At The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center and other luxury senior living communities, residents have access to a saltwater pool, fine dining and a lecture series. Photo courtesy of Kisco Senior Living

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Erica Jong had the audience’s rapt attention. The 82-year-old writer, famous for her 1970s bestseller Fear of Flying, was discussing creativity and her need to capture the world around her in prose and poetry.

As Jong spoke, sunlight streamed through 24-foot windows. The walls were clad in red onyx marble, and the beamed ceiling was crafted from white oak.

Jong could have been delivering a lecture anywhere from Aspen to Cape Town. Instead, the author and her audience were in a retirement living facility called Inspīr Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side of New York City. Jong lives in the complex. So do most of those who were in attendance.

Some afternoons, the residents are serenaded by a string quartet. On others, they might pop into the onsite spa for a facial, or enjoy a cocktail in the lobby bar, furnished like a five-star hotel. It’s the crème de la crème, resident Marilyn Snyder said. “There is nothing that compares to this.”

What does upscale retirement living look like?

The retirement living industry is upping its game. As Boomers grow older, a handful of developers are pivoting to retirement homes that allow the wealthy to age in style.

Called continuing care retirement communities, these complexes offer independent living, assisted living and memory care, all within the same building or campus. The goal is to make aging as seamless as possible.

The basic continuing-care model is a longstanding one, as are high-end projects, where beauty salons, fitness centers and upscale dining are standard fare. What’s new is the next-level razzle-dazzle.

The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center, which opened in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last year, has a heated saltwater pool, yoga studio and art gallery — as well as a quarterly lecture series.

Its sister property, the Fitzgerald at Palisades, opened in Washington, D.C., in May, sporting amenities like a technology concierge and a baby grand piano in the lobby.

At one of the five restaurants at The Fitzgerald at Palisades, “members” (rather than “residents”) are greeted with warm towels. “You’re going to have a culinary dining experience, having your cutlery changed in between courses, and you end with a warm scented towel as well,” said Alphonso Westley, general manager of the Fitzgerald of Palisades, a Kisco Signature Community. “That’s the five-star Washington experience.”

‘Looking for a lifestyle’

Operators are following the Boomer demographics — 50 million retirees today, and 80 million by 2050. Today, the top 10% of retirees have a minimum net worth of just under $2 million, with the top 5% sitting on more than $3 million.

“Boomers are demanding and not afraid to spend money and want the physical plant to support it,” said Tom Gaston, the chief investment officer of Maplewood Senior Living, which operates 17 properties around the country, including Inspīr Embassy Row. “We are talking about people with one or two homes, multiple cars, who have their house updated. They are looking for a lifestyle.”

For instance, at Inspīr Embassy Row in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, which opened in February, residents have a Himalayan salt room, massage therapy room, salon, rooftop lounge (with live music) and pet spa.

“It’s 1,000 percent a luxury property. People are blown away when they walk in the door,” said Laurie Thomas, executive director of leasing at Inspīr Embassy Row. “For the finishings, we use marble, we use terracotta, we use white oak. It’s a luxurious feel. There are three two-story fireplaces.”

Fine dining is a given at these properties. “Our executive chef worked at the Jockey Club back when it was in its heyday,” Thomas said. “People flip because all of them have been to the Jockey Club.”

What are the costs for luxury retirement?

The earliest U.S. facilities that provided continuing care date to the early 1900s and were affiliated with religious or fraternal organizations. Typically, residents turned over their assets in return for a guarantee of lifetime healthcare. Today, applicants aren’t required to empty the bank, but they are vetted financially to make sure they will be able to afford payments.

As a rule of thumb, the prospective resident is required to have assets worth 1.5 to 2 times the entrance fee — which can range from about $250,000 to $4 million plus.

In addition, there are monthly fees in the $3,000 to $12,000 range that cover day-to-day expenses and amenities. Depending on the type of contract, the fees can increase with each move to a higher level of care.

Last year’s entrance fees at The Mather in Tysons, Virginia, ranged from $678,300 to $4.4 million, and monthly fees ranged from $3,420 to $11,820. Seven residents took two apartments to combine them into one; one couple bought side-by-side units.

The other model for multi-level care communities is straight rental. They require low or no entrance fee, and no financial or health vetting, but monthly payments run much higher. At Inspīr Carnegie Hill in New York City, for example, rates for an independent living studio start at $11,000 and $27,000 for a two-bedroom.

Retirees who choose rentals trust their investment savvy.

“A lot of seniors are doing the math and saying, ‘I’ll manage my half a million myself, thank you very much,’” said Andy Carle, the lead instructor for the graduate curricula in senior living administration at Georgetown University.

Factors to consider

Most people are very satisfied with their lives in a continuing care community. Industry-wide, fewer than 2% to 3% of residents cancel their contracts, according to Carle.

Still, adjusting to congregant living can take time.

“In the luxury market, you’ve got people who had servants and cooks and housekeepers they ordered around,” said Susan Hulett, president of the resident council at the Variel in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles, where perks include a private movie theater, golf simulator room and a penthouse-level lounge looking out at the Santa Monica Mountains.

“In your own home, you can do whatever you want when you want. But in a community, you have to give up some of your autonomy.”

For Hulett, 80, the move into a continuing care facility crystallized after an accident shattered her ankle. Now recovered, Hulett goes to 10 exercise classes a week and enjoys hanging out in the sky lounge.

“I love the interaction with other people and the fact I can make a choice at any time to be with people or alone,” she said.

Margaret Foster contributed to this article. This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, a popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement.

© The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.