Sunshine Villa, A Merrill Gardens Community

Reviews

• JD

  James Duncan

  Aug 16, 2026
  1.0
  I give Sunshine Villa a bad rating due to the poor value per dollar in spite of the generally attentive caregiver staff. Because of the corrupt tiered rating system, I was grossly overcharged at $12,600/month even though I required minimal staff assistance, mostly with daily brief changes. These companies use a 1 to 10 level rating system for residents where 10 is the worst case with the person needing near continuous on the spot care and supervision In their daily living. I am clearly not a level 10 person. I was due for reassessment which was too slow in coming. There is no incentive to lower a level figure in a timely way since the result is less revenue! Luckily there turned out to be a powerful incentive in the form of good old fashioned competition. Brookdale Senior Living has a tiered system but assesses service charges à la carte as called for by the resident's real needs. On that basis, my monthly cost dropped to an all-inclusive $6,310, which is quite reasonable considering the breadth and quality of services offered. If it weren't for this fortunate competition, my finances would have suffered forever! My Brookdale Apt Is 20% larger than at Sunshine Villa, has well appointed cabinetry, a full walk-in closet, a full size refrigerator not a pygmy miniature fridge, plus great high speed Internet service, 50 Mbps vs. a glitchy 10-15 Mbps at Sunshine Villa with a much slower upload speed. The difference in Internet service says it all. At the house I own, I have 500 Megabits per second fiber, while in assisted living I have to depend on my new landlords to provide decent Internet service.
• RG

  Ray Garcia

  May 13, 2026
  4.0
  Professional and kind caregivers and med techs. Good food and great serving staff. My parents are very happy with their room and often say they are glad they moved to Sunshine Villa.
• MS

  Michelle Stewart

  Oct 3, 2025
  5.0
  I am a Health professional that is new to visiting this Assisted Living Home. I am just blown away at the attention to detail and organizational structure that allows for such living care.
• JH

  Jeff Hill

  Jan 2, 2025
  5.0
  The staff is outstanding in both their caring attitude and efficiency.
• KY

  Kim Yglesias

  Feb 6, 2024
  5.0
  My dad lived in Sunshine Villa in Santa Cruz for 15 months before he passed. He loved living there from the first week he moved in. They offered many classes like yoga, meditation, chair aerobics ballon volleyball. He went to most of the classes. Everyone that worked there was so kind to my dad. His room was beautiful and very clean. He had a view of the ocean. I was a nurse for fourty years. I felt my dad was very safe there.