Luxury Meets Retirement Living

For those active senior citizens who are seeking an independent living situation that is aligned with an active, vibrant lifestyle, an ordinary retirement home or nursing home simply won't do. What these active and full of live seniors need is a luxury retirement community is a community they can truly be a part of - but what does a luxury retirement community look like? Here are some of the absolute most important characteristics to look for.

A built-in lifestyle. In order to qualify as a luxury retirement community, a senior campus should offer a completely built-in lifestyle for adults 55 and over. This should also include an assortment of optional activities that are designed to cater to a variety of resident interests, build a sense of community, whether those interests are games, crafts, reading or other hobbies.

Additionally, there should be plenty of onsite amenities that are available to residents anytime they like, such as flower and vegetable gardens they can grow themselves, a park for them to walk their personal pets, and walking trails designed for fitness and fun. There should be ample square footage on the property, so that residents can enjoy walks among orchards with their morning coffee, or take their grandchildren out for summer evening strolls. One of the things that sets luxury retirement communities apart from ordinary senior campuses is space - lots of it.

Beyond that, there should be complimentary transportation to local conveniences, including grocery stores and other errand destinations. Of course, seniors should be have access to enjoy and drive their own vehicles if so desired, this ensures that they can come and go as they please; after all, the ability to come and go is truly the definition of independent living.

Fine dining. Inclusive fine dining experiences are also a natural extension of a complete luxury lifestyle, and this type of dinning should be available to the residents of a luxury retirement community three meals per day. In order to qualify as fine dining, the residents' meals should be prepared by an onsite kitchen staff comprised of an experienced executive chef and a support team of competent sous chefs - just as they would at a restaurant. The staff should not be made up of cooks, but chefs who have graduated from a credentialed culinary program.

Unlike a restaurant, though, a retirement community dining program must cater exclusively to the needs of seniors. It is critical that all luxury retirement community meals are planned and executed with the dietary needs of seniors in mind, such as high nutrition, low fat and low sugar, without compromising on quality and flavor. Furthermore, the chef should have a program that caters to diabetic residents.

To achieve all of this in a daily dining program requires considerable skill, so anyone seeking a luxury retirement community should do their research by talking to the executive chef. A quality retirement community should allow prospective residents and their families to do this; after all, they know that today's seniors are quite health conscious, and they want their residents to feel good about the food they are eating.

Assisted living services. Seniors of all stripes choose to live in retirement communities; while the majority of them may be very active, some require more advanced assisted living assistance to ensure they can maintain their independence. These services may include everything from access to a 24-hour nursing staff, to temporary meal delivery during times of illness or recovery, to a simple concierge service for daily medications.

An exceptional retirement community will also offer regular health checks as well as screenings, and it should allow approved outside providers to come to the community to provide services such as visual checkups, podiatry and chiropractic services. For some residents, this is the only way to conveniently and affordably obtain these important wellness services. They should not be mandatory, of course; the services offered by a luxury retirement community should almost always be optional.

In the event that memory care is a necessity, the community should house a facility designed exclusively for memory care residents. It should be locked securely, or located in a separate building, in order to comply with regulations and ensure the safety of all residents.

What Sets Them Apart

These are the features that set a luxury retirement community apart from the rest. Of course, prospective residents and their families can request information on any additional amenities they are interested in, as there is always the possibility that those features may be available. Remember, a luxury retirement community should not be a "nursing home" - it should be a place that offers resort-quality living to seniors who want to live independently and vibrantly, surrounded by neighbors and friends they can make memories with for years to come.