The Essie Summers Retirement Village is located close to Beckenham’s wonderful community facilities, including a supermarket, library, cafés and specialty boutique stores. There's a lifestyle option to suit everyone at the village. You can choose from a townhouse to the extra support of an assisted-living apartment.
If your needs change over time, our state-of-the-art care centre provides 95 care rooms offering rest home, hospital and dementia care. Essie Summers care centre is located within the same village community and, as a Ryman resident, you will have priority access over non-residents at the time of your transfer. Should a space for the type of care the village offers be unavailable at the time of your transfer, we will do our best to accommodate you at another Ryman village that provides the level of care you need* until a space becomes available at Essie Summers Village.
The amenities include a library, atrium, hair salon, pool table, bar, village centre and shop.
There is always something to do; from organised events and shopping trips, to activities that inspire movement. The measure of a full life at Essie Summers Village is certainly one that will get richer with age.
*Care options vary between villages, please check with our team for details of the care offered at each village.
Our independent and assisted-living residents live in spaces designed to inspire, indulge, and entertain. Assisted living in a serviced apartment offers the benefits of independent living with added support to make life easier, including housekeeping and delicious chef-prepared meals.
To retire with confidence, you need financial certainty. We're transparent about our costs, offering options to fit your ideal retirement lifestyle. No matter which option you choose, you'll know exactly what you're paying and what you'll receive in return.
We offer a choice in Deferred Management Fee (DMF), of either 30% or 25% with the latter option having a higher entry price.
You can choose between fixed or indexed weekly fees which are set at the time of signing your agreement. Indexed weekly fees are linked to the annual increase in superannuation.
Jennett McGaw - Independent resident
Community is central to the lifestyle so we offer amenities that encourage that sense of togetherness, such as a dining room, hair and beauty salon and shop.
Retirement is a great time to sharpen your skills on the passions and pastimes that you love. Spend time enjoying the pool table and library.
Incorporate regular activity into your everyday routine or enjoy the camaraderie of a little game time. Amenities include a terrace and billiards room.
Our retirement villages offer a range of care options - not as an add-on, but woven into the fabric of our villages.
Essie Summers care centre offers a range of care options including rest home, hospital and specialist dementia care. Like all aspects of our villages, we constantly look for ways to improve both the care we provide and the innovation behind it. Care is customised using our myRyman Care app and residents love the food in our seasonal Delicious menu, which is prepared fresh on site by village chefs.
Essie Summers is one of over 91 percent of Ryman villages that have been awarded 4-year certification by the Ministry of Health. It’s recognised as the ‘gold star’ standard in care.
At Essie Summers Village, our private care rooms provide superior accommodation – you'll enjoy a spacious room with a private ensuite. The price of your private care room depends on the type of room you select. This will be clearly outlined in your admission agreement.
Accommodation premiums range from $70 to $90 per day
If you would like more information our village manager will be happy to help.
Brian - Independent resident
Treat yourself to a pamper session in our hair and beauty salon or a sweet treat in the shop.
Lounge and dining areas provide spaces to relax and enjoy mealtimes. The food tastes great and the social interaction is good for the soul.
Tranquil indoor and outdoor spaces dedicated to our care residents allow you to relax and meet with family and friends.
Victoria park is one of the best recreational areas in Christchurch, with planted gardens and pine forest and a variety of walking tracks, there is also mountain biking tracks for the more adventurous souls.
There are a number of great spots along this river to sit and feed the ducks or read a book, or walk the paths either side of the river, and maybe stop off for a coffee at one of the local shops along the way.
Image credit: Jocelyn Kinghorn
Situated alongside the Heathcote River, the South Library provides facilities for locals to sit and read, chat over coffee and learn. Just a short stroll down the road from the village you’ll enjoy this peaceful space.
Each Ryman village is named in honour of a Kiwi or Aussie trailblazer: Anthony Wilding, Lady Diana Isaac, Evelyn Page. They pushed further and set the bar high for others to aspire to. In creating communities that challenge the expectations of ageing, Ryman villages are also setting the bar high. They’re demonstrating that a retirement lifestyle brimming with new experiences, connections and fulfilment is something we should aspire to. Our Kiwi and Aussie namesakes represent the measure of inspiration, while Ryman villages represent the measure of retirement living.
Essie Summers stories have been relished for more than forty years. Summers, known as New Zealand’s Queen of Romance, sold more than 19 million copies of her romance novels in 105 countries.
Her vivid descriptions of the landscapes and people of New Zealand led to her being awarded The Order of the British Empire for her contributions to tourism in New Zealand.
Resilient in the face of adversity, Summers had been writing for a decade before her work was first published. A career of short stories, poetry, and newspaper columns ensued until her first novel was published by Mills & Boon in 1957.
Summers met her husband at the age of 13 but waited another 13 years until she agreed to marry him. She divided her time between her duties as a minister’s wife, their two children, and her writing.
The heroines depicted in her books share her pioneering traits; they’re brave, caring, intelligent, and continue to work after marriage which was uncommon at the time. Meanwhile, the heroes are never violent. While not considered a feminist in her time, her work is now categorised as both feminist and pacifist.
The Essie Summers Story autobiography depicts her life and was published in 1974 by Mills & Boon.
Phone: 0800 588 222
Christchurch office: 03 366 4069
PO Box 771, Christchurch 8140
New Zealand