Would you pay £3m to dwell in a retirement neighborhood?

At first look, you’ll be forgiven for pondering Auriens is likely one of the capital’s most luxurious accommodations.

Beyond its elegant, marble-floored atrium is a tranquil pool and spa, art-deco speakeasy bar, wood-panelled cinema and fine-dining restaurant.

But, the £250 million growth is certainly one of a brand new wave of luxurious retirement communities that promise the gold normal in later life residing — full with a chef, chauffeur and concierge.

Just a stone’s throw from London’s fashionable King’s Road, Auriens is residence to 56 residences for residents aged 65 plus with discerning tastes and deep pockets.

Among its residents is 82-year-old former Vogue cowl star Paulene Stone, whereas Bafta Award winner Bill Nighy was a visitor at a latest ebook launch.

The value of care is hovering within the UK, with a spot in a care residence now costing round £800 every week on common, in response to the charity Age UK, and a nursing residence £1,078.

Auriens costs are among the many increased finish, to mirror the posh life-style they afford.

One bed room residences begin at £2,750,000, whereas two-bedroom properties will be bought for £3,995,000.

Those who would slightly hire can count on to pay £18,650 monthly, or an eye-watering £223,800 a yr, for a one bed room.

In want of a bit of additional house? Expect to pay £24,000 a month for a two-bedroom residence.

Inside the soft-lit atrium, an easel shows a listing of the upcoming occasions, which embody a night with former cricketer Alec Stewart OBE and jazz dinner with musician Ian Shaw in onsite restaurant Culfords.

A small group of residents are chatting about subsequent week’s menu with the concierge whereas sipping loose-leaf tea from fantastic China cups.

I can hear the sound of the residents’ choir wafting up the wood-panelled staircase as they rehearse downstairs within the library.

Little marvel Auriens feels virtually like an outpost of Claridge’s: most of the workers have been beforehand employed at a few of London’s most prestigious five-star accommodations.

Head chef Matthaios Tsistrakis joined the workforce from The Savoy, whereas restaurant supervisor Francisco Martinez swapped non-public member’s membership Annabel’s for Auriens.

Henry Lumby, the gross sales director, says: ‘We prepare our workers within the artwork of figuring out, anticipating our residents’ each want earlier than they even ask.

‘One of our residents broke down whereas driving to see her daughter. Rather than calling the AA she rang the concierge.’

Most Auriens residents transfer in after downsizing from good London addresses, liberating up wealth which may then be loved of their golden years. Downsizers in England and Wales can unlock £305,090 on common by shifting from a four-bed to a two-bed residence, in response to property agent Savills.

Yet round 1.3 million householders aged 65 and over nonetheless dwell in four-bedroom properties, as the price of stamp responsibility and lack of acceptable retirement properties blocks them from shifting.

This nation lags behind the idea of retirement communities, with solely 0.6 per cent of Britons residing in a single in contrast with not less than 5-6 per cent in New Zealand, Australia and the US, in response to the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO).

Auriens residents are 78 years outdated on common after they transfer into the neighborhood, however with every residence designed with ageing in thoughts, they are often tailored to residents’ necessities.

Riverstone Living equally presents the usual of a resort with the sensation of residence to the residents of its two luxurious retirement communities in Kensington and Fulham, West London.

Founded in 2019 with the backing of funding financial institution Goldman Sachs, Riverstone noticed a spot out there for later-living villages for well-to-do over-65s who wish to downsize however keep within the capital.

Before they transfer in, residents can talk about modifications to their residence with the corporate’s ‘wellbeing ambassador’.

Want new wallpaper or carpets? Of course.

Staff can be found 24/7 and there is additionally an intimate non-public cinema, luxurious wood-panelled membership room, library, brasserie serving seasonal produce and seafood, plus an on website bar.

One-bedroom residences at its Kensington deal with begin at £785,000, or £922 every week if renting, plus a £1,388-a-month upkeep price.

Elysian Residences has locations in London and the Home Counties and the agency appears to have touched on a candy spot for older patrons with its promote: ‘A zest for all times. A ardour for tradition. A style for the finer issues. These will not be qualities that diminish with age. In reality, fairly the reverse.’

A chestnut-lined drive leads as much as Wildernesse House in Sevenoaks, Kent, an enormous stately pile in 24 landscaped acres which has all of the five-star resort services a resident might need. Plus you may deliver your canine or cat in case you’re shopping for one of many 23 residences or eight new mews properties. Prices from £1,050,000 for residences in the primary home, £1,200,000 for mews homes and £595,000 for contemporary residences.

At Audley Sunningdale Park in Ascot, Berkshire, workers know the names of every of the 39 house owners and their tipple of selection at comfortable hour each Friday.

‘Lots of our house owners lived in a giant home and have been lonely,’ says basic supervisor Patrick Letham. ‘Many simply wish to pre-empt the necessity to transfer once more 5 or ten years down the road by future-proofing themselves. Now they’ve a neighborhood. Everything they want is on faucet and so they now not have to fret.’

Do house owners ever really feel claustrophobic residing in such a confined neighborhood, I ask.

‘We have house owners who maintain to themselves and do not come to espresso mornings or occasions,’ he says.

Downsizing was one of many predominant causes proprietor Lynn Whiteman, 74, moved to Sunningdale after she turned a widow.

The former British Airways Concorde flight attendant had been residing domestically when she turned one of many first residents to purchase a property off-plan at Sunningdale.

Since shifting in, she says she’s by no means been so busy. ‘I participate in Pilates lessons and go to the espresso mornings.’

There can also be archery, wildlife images, portray and beekeeping on provide.

‘I like that I can have my very own life but additionally really feel a part of one thing,’ she says.

Today, Tricia Brooking, 73, has a 10am Pilates class, lunch, then a brisk stroll with a buddy.

The mom of two downsized to Sunningdale with husband Roger after her four-bedroom indifferent home in Maidenhead turned unmanageable.

‘We knew we wanted to maneuver 18 months in the past and this was one of the best transfer we’ve ever made. I maintain telling my buddies that they need to transfer in too.’

Other Sunningdale house owners are retired surgeons, pilots and captains of trade.

Widows or ladies who’ve needed to tackle extra caring duties for his or her companion appear to notably profit from shifting into such a neighborhood the place friendship teams thrive.

Nationally, there are 4 instances extra widows aged over 80 than widowers, in response to retirement specialist Just Group.

And figures from City, University of London agree, with research exhibiting that shifting right into a retirement villages can enhance the longevity of girls by as a lot as 5 years.

Prices to purchase a house at Sunningdale begin from £739,950 however can exceed £1 million for bigger residences in Northcote House, the Grade II-listed Thirties mansion beforehand used as a celebration pad by industrialist Sir Hugo Cunliffe-Owen. There can also be a month-to-month £1,272 service cost, which incorporates council tax, electrical energy, water, broadband and wi-fi.

Once part of Windsor Great Park, residence to the royals, Northcote House is now residence to the village’s bistro, bar and well being membership, with pool, sauna and steam room. Inside, the capacious drawing rooms are adorned with equestrian work, horse head busts and racing silks paying homage to close by Ascot and Royal Windsor racecourses.

The huge horseshoe-shaped bar on the centre of the property bears a hanging resemblance to The Ivy brasserie in London’s Covent Garden.

The espresso machine sits on the very spot that the Sunningdale Agreement was signed in 1973. (Northern Ireland’s first try to implement a power-sharing govt authorities.)

Perched on the bar is Mary, 92, who enjoys a cool glass of wine after a visit to her native Waitrose in Windsor. ‘I like residing at Audley with my husband,’ she tells me with a wink.

Soon she’s misplaced in dialog with different residents as they take pleasure in a late morning tipple or espresso.

Sunningdale is certainly one of 20 Audley villages, with different communities situated in Kent, Devon, Yorkshire and the Midlands. At Audley Binswood, Royal Leamington Spa, 114 properties are centred across the hanging Binswood Hall, a Grade II-listed Victorian Gothic Mansion.

The lavish million-pound spa complicated with health studio, heated swimming pool and health club has stained glass home windows.

Prices begin at £320,000 for a one-bedroom residence and there’s a £1,108 month-to-month service cost, which covers family payments and upkeep of the property.

Meanwhile, Audley Inglewood, close to Kintbury in Berkshire, boasts a fine-dining restaurant which was awarded an AA rosette in 2018.

The 91 residences and cottages are surrounded by 39 acres of countryside which kinds half of a giant Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

One-bedroom residences begin at £325,000. There are catches, after all. So earlier than downsizing to a retirement neighborhood just remember to are conscious of extra and ongoing charges.

Most retirement villages provide properties as leasehold, which implies that you personal the constructing for a set time frame and hire the land on which it’s constructed.

Each yr you’ll be charged floor hire, which is often just a few hundred kilos yearly.

Your upkeep charges may fluctuate relying on the price of main repairs or renovations to communal areas, which may shortly add up.

Most retirement villages additionally cost a deferred administration price, which is payable if you promote your property or go away.

At Auriens, the deferred administration price is calculated as a share of your property’s sale worth. It is at 3 per cent for annually that you simply personal your residence, as much as a most of 15 per cent of the sale worth or market worth of the property, relying on which is increased.

At Audley, residents can select between two fee plans with totally different exit charges.

In the primary plan you pay a further 1 per cent in deferred administration charges for annually that you’ve lived in an Audley property.

For a house price £400,000 this may be equal to £52,191 after ten years.

In the second plan you pay half worth ongoing month-to-month upkeep charges however should pay again 2 per cent in deferred administration charges for yearly that you’ve lived within the retirement neighborhood. For the identical residence price £400,000 this may be equal to twenty per cent, or £104,382, after ten years.

Back within the eating room at Auriens, lacquered walnut tables that would not look misplaced in a Mayfair restaurant are being set for tomorrow’s breakfast, with jam or marmalade laid out based mostly on residents’ preferences.

‘We understand how residents like their eggs, the place they sit within the morning and which newspapers they learn,’ says Lumby.

It’s these shut relationships that set luxurious retirement communities aside.

• What’s your secret to a contented retirement? Email adele.cooke@mailonsunday.co.uk