The Woods at Merrimack was a beautiful place. The facility was clean, relatively new, and very nice. I loved it. They offer three meals a day and I had some of the food. I met a few people there and everyone was so friendly, and the first thing they'd say is the food is so good. They have an afternoon cocktail hour where you can get two drinks and they serve warm appetizers and it was delicious. Everyone seemed happy and cordial and willing to help. I would go there in a heartbeat if I could afford it. I like the idea that you don't have to spend like $30,000 to buy in, but the monthly rent that goes up there was about 7% a month and it was around $5000 a month minimum. The next year, it goes up 7% of what your new rent is. Your monthly rent goes up quite a bit and that was the deterrent for us.

Everything at The Woods at Merrimack was immaculate. They have a beautiful dining area, a very nice movie theater on-premises, and they have beautiful grounds. The staff person that I've been dealing with, her name is Jocelyn, and she's been super helpful. She's spent a long time with me yesterday going over everything and giving me a tour, and she was wonderful. We passed several other people that worked there in the halls, and they were all smiling and seemed happy to be there. The rooms are gorgeous, they have a full kitchen and they have a washer and dryer in the room for the individual. The rooms are a good size and they're nice, they have a wheelchair-accessible shower that's nicer than anything I'd seen in any facility yet. Everything was clean and smelled nice, with big, huge windows, and lots of light. Everyone was smiling and seemed kind and attentive to the residents. They all seemed very nice. It's brand new, they just built it before COVID so it's only about two and a half years old. It's bright, it's clean, I have zero complaints, I would move there tomorrow. I did not try the food but I asked a few of the residents and they all said it was very good. They had more activities and things to do than the other place I also toured.

The Woods at Merrimack was beautiful and immaculate. They have a lot of activities. The dining room seemed very nice. I saw the one-bedroom apartment with all the utilities except for the cable TV. The staff members were very nice.

The Woods at Merrimack was a beautiful place. I'm very happy with it and my mom might end up staying there. I'm impressed with it and everything they offer. They can accommodate people with special diets and they have a wonderful chef. The staff was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and answered all my questions. They provided an excellent tour experience. All the staff members wore a mask and they had opened just before COVID, so they're pretty brand new and they managed to keep everybody COVID-free.

We did a tour of The Woods at Merrimack. I went yesterday for a full tour, and then I brought my sister back today. That place was phenomenal. The grounds are beautiful, the people are beautiful, they're so helpful. All the residences are full-sized apartments, not just a studio. They have everything that you could want. It's my highest-rated one so far, and we're probably going to go with that one; that's how much we liked it. I just can't say enough good about it. There was an independent living that had a separate building, and then there was the independent living with the extras. I don't know what they call that, but it was a little bit more care. Everything was in the same building, and that's the one that we were going to go for. They have a movie theater. The rooms are beautiful; they have granite countertops. They have a nice bathroom that, they don't have to step over to walk in the shower. The appliances are all in the room. It's a full-sized kitchen. The one that we looked at, which we're going to get, has a balcony, so my mom can sit outside. Downstairs they have a beautiful outdoor courtyard with activities out there; a firepit and tables, a bocce court, and all that. The dinner setting looks just like a restaurant. They have a fireplace you can view from both sides. They have an activity room with a pool table and a library. They have a little TV movie theater that they play movies at, and an art room that you can go in and paint or do other activities. They have other things ongoing. Every week there's something new. They have a little tavern where they do happy hour during the week. It just had everything, all at once. When you pull in and look at the place, you don't think that it's a retirement independent community living. Also, if you need more services outside of that and things in a few years, you can get that type of care.

The Woods at Merrimack was more like renting an apartment, except there was help available at any time you needed it. Meals were not included. Every unit had a washer and dryer. It was a little bit bigger, and there's a little balcony for yourself. They had one building that was only independent, although you could go to the main building and eat any meals that you want to for a nominal fee. They have classes and things like that. You have a choice to do that, or you could live in the bigger building where all your meals are included. They had a reading room, a nice theater, a beautiful outdoor dining room, some bocce and pickleball, and different games you could play. They had a game room there. I like The Woods at Merrimack because they give you choices. If you're going to be on vacation for a week and be away, they would like to know so they wouldn't be worried about you. I only talked to one staff. They seemed very nice. The dining area was lovely. There was a very nice large outdoor area where you could dine. I checked the menu out. There were two or three different entrees. We talked to a couple of people that were playing Wii bowling in one of the rooms. They were quite friendly. Everything was pretty new. Even the one-bedroom seemed quite spacious. There was enough room if you wanted to put a big enough dining table to have a couple of guests over for dinner; you could do that there. It seemed to be a little bit more generous in the size.

The Woods at Merrimack was like a place you see in a home magazine. Everything was stellar. If my mother or father were still alive, this is where I would want them to be. It was like being on a brand new cruise ship. It was absolutely gorgeous. The woman who toured us was very professional and very helpful. She gave us a lot of strategies on how to deal with this life changing situation with my mother-in-law. The dining room was also beautiful, but there wasn't any meal going on when we were there. We were told in our initial email that if we'd like to dine with them, we just had to let them know so they could schedule the tour accordingly. When we left, they again invited us to come back, and they suggested we bring my mother-in-law and share a meal. We saw that they were showing a movie in the theater. There were four people playing in the game room, and people in the lobby chatting. It was amazing. I would like to move there myself. It was really, really beautiful.

I toured The Woods at Merrimack and Jocelyn did an outstanding presentation. She didn't slant one way or the other as if this place was better than others, but she just simply stated the facts. The facility is about a year old and it's absolutely gorgeous. There's nothing not to like about it. Everything is perfectly new. A few of the staff that I talked to were delightful and very pleasant. The dining area was just standard, but they do have a couple of activity areas and they have a tavern where you can act like you were at a bar. They have a very small exercise area, but the outside grounds were beautiful.