Atria Senior Living Costs and Review

Types of Care

There are about 2.1 million residents living in senior housing facilities throughout the U.S.1 The types of residential care available at Atria vary by location, but the offerings are similar to those found at other companies, including Brookdale Senior Living. Atria’s offerings include:

• Independent living: Seniors live in a private apartment and enjoy housekeeping, linen services, access to 24-hour staff, scheduled transportation to local appointments, a full calendar of events and activities, chef-prepared meals, grounds maintenance, snow and ice removal, access to all community buildings, and an emergency alert system.
• Assisted and supportive living: Residents in this care tier enjoy all the services and amenities that independent living residents do, plus help with activities of daily living (ADLs), incontinence management, medication assistance, periodic check-ins, and escorts to meals and events.
• Life guidance memory care: Over 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.2 Seniors who are living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another form of memory impairment can live in a secure Life Guidance neighborhood with 24-hour staff. Residents receive help with ADLs, medication management services, and personal grooming assistance.
• Short-term stays: Select Atria locations permit seniors to stay for a short period of time to give their caregivers a break or to recover from an injury or illness. Short-term residents have access to the same services and amenities as long-term residents.

Services and Amenities

People are living longer. There were 88,988 people aged 100 and older in 2022, which is more than double the number in 1980.3 In Atria Senior Living facilities, staff keep seniors as engaged, connected, and healthy as possible. While some services and amenities differ between communities, the majority are offered at every location. Let’s take a look at what you might expect to find:

Care services

Older adults and families can choose the specific ADLs and specialized services that their loved one needs, as well as the frequency of care. Available care services include:

• Bathing and showering
• Grooming
• Medication management
• Courtesy check-ins
• Incontinence management
• Mealtime assistance
• Transferring
• Dressing/undressing
• Getting to meals and events
• Mood and judgment
• Alzheimer’s/dementia care

Some Atria facilities also provide diabetes management, nebulizer and oxygen management, and catheter and ostomy care. If your loved one needs this type of specialized care, be sure to bring it up with the individual location you’re considering.

Resident activities

Atria’s Engage Life program includes a full calendar of opportunities and events seven days per week. Residents fill out a Resident Discovery Survey to help Atria understand what their residents enjoy doing. The activity director takes that information into account when creating the calendar of events, which is why events at one Atria location will differ from those at another. Atria also empowers residents to create, develop, and lead their own events, clubs, and activities.

Some example activities include restaurant outings, tai chi, exercise classes, dance classes, bible studies, happy hours, game nights, book clubs, bingo, shopping trips, lifelong learning events, and community service projects. Adults 65 years and older need aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance activities every week.4

Resident apartment and living units

Atria offers a variety of apartment layout and square footage options, depending on the location. Common choices include studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and deluxe room floor plans.

Sample 1-bedroom/1-bathroom Atria layout

Community buildings and grounds

Each Atria location is unique. However, every facility offers communal gathering and activity spaces for residents. These may include:

• Movie theater
• Fitness center
• Full-service salon and spa
• Courtyard
• Walking paths
• Patio
• Dining room
• Game room
• Gardens
• Art studio
• Classrooms
• Meeting spaces
• Swimming pool
• Kids’ Zone

Outdoor pool and therapeutic hot tub at Crestavilla, an Atria Signature Residence, in Laguna Niguel, California

Dining at Atria

Many chefs in Atria kitchens were trained at Johnson & Wales, Le Cordon Bleu, or the Culinary Institute of America, so you know you’re getting quality grub. Residents enjoy meals three times per day with full table service. Choose from many different options at each meal, knowing that nearly every item on your plate is made from scratch.

Family-style dining room at Atria Bethlehem in Pennsylvania

Other Amenities

All Atria locations take care of the tasks you normally have to do but probably don’t want to do anymore. This includes apartment maintenance, mowing and landscape work, ice and snow removal, housekeeping, and linens. They’ll even arrange scheduled transportation for any local medical appointments, errands, or group outings, which is a great bonus if you’re no longer comfortable driving.

How Much Does Atria Senior Living Cost?

How much you’ll pay to live at Atria and how your rate is determined depend on the type of rental unit you choose, the type of care and services you need, and the location of the facility.

• Independent living: A private-pay rental apartment with no buy-in fee required
• Assisted living: A monthly charge for care services and a monthly charge for rent
• Memory care: A single rate that includes care services and rent

Atria charges assisted living residents only for the care they need, and rates will vary by location, so there isn’t a common rate that every resident pays. To give an example, we selected the Atria Crossroads location in Connecticut and compared prices for different units. Prices start at $5,095 per month for an assisted or independent living studio apartment, while memory care studios start at $8,095 per month. Again, costs will vary, depending on your needs and your chosen facility. Atria also offers a financial planning resource to help you compare what you’re currently paying to Atria’s senior living costs.

The rental charge covers the cost of your apartment and the following services:

• 24-hour staff
• Chef-prepared meals
• Events calendars
• Apartment maintenance
• Scheduled transportation
• Housekeeping
• Utilities
• Emergency alert systems

How to Pay for Atria Senior Living

Residents and families can use a variety of methods to pay for the full cost of Atria Senior Living:

• Medicare: Generally, Medicare doesn’t cover memory care or assisted living. It might cover some care services that you receive, though. For example, Atria uses Fox Rehabilitation to provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Most of these services are covered by Medicare Part B. You can read our resource on Medicare and Medicaid to learn more.
• Medicaid: Atria Senior Living accepts Medicaid for qualified expenses. However, Medicaid will not cover the entire cost of an assisted living or memory care community.
• Veterans benefits: Veterans and their spouses may qualify for the Veterans Affairs Aid and Attendance pension, also known as the A&A program. Qualifying residents can use this benefit to pay for care services at an Atria senior living facility.
• Private pay: The majority of seniors use private pay to cover independent living, assisted living, or memory care. Common private pay methods are savings, family member contributions, retirement funds, reverse mortgages, long-term care insurance, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and tax deductions and credits.

Check out our resources on paying for assisted living and memory care costs to learn more about how to make living at Atria Senior Living a possibility for you or your loved one, including exploring opportunities for tax deductions and financial assistance.

Atria Senior Living Reviews and Ratings

Atria Senior Living is not accredited and receives a F rating by the Better Business Bureau. The company gets mostly negative reviews on Consumer Affairs, 3.4 stars on Trustpilot, and mixed reviews on Yelp, depending on the location. Atria’s communities received 24 Caring Star Awards from Caring.com, showing positive reviews from residents and families.

As we read Atria reviews, toured their facilities, and conducted online research, we focused on key-decision making factors, including:

• Staff-to-resident ratios
• Quality of care
• Price and value
• Health and safety measures
• Amenities offered
• Resident and family testimonials

As you compare senior living communities, we recommend focusing on these key factors so that you can make an informed decision.

Atria Senior Living Locations

Atria offers more locations than many other companies, including Oakmont and Benchmark Senior Living.

Seniors who are interested in a Holiday Retirement by Atria independent living community need to use the location search on the Holiday Retirement website. Seniors who are interested in independent living, assisted living, memory care, or a short-term stay at an Atria property should use Atria’s Find a Community resource.

The courtyard at Atria at Cranberry Woods in Pennsylvania

How Atria Measures Up Against the Competition

Atria Senior Living is a recognized name in the senior living market and covers more than 230 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Competitors include Brookdale Senior Living and Sunrise Senior Living. Depending on where you live you may have access to some of these senior living facilities. Atria’s strength is in its broader availability in 17 states. However, Brookdale has communities and services in 41 states and gets an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Atria Senior Living has more locations compared to Bickford Senior Living and Brightview Senior Living, which only offer services in small regions of the country.

Final Thoughts on Atria Senior Living

Atria Senior Living helps older adults across the country stay healthy, safe, and happy as they age, whether they need independent living, assisted living, memory care, or just a short-term stay.

If you’re considering Atria for assisted living, just remember that Atria uses a la carte pricing for care services. While that does mean you’re paying for only what you need, those charges could add up should you require more assistance.