Overall sentiment across the reviews is strongly mixed, with many families and residents praising the facility, staff, activities, and physical building, while a smaller but highly vocal group reports serious care, safety, and management problems. A large portion of reviewers describe LakeHouse Cedarburg as a bright, remodeled, and welcoming community with an active social calendar, good communal spaces, and many residents who are happy and well-engaged. The in-house salon, frequent outings, holiday events, exercise and hobby clubs, and a visible activities program are repeatedly cited as major strengths. Several reviewers also say maintenance and housekeeping are reliable, move-in coordination is smooth, and specific employees and caregivers received strong personal commendations for compassion and attentiveness.
However, there is a persistent pattern of operational and clinical concerns raised by multiple reviewers that cannot be overlooked. Several accounts describe an absence of a manager or RN on site at critical times, medication errors, and lapses in basic personal care — including missed showers, unclean bed linens for extended periods, and laundry mixups. Some reviews detail alarming instances of neglect or rough handling (bruises, soiled trays near a bed), and at least one review reports a death that occurred during the planned move process. The presence of theft allegations and even arrests for theft appears in multiple summaries, contributing to safety concerns among families.
Staffing and management emerge as the primary axes of variability. Many reviews praise particular caregivers, long-term staff members, and newer management who are responsive, compassionate, and proactive. Conversely, other reviews describe chronic understaffing, especially on weekends or nights, heavy reliance on agency staff whose attitudes and performance were criticized, unprofessional leadership, and sales-driven behavior. Communication problems are a recurring thread — families report difficulty reaching administrators, delayed responses to concerns, unresolved billing issues, and inconsistent follow-through on promises such as replacement of safety devices or refunds for unfulfilled services.
The facility itself receives both acclaim and critique. Numerous reviewers highlight a remodeled, airy interior with pleasant dining rooms and communal spaces, while others note older areas in need of refurbishment, occasional odors (hallway smells of urine), and instances of messy or unsanitary rooms. Dining and food quality also show wide variation in experiences: many residents enjoy the meals, dining room atmosphere, and occasional praise for the kitchen staff, while several reviewers strongly criticize the food as poor or insulting. Likewise, some families report excellent housekeeping and clean apartments, while others recount dirty dishes, unclean bathroom/kitchen floors, and missing or unwashed linens.
Safety and clinical quality are major themes that produce the sharpest divergence in sentiment. Positive reviews cite low COVID-19 incidence due to diligent guidelines and describe feelings of safety and attentive nursing, whereas negative reports emphasize medication mistakes, delayed or absent nursing response, call-light delays, and alleged neglect. Memory-care suitability is another mixed area: some reviewers recommend the community for assisted living and mild memory issues, but multiple reviews warn that memory care promises were not always fulfilled and that the community may not be appropriate for severe memory needs.
In summary, LakeHouse Cedarburg attracts many residents and families who are very satisfied — drawn by the building, activities, compassionate caregivers, and responsive staff in numerous instances. At the same time, a distinct set of reviews raises serious concerns about staffing consistency, clinical oversight, safety (including theft and med errors), hygiene, communication, and management responsiveness. The overall picture is one of strong strengths in amenities, social life, and individual caregivers, combined with systemic operational weaknesses that produce widely divergent resident experiences. Families considering the community should weigh the positive testimonials about environment and activity offerings against the documented reports of clinical and administrative lapses, verify staffing and clinical coverage (RN/management availability), ask about policies for laundry, personal care, medication management, and theft prevention, and seek recent references that reflect current ownership and staffing changes described by some reviewers.
