Merrill Gardens

Merrill Gardens is a nice place for older independent people. For people that need a little more care but are not yet ready for a couple to live separate, because of different needs, it is not the place. Beautiful complex, nice units, but truly more for independent living with meals.

Our family had an in person tour and while it was a great tour experience, the staff treated us so well and its a beautiful community - there was no outdoor space for our loved one to walk around and that is something that we wanted.

The tour at Merrill Gardens at West Chester was done very well and hosted very nicely. The people we encountered were very friendly. We made our choice mostly based on proximity to where we live.

The friendliness and compassion of some of the staff is what stood out to me at this facility. They did try to work with me when my father had difficulties adjusting, however, he had to move because it wasn't a good fit. There were activities, and the activity director did get a special activity for my dad because he was wanting to "fix" things. However, I never saw them using that activity with him. [Name removed] in the front office was a gem. When my father lost his glasses, she continued to be on the lookout for them even after he had moved. They were very accommodating when we had multiple family members visit and let us use the private dining room. Generally the cleanliness was good, although a couple of times there was an odor in certain areas. I feel like I would recommend the Pines with a caveat. They advertise as memory care/assisted living but they were not equipped to handle my father's Dementia. I was frequently called to come there to calm him down. I don't believe that they were staffed enough, nor did the staff have the training to be able to redirect him and not let situations escalate.

Comfortable; friendly staff, but too few sometimes just like all places; good food; nice location.

The interaction with the staff is really good. My loved one does not really like the food. The staff cares for the residents, and gets to know them really well. Overall, I would recommend to other families.

We love Merrill Gardens at Madison, and mom is doing wonderful there. The community has a great assisted living care side but our loved one is on memory care and they have such great activities. They have different scheduled activities that really get mom out of her room and keep staying active and involved with other residents. She has a place that feels like her own which has been great .

They were wonderful. Highly recommend but they are understaffed and that severely affects the dining experience.

I really liked the common areas. They looked full when we came to tour, which makes for a good place. But I didn’t like the overall setup - it reminded me of the quarters in Germany.

So far my mom has been well taken care of. There are some issues with communication from management to tenants and that needs improvement but it's mostly been a positive experience. My Mimi's very comfortable and pleased.

The moving in process was easy and well explained through all steps. The overall setting is convenient for residents and visitors. We like the layout of the facility. I would recommend Truewood by Merrill, Glen Riddle to others looking.

Mom really likes the social relationships she's making through activities. She loves the staff, but repeatedly comments how short staffed they are. She eats in the dining room, likes the flexibility, and looks forward to some items, but tends to be critical about the temperature of the hot food. Most of the time it's cold and she needs to ask for it to be put in the microwave. She's happy with housekeeping, but feels more boundaries need to be set with the maintenance staff. She would prefer a set date and time as opposed to the present, "knock knock" and walk in. We can see that for first and second floor, but not the third floor, Independent Living.

Overall it is a good facility and my loved one is happy. My loved one uses a walker and the bathroom is set up well with handrails and easy access to the shower. Sometimes they forget to empty the trash under the kitchen sink.

I liked this community. The proximity wasn't close to my home. I have heard great things about Merrill Gardens. The facility was nice.

They were very flexible with my parents changing needs and they were great during the hurricane

Merrill Gardens had a bright memory care unit, but little outdoor space and would not consider assisted living for an individual with any level of dementia diagnosis. Regardless of level of functioning and ability to do ADLs independently. It was a nice place, but just ultimately not the right fit for what we were searching for.

This is one of the nicest and cleanest communities we have found. They have decorated the community nicely for the demographic they are serving. The staff communication with the family is lacking a bit. The billing department needs to be better for internal communication and with the family. There are three meals a day served to the residents, along with snacks. There are several choices for the residents to choose from.

My dad seems to be happy there for the most part. The food is pretty good. The staff are really friendly and attentive. The facility is always very clean, and the décor is nice.

Our family had an in person tour and the tour experience was just fine and it was certainly a top contender, but the community was just to far away and it was little bigger then what we were looking for.

My loved one received, very good care in the memory unit at Truewood. We picked this place because, of the availability at the time and knowing my loved ones dementia would warrant memory care eventually...which came sooner than anticipated