Merrill Gardens at Burien

I went to Merrill Gardens at Burien two and a half years ago and it was fine, but it was not a good fit for my mother. There's too much walking from the room to the dining room and other activities. The staff was fine too. The facility was new, fresh, and clean. They had a washer and dryer in every unit and the rooms were nice.

We were very impressed with Merrill Gardens. It was so popular that they had waiting lists both for their studio apartments and one-bedrooms. They go all the way from independent living through memory care since it’s an age-in-place facility. They have activities going on all the time. They do restaurant-style dining, and the menu was in plain English. Their chef won an award for “Taste of Burien” last year. They have very friendly staff and a retired doctor who comes in twice a month to deal with patients. They have a library and a book mobile come by. This is a much larger place, the woman we talked to described their activities as a cruise on land. They had a community room that could be reserved and a separate, nice computer room. They have a fitness center, outside instructors who come in to do yoga classes and Zumba. They have 10 different floor plans for a one-bedroom, studio apartments, and home health nurses, or hospice could be set up if needed. It’s very nice, clean, well-kept, and 2 to 2 1/2 years old. We didn’t see anything that bothered us at all.

My mother lived at Burien Merrill Gardens for about 9 months before she passed away in January. While the common areas and rooms are very nice and new, I found many things to be average or disappointing. The meals were average. The activities were average. The staff – other than a couple people – were disappointing (unfriendly, over-worked, aloof at times). Most disappointing, however, was the handling of my mother’s death. We did not receive any card, note, or call to express sympathy (such a simple gesture which would have meant much). We were not told they had my mother’s wedding ring for 1 week (meanwhile our funeral director was frantically trying to track it down!). And, most upsetting was that on the last day we were moving her things out of her unit (which had been paid until the end of the month), we arrived to find the new residents name on her door AND the new residents welcome package (with coupons, food, and other goodies) sitting on top of my mother’s bed! This was insensitivity at its worst! I wrote to the Burien MG and the MG Corporate Office in an attempt to find out why the handling was so horrible (and to suggest a kinder way of dealing with this situation – given they had had at least 4 deaths in a week and will surely have more to come!), but I never received a return call or letter. This tells me that it is just about the dollars – not the residents or the families. I would recommend looking into other retirement communities before Merrill Gardens.

I chose Merrill Gardens because it's new and seemed like a nice place to live. I don't like the food, it's terrible and everybody's always complaining about it. Whenever we ask the staff about something, they say that they'll see what they can do but nothing ever gets done. When you expect packages they don't write the packages down, so when it gets shipped in they can call your apartment and let you know. The facilities are great, but the management is not very good. Once a month they hold a residents' meeting and the same issues come up, but they just say to give them a chance since they're new.