bathroom, removal of oxygen causing confusion, delays in soft-food or denture orders, and missed wound or bathing care. These incidents led several families to pursue legal action and, in at least one case, to move a resident out. Reviewers also reported theft or missing items (wheelchair, linens, clothes) and difficulties accessing records. Notably, a handful of reviews reference state regulatory action: ratings described as declining to 1 star (Oct 2023) and 0 stars (July 2024) and active investigations, which is a major red flag mentioned alongside the anecdotal safety incidents.
Facilities and amenities are another area of mixed feedback. Many reviewers praised the building layout, screened porches, dining rooms, activity/media rooms, and overall cleanliness and upkeep. Others reported maintenance outages (no heat or hot water for days), ceiling leaks, odors (smoke or urine), heavy exterior doors that impede access, and overcrowded or cluttered studio rooms. Laundry and housekeeping problems were recurrent problems in multiple reports — missing or unclean linens, towels shortages, and items lost during laundering — undermining the otherwise well-kept appearance many reviewers cited. Virtual tours and marketing claims also emerged as points of friction: some families felt the online representation overstated menu options, therapeutic services, number of chefs, or the level of care advertised (e.g., wound care or more clinical services than actually provided).
Dining and activities generate both strong praise and criticism. A significant number of reviewers described the food as nutritious and enjoyable, with variety and appealing presentation. Others described meals as bland, served on trays like airplane food, or subject to shortages and kitchen staffing problems. Activities are robust in many reports (bingo, baking, crafts, off-site trips, themed events), and families appreciate weekly calendars and the social engagement offered. Conversely, several reviews described times when activities leadership was absent, family volunteers had to run programs, or residents were not proactively escorted to activities — particularly when staffing was thin.
Management, communication, and value are persistent themes. Positive reports highlight compassionate, communicative leadership and meaningful efforts to improve care and operations. Negative reports focus on poor communication, a sense that the organization emphasizes fees over resident needs, and billing or responsiveness problems. The facility’s price point was described as reasonable by some and overly expensive by others, particularly when compared against perceived care quality or in light of service shortfalls.
Patterns and recommendations from the aggregated reviews: families considering TerraBella should weigh the strong positives — homelike feel, attractive grounds, engaged staff when fully staffed, and solid memory care security — against the variability and documented safety and administrative concerns. Prospective residents and their families should (1) ask specifically about current staffing levels, turnover rates, and nurse coverage; (2) request recent inspection reports and remedies for any violations; (3) verify clinical capabilities (wound care, PT/OT/Speech, dementia care specifics) and how dietary restrictions are handled; (4) tour during multiple times of day to observe different shifts, meal service, and activities; (5) discuss laundry/housekeeping policies and inventory safeguards for personal items; and (6) get written commitments regarding supervision checks and medication management. The reviews suggest the community can provide excellent, family-like care in some circumstances but also has had episodes of serious lapses — due diligence, direct questioning, and review of up-to-date regulatory records are essential before making a placement decision.
