Hawthorndale Care Village

The village

Life here

Hawthorndale Care Village represents a transformative approach to dementia care in New Zealand. Inspired by the innovative Dutch care village De Hogeweyk, this not-for-profit organisation has pioneered a new model that recreates the familiarity and rhythm of everyday life within a safe and secure setting. The village design, philosophy and care approach are grounded in strong evidence showing that familiarity, comfort and stimulation have the most positive effect on health and wellbeing. Recognised with the NZPI Best Practice Award for planning excellence, Hawthorndale remains committed to advancing positive aged care in the country and inspiring other providers to create meaningful change.

A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at Hawthorndale is centred on creating a familiar, comfortable environment

A Better Way to Live

The village recreates the familiarity and rhythm of everyday life, supporting residents with compassion and dignity. The approach is based on evidence that familiarity, comfort and stimulation have the biggest positive effect on health and wellbeing for people living with dementia.

✓ Safe and secure setting

✓ Familiar, everyday rhythms

✓ Compassionate, dignity-focused care

✓ Stimulating environment

✓ World-leading care philosophy

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

Capital-unfriendly · #510 of 520

Better than 2% 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

operator keeps 100% of any uplift

Time to get capital back

—

not enough resales disclosed

Fees after you leave

Continue

charged until the unit resells

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 13 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. Full methodology →

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%

30% deferred fee — lower is better.

Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%

0% — the operator keeps any resale uplift.

Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%

Fees continue until the unit resells.

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 3 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.

Fees & interest on exit

Watch this

Weekly fees continue until the unit resells.

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