Merrill Gardens

My family and loved one had an average experience with the community. The care staff are really wonderful. The community. The community is clean. There are meals and activities available for the residents to stay social.

We picked this community, because prior to my mother moving in my step father was there. I would recommend that others, visit and make an educated choice. It's okay, no other experience to compare to.

We picked this community, because of the location. It's a beautiful facility. Care staff has been more consistent however they are still learning how to run a memory care residence.

Glen Riddle was along the lines or Rose Tree Place. I didn't find it as bright, an overwhelming, or an active community and pleasant staff for my loved one. Truewood Glenn riddle was also a good place but I did not like the feel and darkness of the memory care unit.

Our biggest complaint is maintenance and response. When the electricity went out, mom called 3 times for someone to help her out of her electric recliner. Each time, they said that no one was available and they would call back. They never did. In a couple of hours the electricity came back on. Twice the fire alarm has gone off for a long time. No explanation and when mom asked she was told only, "get back in your room and close the door." Mom can't use her thermostat. It's old, small, faded, and almost unreadable, even by me. Even the staff say it is one of the old ones. We have asked for it to be replaced several times and no response. We thought that Merrill Gardens at Campbell would be a first rate facility, but so far it has been disappointing.

Merrill Gardens at Ballard is a great place for highly independent seniors. It is in a location that is by a lot of restaurants and shopping. My dad was here for about 5 months and it was very poor for memory care. It would also be a poor place for individuals who have Parkinson's or any other neuro-degenerative diseases. I do think if they would have hired night time staff at the front desk, it would have helped a lot.

All the areas below 4 stars could use improvements. The activities and staff are absolutely fantastic. The food is awful, however based on the experience we have had so far with Merrill Gardens at Solivita Marketplace we would recommend them to other families.

The hallways need better cleaning. Their 'in house' transportation is mostly the city. I was there over the winter holidays and there were several days where there was no one at the front desk of the "newer" building. I understand people need time off but not having anyone at the front desk and leaving it as an honor system is extremely poor as most any resident will open their door if knocked on.

Their key did not work when they tried to open an apartment door (huge red flag for me). Also, they had a waiting list so I was under the impression that they didn't care if I wanted a room or not.

My loved one was going to go to the community; however, they canceled my loved one being admitted because of the residents had to move buildings due to one of the sister buildings being closed.

Did not take care of our loved one. He has a form of dementia and they didn't want to deal with it. The told us he has to leave. He is now at a different facility in memory care and doing great!

The food was okay. The place was not a good fit for my loved one. They did not live up to my expectations, and what they promised. The place is beautiful, and I loved it. They are very pricey, and a bit on the high scale. It's better for Independent Living.

Our tour at Truewood Georgetown was fine. I thought it was a little pricey for what you get. And we didn’t notice many residents out and about in the common areas.

The value is great at the community. Some of the things that could use improving includes communication with the family and staff. Also, the housekeeping of my loved one's room could use some work. They the community is providing laundry service and picking the trash up as well. There are three meals a day served to the residents, and there are choices for them to choose from.

Merrill Gardens at Barkley Place was not going to work for my mother. The building was aged and they definitely were in need of some updates. My loved one is also vegetarian and their idea of a vegetarian meal was a cold salad and any vegetables that they had in the kitchen. It was not going to be suitable.

My mother lived at MGR for nearly 2.5 years, [dates removed] She thrived there. The social aspect alone really made her blossom: she never missed a meal, because sitting with her friends was so appealing to her. The food was always good. The restaurant staff were friendly, personable, and accommodating. There were issues with delays answering calls for aides. Each resident wears a lanyard with a call button, and there are call buttons installed in the rooms and bathrooms, but there can be a delay up to a few hours sometimes. That was discouraging. The monthly cost was not small: started out about [price removed] for the 1-br (a perfect size for her), and rose to [price removed]. On reading other reviews, it reminded me of the horror that was the move-out process after my mother passed. The manager at the time was incredibly unhelpful (e.g. didn't point out that I could use the trash bin on the first floor) and at no time did she offer condolences, either in person nor with a simple card. Shocking.

The manager, [name removed] is not involved with the facility residents and staff reported that she was inaccessible. In my case, Merrill Gardens hired contract workers who were not properly trained. When my mom fell, the worker did not call and tell me about it until the next morning when she was already in the hospital. The general manager was shocked when I called and woke her up with that news and they never made it right with me. Merrill Gardens uses a point system to grade the resident for how much cost their is for their assistance. This weighs heavily against the residents. I would prefer the al a carte menu used by other facilities.

With being out of town the staff could improve on their communication and one thing we think they would benefit from is having some sort of video chat booth or something similar so families who are not able to visit are able to facetime and engages one way or another with their loved one.

The day to day caregivers is really good, but the head of nursing is not good with communication, and it takes days to get a response. They are missing, the higher level of additioanl care services. It's not what I expected.

We toured with Merrill Gardens at Burien and found the facility to feel very institutional. When we walked in we got the strong odor or disinfectant and alcohol. The people were all very nice but it was not going to be a good fit.