Carmel Fisher: Retire to a resort

Future retirement villages could be more like Universal Studios, less like an old folks' home.

I've long had a love affair with retirement villages. They have been great investments and countless residents have glowingly endorsed the village lifestyle over the years.

Before my first visit to a retirement village, I had preconceived ideas about "an old persons' home". I knew the village was brand new, so the architecture and facilities would be modern. I knew the facilities catered to the needs of residents, with a swimming pool, bowling green, restaurant and lounge bar suggestive of a holiday resort.

Even so, I expected the facilities would be as much for show (or for visitors) as anything and that much of a resident's life would revolve around their units or townhouses which, even in the flash villages, were tiny compared to the homes many residents had left.

It was only when I arrived and talked to the residents that I realised my preconceptions were off the mark.

It was nothing like an "old persons' home" and the residents' lifestyle - if they chose - was far more holiday resort than lonely life in a tiny room. Admittedly, I arrived at happy hour so residents were playing board games, chatting and catching up with friends with a drink.

It turns out the pool was regularly used, the restaurant hosted events with speakers and presentations covering all manner of subjects, and the bar was always busy at happy hour.

Apparently, the ability to watch the construction activity outside was a real treat - the men liked watching the big machinery and the women enjoyed watching the builders and tradesmen in action ... The residents told me how meeting up with other residents and observing and feeling part of the wider world was one of the highlights of living in this particular village.

When I read about a recent retirement village makeover in Canada, I initially dismissed it as an "only in America" tale, but then thought about my experiences in New Zealand and wondered if it could be a future trend here.

Residents of St Elizabeth village at Hamilton Mountain in Ontario are set to live in a retirement village designed by a theme park company. Forrec, the creator of Legoland, Universal Studios Florida and Canada's Wonderland, recently agreed to redesign the St Elizabeth village at a cost of $US800 million.

The 46ha site, currently home to around 900 residents, will be transformed into a pastoral mill town, complete with a spinning water wheel, old-time windmill and a population of 3000.

After speaking to the residents, Forrec president Tony DiFruscio found a desire for a village to be as far away from a "retirement community" as possible: "The residents don't think of themselves as getting older," he said. "They are looking for places that have a buzz of activities."

The Ontario village will follow in the footsteps of other "luxurious themed resorts" the company has built in Mexico, Singapore and Thailand.

It's easy to dismiss a themed retirement village as gimmicky - a Mickey Mouse concierge, anyone? But actually it is not unreasonable that the wave of people around the world looking to retire in a village community might want more than just a collection of buildings and facilities.

I reckon the Forrec mantra of designing "resorts that inspire, excite and differentiate" resonates as well with older people as it does with the young.