Assisted living communities can be fantastic places to live for seniors. They not only provide their residents with the medical care they need in their elder years, but also create thriving communities where people can truly feel like they’re at “home.”
Melbourne has lots of assisted living communities, and one of the best ways to whittle out the good ones is by looking at their customer reviews, and the facilities and care they provide. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of eight highly-rated assisted living communities from across the city, ranging from the affordable to the luxurious.
If you’re interested in a particular community, it goes without saying that you should arrange a meeting and tour to ensure that it’s everything you hoped. Chat to some residents and ask whether they enjoy living in the community, and read their online reviews to guide your decision. We hope that this article helps you to select a community that is right for yourself, or for your elderly loved one. Good luck!
TriCare Hayville Retirement Community
Image from TriCare
Google rating: 4.8 (21 reviews)
Nicelocal rating: 4.9 (23 reviews)
Suburb: Box Hill South
Cost: N/A—please enquire
Website
The TriCare Hayville Retirement Community is located in the eastern suburb of Box Hill South. It has quaint redbrick buildings that make up its facilities and homes, lots of shrubs, trees, and other plants woven throughout, and even views of the Dandenong Ranges. It’s a beautiful place to live.
The facilities at the community are extensive. There’s a library, gym, computer room, billiards room, computer room, hairdressing salon, and more. Nearby, you’ll find the Box Hill Central Shopping Centre, the Box Hill Golf Club, Aqualink and Surrey Park, providing plenty to do.
There are 130 one- and two-bedroom independent living units in the community, which include open-plan kitchens with modern appliances, reverse cycle air conditioning, private courtyards, extra space for storage, and more.
Regis East Malvern
Image from Regis
Google rating: 4.7 (34 reviews)
Nicelocal rating: 4.8 (23 reviews)
Suburb: Wheelers Hill
Cost: Refundable Accommodation Deposit of $550,000, or Maximum Daily Accommodation Payment of $95.08
Website
Regis East Malvern is a luxury retirement community in Malvern East. It provides a variety of “hotel-style” services, which includes a day spa, gym, on-site chefs and catering teams, a private dining room, a cinema, Foxtel in every room, and more. The buildings, grounds, and rooms really do look like they belong in a 4 or 5-star hotel, which is reflected in its high cost.
There are five different types of room at Regis East Malvern, from single rooms with private bathrooms to much larger luxury suites. Reviewers claim that the home is a wonderful place to live, a lovely environment, and one of the best aged care centres in Melbourne. Even staff members have left reviews describing how nice it is to work in.
Victoria Grange Residential Community
Image from Australian Unity
Google rating: 4.7 (38 reviews)
Nicelocal rating: 4.7 (26 reviews)
Suburb: Vermont South
Cost: Refundable Accommodation Deposit of $400,000, or Maximum Daily Accommodation Payment of $69.15
Website
Victoria Grange Aged Care is a 104-bed assisted living community located in Vermont South, in the east of Melbourne. It’s made up of individual, nicely-furnished private rooms which include an ensuite, balcony access, reverse cycle air conditioning, a television, and a telephone.
The community has a beautifully-landscaped, grand open entrance with housing units and facility buildings on either side. You’ll find the Vermont South Shopping Centre just a short walk away.
Facilities and services include an onsite hairdresser, personalised wellbeing programs, as well as the usual craft activities, leisure programs, and social outings.
Reviewers are highly complementary about the community’s staff members, who they claim to be caring, friendly, and all-round wonderful.
Victoria By The Park
Image from Victoria By The Park
Google rating: 4.5 (34 reviews)
Suburb: Elsternwick
Cost: Refundable Accommodation Deposit of $613,606. A Maximum Daily Accommodation Payment may be available—please enquire with the facility.
Website
Victoria By The Park is located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, about 10 kilometres from the CBD. It takes its name from Hopetoun Gardens, a pleasant public park flanking its northern side, and a lovely place for residents to relax. The community itself is in a lovely 2-story white and red-brick building, and includes balconies for some of its suites, which also include kitchenettes, ensuites, televisions, built-in wardrobes, and more.
This assisted living facility has all of the care you would expect from a quality establishment, including physiotherapists, dietitians, speech pathologists, and of course, 24-hour emergency services. The facility’s reviewers appreciate its “luxury furnishings,” its skilled activities coordinator, and its excellent handling of COVID.
Rylands of Hawthorn, Retirement Village & Community
Image from Rylands
Google rating: 4.7 (11 reviews)
Suburb: Hawthorn
Cost: apartments for sale
Website
This retirement village is located in Hawthorn East, just a short 25-minute drive from the city centre. It’s built around the historic St. Joseph’s Tower, in gorgeous leafy grounds that ooze luxury. The village has plenty of excellent facilities, including a restaurant, a cafe and lounge, a bar, a wellness centre, a swimming pool, a gym, a snooker room, indoor bowls, a cinema, and the usual social activities to forge new relationships and keep everyone entertained.
The homes are apartment-style, and come in a variety of sizes and layouts. They’re decorated in a modern flourish and would easily belong to a brand new apartment building anywhere in the city. To live in one of them, you’ll need to purchase the unit outright.
Nellie Melba Retirement Village
Image from Ryman Healthcare
Google rating: 4.4 (72 reviews)
Suburb: Wheelers Hill
Cost: apartments for sale
Website
Nellie Melba Retirement Village is a large, almost-brand-new facility located in the suburb of Wheelers Hill. Its architectural design won named Project of the Year – Residential Aged Care at the Eldercare Innovation Awards, and it includes a mix of independent apartments and assisted living apartments. The village’s facilities are numerous, and include a swimming pool, beauty salon, cafe, snooker room, dining areas, and plenty of outdoor spaces to relax. The apartments are beautifully modern, with a range of layouts and sizes.
Reviewers of the village are impressed by its hotel-style facilities, the level of care that is provided by staff, how happy their family members are, and more.
Parkglen Retirement Community
Image from Parkglen
Google rating: 4.4 (34 reviews)
Facebook rating: 4.6 (15 reviews)
Suburb: Keysborough
Cost: prices vary depending on the apartments and levels of car.
Website
This lovely low-level retirement community in Keysborough is set over eight acres of radiant landscaped gardens, filled with trees, shrubs, and flowers. It’s an incredibly charming and homely space, and includes plenty of social activities like themed raffles, card games, lunches, dinner dances, and more. Parkglen seems to really encourage a sense of community, which is important for people of every age.
The single-floor yellow-brick homes are modern and well-kept, and include a designer kitchen, a spacious private bathroom, reverse cycle air conditioning, and even solar panels to reduce power consumption. There’s a bowls club next door, as well as the huge Tatterson park just down the road, which encourages residents to get out and live.
Uniting AgeWell Preston Community
Image from Uniting AgeWell
Google rating: 4.8 (6 reviews)
Nicelocal rating: 4.6 (9 reviews)
Suburb: Preston
Cost: Refundable Accommodation Deposit of $300,000, or Maximum Daily Accommodation Payment of $51.86
Website
Uniting AgeWell is a small two-story assisted living community based on Preston, in Melbourne’s north. The living units are apartment-style, and there are two choices: bedrooms which include ensuites, televisions, reverse cycle air conditioning, and built-in wardrobes, and studio suites which include the same, plus a kitchenette and an extra bedroom for inviting guests to stay.
The facility boasts a variety of meals for residents, a cafe with an al fresco dining area, a minimart for picking up necessary bits, an on-site hairdresser, as well as the expected social activities for keeping everyone entertained and busy. Its Google promoters have good things to say about the facility manager, the registered nurses, and the overall friendliness of staff.