Merrill Gardens at Madison

We toured Merrill Gardens at Madison when searching for an Independent Living facility for our loved one. We were completely impressed with this facility! My loved one would have gone here, hands down, except she chose to be closer to home. The cleanliness and friendliness were great. Everything at this facility was great!

The areas we think they could improve on would be to perhaps explain to the family and patient, what is the criteria for no longer being able to care for a resident? That way the resident might attempt more control over his environment.

Merrill was great but expensive. Also we ended up wanting something closer to where another family member was for our loved one. Merrill Gardens is more upscale as well.

I liked the community. It was a little more expensive than we wanted, and there are additional pricing per level of care. The residents were further along on their health journey than my loved one is.

I would tell others that the memory care section is very small. If your loved one is on the second floor, they cannot get to the outside garden area without having to get through a locked door, through the elevator and downstairs. Someone also has to be able to accompany you. They keep including that on the website and pamphlets and it is misleading. Due to our experience, I would not recommend this facility.

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 .

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.

Our family had an in person tour and Merrill Gardens was too big and I was not impressed by the gentleman that toured me. He was not at all interested in me, it was like pulling teeth to get questions answered. They also appeared to nickel and dime you for everything. I did not feel welcome and felt I was wasting his time. They were at almost 90% occupancy and therefore it appeared there was no motivation to try and get my business.

All I know is my loved one is picky and loves it there. I picked this community because, it was more personable, and they didn't seem agitated that I dropped in at different times unannounced with questions I had and always saw the same! Plus other residents came up and told me what a great place it is. Then when my loved one toured with me, the residents came up to and made them feel at home and we were just looking at that point. My loved one is very happy, so I am happy! Very welcoming place from the moment you step up to the front desk!

There is no complaints. The interaction with the staff is excellent. The breakfast is the greatest meal. The meal schedule is a primary reason, that we picked Merrill. They have an open dining area. They sometimes have a staffing shortage in the dining area. The value for the money is good. I am happy with the community.

We toured because we have another family who lives here and find it to be a fine facility. They have a hard time with staffing, but the facility is great and the people running it are nice. However, after speaking with their memory care folks, we left with a few doubts. They didn't seem to be excited about taking my father with some of his issues.

So far so good! My brother is enjoying the place and actually really enjoys the meals that are served, he has gained some weight. The staff have been very accommodating, especially with the food. I would definitely recommend Merrill Gardens at Madison to others.

I am very well satisfied with Merrill Gardens. There are always things that are not as you would like them to be wherever you go, but I am very pleased with my experience. As a new residents coming in it would be great if there were a list of things that you should know, just general every day things. I think that would be really helpful. In comparison to other places I have had experience with, I would definitely recommend this community to others.

Overall they've done a good job helping my loved one transition into the community - both in getting him engaged in and participating in activities and in general just taking care of him.

This was most likely my second choice. It is a great community.

I would definitely recommend Merrill Gardens at Madison. It's like a dorm, but for seniors. It's a very active community and that makes it different from other communities.

Overall our families experience has been good with a few minor issues here and there. They do keep the community very clean, they wash their linens and clothing on a regular basis and help keep their rooms clean. Our loved one does say the meals are good. They do have a lot of in house activities within the memory care unit - the activities director always has different things going on for them.

I thought Merrill Gardens at Madison was okay. It just wasn’t a fit for us. It didn't necessarily seem like the most secure facility. I think anybody could get past front desk, and there was not somebody there all the time. It was also a larger facility with more residents to deal with. And we were looking for a smaller facility. I didn't get a good or a bad impression either way. It just wasn't the right fit for us.

I'm very pleased with our experience. This is a beautiful community and my loved one is happy here. The food is your standard options in this type of setting in a nice dining room with special the residents can select from each day. Some of the activities they have available include crafts, movies, holiday celebrations, happy hour, and more for the residents to choose from.

I had a very good tour at Merrill Gardens at Madison. The tour person was informative and showed me all around the facility. The residents I saw seemed very happy. Based on my visit, the looks of the facility, and the activities they offer, I thought it was a very nice place - just very expensive.