Melrose Gardens

Disclaimer– I’m writing a review based on my experience helping my boyfriend move his parents in and visiting about twice a week, including sleeping over, for about three months. This facility is really small– I think it was converted from an old motel, which would explain the lack of space in each room. It’s like a dormitory– you have no living room, dining area of kitchen. We researched a ton of places and found this in the right budget and location– and after visiting a few times, thought it would be a good fit.
The staff is friendly, but not very well trained to be sensitive to the elderly residents’ needs. The activities are very limited and all take place in one room near the entrance– it’s very awkward. Most of the seniors here are not very mobile– or in the right state of mind to hold any conversation.
The dining room is very similar– everyone has an assigned seat, and even though the tables are nicely decorated, the food is pretty bad, bland, and oily. I’ve eaten with the parents a few times in there, and have always, always felt awkward– there do not seem to be many visitors and if there are, they do not eat in the dining room. You kind of just walk in and take a chair next to your person, and try to make small talk with the other people at the table. It’s assigned and there are no extra tables in the dining room. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served are very specific times and if you are late, the dining room is closed!
Besides the dining area and the multipurpose room, there is only one common area, which is the patio in front.
We were here for three months– and I’ve actually stayed over a total of probably 2 weeks’ time to help them get situated– the walls are thin, the room temperatures have one setting which feeds into every single room in the building. If you are cold– you may want to really make a big fuss and then wait for the maintenance guy to roll in the next day to maybe take care of it. (maybe) The front door bangs open and shut and it’s really loud, especially when staff comes in and out around midnight to switch shifts. The staff watches TV and is pretty noisy at night, and it’s quite uncomfortable.
When you visit for the first time, everything looks nice and beautiful, but it’s really just a façade. I would never send anyone I cared about here, unless they were in a coma, did not care about eating decent food and were deaf. Upon leaving and grabbing the rest of the medications, we found out that the last 4 weeks they were giving the wrong dosage of medications to one of the parents, which we would have never found out until we looked at their labels to see why there was so much medication left. How do you screw that up with doctor’s instructions?
There are one or two really great staff, but really, what matters is the management, and the woman who was there before recently left– another reason to not step foot in this establishment.
If you care for anyone and want them to feel comfortable and respected, I would not waste time looking here. There are better places close by with more space and better food and much better programming besides zumba gold and movies.

I’m trustee for my elderly cousin, who’s been living at Melrose Gardens for 5 years. He’s not the easiest person to get along with or take care of, but the staff at Melrose Gardens do a great job. The place is always clean and cheerful, and the residents are well cared-​for. They work hard to provide activities and stimulation. Whenever there’s a problem, the director contacts me immediately. A really great place, couldn’t recommend more highly — and for what you get, there rates are very reasonable.

They are fantastic– they take great care of my friend’s mom. Lovely staff, nice facility, clean, etc.