An interview with Airlie Ivanhoe Retirement Living Manager, Stephanie Traficante.
As far as luxury retirement apartments go, you don’t need to look much further than Airlie Ivanhoe. Nestled in the beautiful lush parklands of Ivanhoe, Airlie Ivanhoe has now been open for over 1 year (August 2021) and from what the residents are saying these luxury retirement apartments and the community that envelopes it is what makes Airlie Ivanhoe truly unique.
There are still a limited number of retirement apartments available at Airlie Ivanhoe and today we sat down with Airlie Ivanhoe manager Stephanie to ask some questions about retirement living in general and what makes Airlie Ivanhoe an ideal retirement destination.
We often hear the terms retirement village, retirement apartment, retirement living and aged care used interchangeably. Can you tell us if there is any difference between these terms and if yes, a brief description on what we could use to differentiate between the terms?
An aged care home, also known as a nursing home, is 100% assisted living and is generally more suited to older residents, who need complete care day to day. This differs from a retirement village, retirement apartment and what is generally classed as “retirement living” as this is predominantly an independent living environment. In saying that, some level of assisted-living can be provided to any of the residents at Airlie Ivanhoe.
Thanks for that, just to confirm, Airlie Ivanhoe is a luxury retirement community which consists of 1,2 and 3-bedroom apartments?
Yes, although we only have limited retirement apartments currently available.
Noted, we’ll touch on this later. As we mentioned earlier, Airlie Ivanhoe has been open since August 2021, over a year now. What do you feel is the biggest difference you have compared to other places nearby?
I think the fact that our residents are part of an active retirement community as well as the wider Ivanhoe community. We have so many social resident and management run activities throughout Airlie and around the community.
Additionally, as mentioned above, we can provide some level of assisted care if needed and our residences are classed as high-end apartments, complete with luxury fittings. We’re within walking distance to major supermarkets, chemists, optometrists and one of Melbourne’s best shopping strips. I’ve had a number of residents tell me this is the biggest point of difference!
Additionally, we are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we have first-class amenities such as a proper cinema and full sized gym. Lastly, we’re all about family so resident family and friends are welcome to visit and stay, there are no limitations like other facilities nearby.
Can you also tell me more about the social aspect of Airlie Ivanhoe, is it truly considered “retirement living”, with a community feel and lots of functions and events?
Absolutely, as mentioned above we have a great social calendar, which includes both management and resident run social events. Some events which we try to post on social media where possible include:
Cup Day BBQ
Biggest morning tea
Monthly lunch at Kew Golf Club
Dinner Club
Movie nights 3 nights a week
Friday night drinks
Monday night catch up
Card club
We also like to give back to the community so we proudly sponsor Ivanhoe Bowls Club.
This sounds great! How many retirement apartments do you still have available? And what configurations?
Right now, we only have limited one bedroom with study, 2 bedroom and 2 bedroom with study retirement apartments available.
Okay, when we’re ready, how can we book a tour? Are we able to meet some staff and residents and have a quick chat during tours?
For sure, when you ring the phone number it actually goes straight to my mobile and I can give you a no obligation tour of facilities and available apartments, it’s part of the fully personalized service we offer. Moving into a retirement apartment is an important life decision so I try to be as involved as I can throughout the whole tour and onboarding process and this really helps new residents who are transitioning from their home to our retirement community. There’s not many places where you move in and already know most of the staff!
Additionally, we encourage potential residents to come to a function and/or activity and chat to any of our residents.
