Jean Sandel Retirement Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Whalers Gate, New Plymouth

Jean Sandel Retirement Village

Jean Sandel Retirement Village Limited · Whalers Gate, New Plymouth · views to sea and Mt Taranaki · independent living, assisted care, rest home, hospital & dementia care
Life Score
96
Exceptional
Capital Back
50
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
The village

Life here

Named after Jean Sandel, a pioneering surgeon who set the bar high, this village honours that spirit of excellence. Perched on an elevated site in Whalers Gate with stunning views across to the sea and Mt Taranaki, Jean Sandel offers independent townhouses and apartments, assisted-living serviced apartments, and a state-of-the-art 111-bed care centre all within one thriving community. Whether you're soaking up peace in your own sanctuary, catching a movie with friends, or swimming in the heated indoor pool, life here grows richer with age.

Your home

Living options

Independent & Assisted Living

Choose from light, spacious townhouses designed with the 70-plus person in mind, independent apartments, or serviced apartments with chef-prepared meals and housekeeping support.

Townhouses
Independent apartments
Serviced apartments (assisted living)
Ensuite rooms
Secure, lockable units with emergency call systems
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Community is central to the lifestyle at Jean Sandel.

Amenities & Activities

From organised events and shopping trips to daily activities that inspire movement and connection, there's always something to do. Enjoy chef-prepared meals in the dining room, relax in the bar, catch a movie in the cinema, or pursue your passions in the workshop, craft room, and library.

Cinema & movie nights
Indoor heated swimming pool & spa pool
All-weather bowling green & putting green
Gym & exercise classes
Library, workshop & men's shed
Hair & beauty salon
Village shop & bar with happy hours
Dining room with chef-prepared meals
Billiards, table tennis, petanque & lawn bowls
Arts & crafts, book club, bingo & quizzes
Line dancing & organised entertainment
Social outings & resident dinners
Chapel & communal lounge
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Community Centre
Cinema
Library
Computer Room
Workshop / Men's Shed
Hairdresser & Beauty Salon
Village Shop
Chapel
Gym
Billiards / Pool Table
Petanque court
Dining Room
Bar
Piano
Spa Pool
Indoor Swimming Pool
Bowling Green
Putting Green
Table Tennis
Communal Lounge
Grand Internal Atrium
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

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

IndependentServicedRest homeHospitalSecure dementia
✓ Registered nurse available for appointments · Doctor available for appointments · Emergency call system in units · In-home personal assistance (showering, grooming) · Village van
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Located in Whalers Gate, Jean Sandel is perfectly positioned close to the Base Hospital and Woolworths on a sunny, elevated site with stunning views to the sea and Mt Taranaki. The neighbourhood offers easy access to the award-winning Coastal Walkway (a 13.2km sea-edge promenade), Puke Ariki museum and library, and Pukekura Park—a Garden of National Significance ideal for picnics and family outings. New Plymouth's vibrant community is at your doorstep.

Interested?

Like the look of Jean Sandel?

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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
50
Around average · #179 of 520
Better than 66% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
30%
charged on your entry price
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~118 days
median, from 36 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 50 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%
30% deferred fee — lower is better.
25
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%
118 days across recent resales.
91
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

30%

Accrues over your first 2.5 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

~118 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident.

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