Life at Regency Retirement Resorts is designed to be enjoyable, enriched and engaging, but in at least one recent case it became rejuvenating as well.
When Mike and Susan Allen found out their son was expecting their first grandchild, they could not have been more thrilled! At the time, the Allens were living in Winnipeg. They were retired, so they made the monumental decision to make the move to Kelowna to be closer to their family.
“We weighed our living options — should we buy, should we build, should we rent?” Susan said.
Through their research, they discovered Regency Retirement Resorts and its unique resort style retirement living and learned of the brand new Regency Summerwood Retirement Resort in Kelowna. The Allens liked the focus on enriched lifestyle, extensive amenities and emphasis on socialization. They knew immediately that Summerwood would be an excellent fit for them.
The new resort was nearing completion so they made phone calls and started formulating their plans.
“They made the decision based on phone calls and plans — they never set foot on the property,” said Ed Hall, President of Regency Retirement Resorts. Their new suite was ready for them when they moved from Winnipeg.
Enjoyable and engaging living
Summerwood is the seventh and newest Resort for Regency Retirement Resorts. The Regency concept was formulated about 20 years ago when the founding Kelowna Kornell and Hall families realized that there was a huge hole in the seniors housing market. While existing seniors’ residences were offering care and services, no one was catering to the perky senior who wished to remain engaged and active in his/her retirement. Regency set out to offer enjoyable and engaging living in a beautiful, amenity enriched environment. A place you would be proud to call home!
The very first Regency Retirement Resort was Sandalwood in the Glenmore area of Kelowna and it was immediately successful. Ed notes that, “As it was filling up, people kept coming to me saying, ‘where’s the next one? So, one after the other, now there are seven.”
Every Regency Retirement Resort is chock full of life enriching amenities. In addition to an elegant and tasteful dining room where chef-prepared meals are served daily, there is a fireside lounge, garden conservatory, country kitchen, sports lounge, full in-house movie theatre, wood working shop, wine making and tasting room, grandchildren’s play room and much more.
The movie theatre is a particular source of pride for Hall. Many residents in their eighties recall taking their best girl to the movie theatre on Saturday night, which was ornately decorated in the Art Deco style of the era. To rekindle those fond memories of the past, all Regency theatres are again ornately decorated in the Art Deco of yesteryear.
Housekeeping and laundry services are performed biweekly leaving you free to partake in an extensive selection of activities and events.
Hall jokingly refers to Regency as offering Cruise Ship Living… without getting sea sick!
Amenities offer health benefits too
“The typical residents have historically been single women. Yet more and more we are finding single gents and couples want to make the move, so we created spaces specially for men,” Hall says. To make the men feel more at home, Regency has added sports lounges with poker and pool tables, wood working shops, mini golf courses, shuffleboard, outdoor gardens and nature trails. Lots of opportunities to get out and pursue personal interests or enjoy the company of other residents.
When Mike and Susan made the move to Summerwood, Mike’s health was compromised. “He fractured a vertebra in his back in October. When we came to Summerwood he was in a walker,” Susan says. “I think the stimulation here — the people, the extra walking we do here — he has thrown away the walker!” The Allens call it the Regency Miracle because of the huge leap in Mike’s ability to recover.
“It’s not uncommon — we think of the experience as a kind of rejuvenation when folks move here,” Hall says. “It so epitomizes what we set out to achieve. Our objective is for residents to enjoy a healthier, happier and more engaging life at Regency than they could anywhere else. To learn this has worked for our residents, especially the Allens, is so gratifying. It allows us to take great pride in who we are, what we do and the difference we make in our residents lives.”
