Résidence Esther Blondin

Where to begin. We signed a lease under so many false pretexts and great story telling. The owner is negligent and a con artist plain and simple. Your just an invoice for him. After seeing and hearing to many incidents with residents and experiencing one ourselves we had to move our family member out. I feel sorry for the residents that are there. They are not getting the care they need and and seriously at risk. The staff rotation is constant and very minimal, at times there can be only 1 person for the whole building. There is never any management staff at the reception. So many stories about the food quality and how dirty the kitchen has been and reports of rotten food and serving expired food. This place needs a serious intervention by the government and the owner needs to be removed from this place. The residents deserve better.

The staff are minimal, underpaid but wonderful. The owner is a lying con man. Will lie to get you to sign a lease. We were told residents have access to a doctor from a next-door clinic, which was a lie. We were told that the phone service was included in the rent, which was false. It was an added charge. The owner will nickel and dime you for everything. The owner says that things can be added to the lease but not removed, so he doesn't hesitate to sneak in extra costs to the monthly rent. I am totally not surprised by the other negative review. It sounds very much like our experience. BEWARE!!

We'll be able to reassure you at first, but be careful. My father was there for a year and a half, and there have been three complete changes in the staff. The bill mounts up quickly; every little action has a big cost. They charge more than $35/month (up to $50!!!) for the non-cable television. Eventually, recurring charges of $100/month appeared for "hair treatments" that were never provided. When I spoke to the landlord about it, he told me we couldn't reverse the charges and refused to reimburse us for the unjustified fees. Several fees that should obviously be included, such as basic apartment maintenance or laundry, are not included in the contract. When the lease for the very small room is renewed, the increase is disproportionate, and what seems like a good price in the first year quickly becomes very expensive. Finally, when we contacted the landlord, he lulled us into sleep with stories of retroactive reimbursements and pseudo-subsidies for services we weren't entitled to. We filled out long, boring documents and waited without the inflated bill being corrected. When the government payments were finally adjusted, they covered the costs at best 35%... If you choose to place someone you love here, you must keep track of the invoices and not overlook "errors" and additions that can quickly creep in and cost you dearly.

I visited the residence yesterday and really appreciated the staff's service. The staff is warm and welcoming. The rooms are quite spacious and very clean. I even noticed that the seniors really appreciate the staff's work and are happy.