Staying healthy and active in later life

Just moments from the King’s Road, Auriens Chelsea offers a new vision for later living - a community where residents enjoy beautifully appointed apartments, outstanding service and world-class facilities, all while remaining firmly independent. Life here is enriched by friendships, shared experiences and a strong sense of belonging. At the heart of it all is the team: not only highly trained professionals, but trusted companions who take the time to understand each resident’s tastes, preferences and passions as if they were their own.

“My whole career has come full circle,” says Dan McCaskie, Head of Concierge and Guest Services at Auriens Chelsea. As a teenager based in Cornwall, he helped his mother in the care homes she ran, before a detour into luxury hospitality brought him to some of London’s most prestigious addresses. From Park Plaza to Grosvenor House Suites, Dan built a reputation for intuitive service, often anticipating what guests wanted before they asked.

But hotels, for all their glamour, lacked longevity. “Guests would stay for a week or two at most and then disappear. You’d rarely build anything deeper than fleeting recognition.” Auriens Chelsea offered something different and more permanent: “The residents here are vibrant, accomplished, and curious. They’re not slowing down - they’re stepping into a new stage of life.”

Dan’s role is about far more than opening doors or booking taxis. It’s about connection. He remembers birthdays, arranges flowers for anniversaries, and even leaves hand-written notes in residents’ cars before long journeys. When he discovered one resident’s love of Cornish art, he quietly clipped a newspaper feature spotlighting an artist and left it at her door.

Dan is known for making residents’ dreams happen: he has organised everything from a group trip to Dublin so a resident could finally see Riverdance, to private tours of the Eden Project and a piloting experience over the Isles of Scilly. “My job is not to impose ideas, but to listen,” he says. “Often, I’ll suggest something and they’ll laugh me off. But when they come with a spark of inspiration, I’ll do everything I can to turn it into reality.”

Alongside Dan, Gideon Remfry, Director of Wellness at Auriens Chelsea, is dedicated to helping residents maintain their health, fitness and strength so they can continue doing the things they enjoy most. Working in partnership with the Kyros Project, co-founded by Gideon and Aidan Goggins, creator of the Sirtfood Diet, Auriens delivers a pioneering, science-led approach to ageing well. Each resident benefits from a personalised health programme designed to support brain function, sleep, gut health and mobility, drawing on techniques more commonly associated with elite athletes. “For someone moving house later in life, the thought of starting a gym routine can feel intimidating. So, we begin gently. We ask: what do you enjoy already? How do you want to feel stronger? From there, bespoke programmes are created that fit seamlessly around a resident’s lifestyle,” advises Gideon.

The results are tangible. Residents notice they can walk to the shops more easily, climb into a boat without hesitation, or keep up with grandchildren on family trips. Nutrition is equally tailored: menus at Culfords, the restaurant at Auriens Chelsea, are marked with icons showing which dishes support muscle, heart or brain health - a subtle but important guide as dietary needs change.

But Gideon believes the biggest transformation isn’t physical. “The data is great - we see reduced cell stress, improved strength and lower body fat. But what really matters is when someone who was isolated starts turning up to classes. They laugh, they join in, they even get competitive. It’s as though they’re getting younger in front of you.”

Take Dean, one of Gideon’s trainers. After years of coaching in London’s toughest gyms, he finds greater satisfaction at Auriens by helping someone to regain the strength to get out of bed independently, or guiding them back to a hobby they had given up.

This combination of service and wellness sits at the heart of Auriens Chelsea’s vision. With 56 apartments designed with discreet care in mind, residents enjoy the freedom of living independently, supported by a community and staff who know them deeply. Every detail, from concierge service to personalised exercise and nutrition programmes, is designed not just to support later life, but to enrich it. As Dan reflects: “The residents don’t want us to take over their lives. They want us to help them live the lives they already love - with a little more ease, joy and possibility.”