Aspiring Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Wanaka, Queenstown Lakes

Aspiring Village

Aspiring Retirement Investments Limited and P D Gordon Trust Limited Operating As a Joint Venture · Golf Course Road, Wanaka · independent villas & apartments + assisted living in the Southern Alps
Life Score
92
Exceptional
Capital Back
53
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
The village

Life here

Nestled on Golf Course Road in Wanaka with stunning Southern Alps views, Aspiring Village offers resort-style living designed around hospitality and ease. The vast majority of residents live independent lives, with the village team ready to support changing needs. From architecturally designed homes to a vibrant calendar of activities, this is a community where you can focus on what matters most—leisure, friendship, and adventure.

Your home

Living options

Homes to Suit Every Lifestyle

Choose from free-standing villas with spacious floor plans and generous indoor-outdoor garden spaces, or luxuriously appointed apartments. Recently added assisted living apartments offer extra support when needed.

2 & 3 bedroom villas (free-standing, well-spaced)
1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments (architecturally designed)
1 & 2 bedroom assisted living apartments
Serviced apartments available
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at Aspiring Village revolves around connection, wellness, and enjoyment.

A Vibrant Community Calendar

From lawn bowls and cinema nights to organised entertainment and social outings, there's always something happening. Dine at the restaurant or café, enjoy happy hours at the bar, or gather in the communal lounge. The village van is on hand for outings, and a wellness centre supports your health.

Lawn bowls, petanque, putting green, table tennis
Cinema, library, arts & crafts, book club, knit and natter
Exercise classes, discussion groups, speakers
Restaurant, café, bar with happy hours
Indoor swimming pool, spa pool, gym
Garden plots, community centre
Resident dinners, movie nights, organised entertainment
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Community Centre
Library
Cinema room
Gym
Indoor swimming pool
Spa pool
Bowling green
Petanque court
Putting green
Restaurant & café
Bar
Hairdresser
Beauty salon
Garden plots
BBQ area
Computer room
Piano
Communal lounge
Wellness centre
Village van
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

If your health changes, you won't have to leave the place you know. Aspiring Village offers these levels of care on site:

IndependentServicedAssisted living
✓ Registered nurse (available for appointments) · Part-time nursing staff · Podiatrist (available for appointments) · In-home personal assistance (showering, grooming) · Emergency call system in units
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Aspiring Village sits on Golf Course Road in Wanaka, a vibrant Central Otago community surrounded by stunning Southern Alps views. The location offers easy access to walking tracks, outdoor adventures, and the charm of Wanaka's town centre, while maintaining a peaceful, resort-like setting. A medical centre is located next door, and the village is designed for those seeking an active, connected retirement lifestyle in one of New Zealand's most beautiful regions.

Interested?

Like the look of Aspiring?

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Now the practical part

The money — what comes back to your family

You've seen why you'd love it. This is the part most families only discover at the exit statement — so we put it in plain sight. Every figure is from the village's own filed Disclosure Statement.

Capital Back score
53
Around average · #139 of 520
Better than 73% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
25%
charged on your entry price
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~143.5 days
median, from 12 recent resales
Fees after you leave
Stop
good — many villages keep charging
Before you sign, get independent eyes on the contract.An ORA-review lawyer or independent financial adviser — never paid by any operator — checks what it really means for your family.
⚖ Get independent advice →
How the 53 is built

Nothing hidden — every component

The Capital Back score is a transparent weighting of five filed terms — you can see exactly where this village wins and loses.

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%
25% deferred fee — lower is better.
38
Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%
0% — the operator keeps any resale uplift.
0
Speed your capital returns Median resale time — weighted 30%
143.5 days across recent resales.
88
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Charges end on vacancy.
100
Interest if repayment is slow Interest on delayed capital — weighted 10%
No interest on delayed repayment.
0
The filed terms, in plain English

What the Disclosure Statement actually says

Every operator uses different words for the same thing — we normalise them so you can compare like with like.

%

Deferred Management Fee

25%

Accrues over your first 5 years, charged on the entry price.

Market: median 30%; only 16% of villages charge under 25%.

Capital gain

0% to the resident

Any increase in the licence value at resale is kept entirely by the operator.

Market: just 8% of NZ villages share any capital gain.

How fast your capital comes back

~143.5 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident. (Operator-stated average: 114 days.)

Market: median 154 days; 21 villages still average over a year.

Fees & interest on exit

Resident-friendly

Weekly fees stop when you vacate.

Market: 220 of 520 villages keep charging weekly fees after you've gone.
Before you sign the ORA

The reckoning usually arrives too late

  • You're buying a licence to occupy, not the home — you can't sell, rent or borrow against it.
  • A large deferred fee is gone within a few years, whatever the unit later sells for.
  • Your family carries the risk of how long resale takes — and the operator's ability to pay.
  • None of this is hidden — it's all in the Disclosure Statement most people sign without reading.
Have someone independent read it first

We'll connect you with a retirement-village review lawyer or independent financial adviser — no operator pays to be here.

Request an ORA review → Talk to a financial adviser