Bondi Beach Astra Retirement Village in Sydney, Australia | Retirement and care home

Bondi Beach Astra Retirement Village

Locality: Sydney, Australia

Phone: +61 2 9365 3344

Address: 34 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach 2026 Sydney, NSW, Australia

Website: https://www.bondiastra.com.au/

Likes: 127

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Property
• Medical and health
• Medical centre
• Retirement and care home

25.01.2022 The iconic art deco Astra building has quite the history. For more than 100 years a hotel stood on this site, the very first building overlooking the southern end of Bondi Beach. Originally built around 1880 and later demolished in the 1920s, the hotel transferred between several owners and changed names from the Cliff House Hotel, to Hotel International, and eventually to the Astra after being purchased by Sir Joynton Smith in the late 1920s. In 1937, Oldfield’s Hotels, own...ed by Mr Allen Oldfield and his three sons, took control of the hotel, and it was under their leadership that the Astra flourished. The hotel’s first floor, named The Casino Bar, was an incredibly popular dining room with linen table cloths, excellent cuisine, a daily orchestra entertaining patrons, and a Christmas Dinner that was always booked out two months ahead. People would come in and sit on the big leather chairs, listen to the music in the lounge and engage in conversation. Often if you weren’t there by 3pm there was nowhere to sit! Later, during WWII, the building was taken over by the government for the air force and later by the British wrens. The Astra was on par with the likes of the Hotel Australia, the old Wentworth and the Usher’s Hotel.. The long island bar with eight taps was one of the largest in Sydney at the time. It was all tiles, cream and green, but classy and well kept. In 1959, parts of the film ‘Summer of the Seventeenth Doll’ with Ernest Borgnine, John Mills, Angela Lansbury and Anne Baxter, was shot on site. The hotel was sold by the Oldfield’s in 1967, and it changed hands again in 1973. After a few years, local residents took a petition to the council complaining that hotel patrons were disturbing the neighbourhood. Eventually, after lengthy hearings, the Astra submitted a development application to become a retirement village. In October 1984, Bondi Beach Astra Retirement Village was opened and to this day the building hosts a thriving community of over 55-year olds who love to take advantage of the fabulous Bondi Beach location and rich heritage. #bondibeachastra #retirementliving

22.01.2022 We’ve just refurbished the Astra’s communal and entertainment spaces so it’s as enjoyable staying in as it is heading out. #bondibeachastra #retirementliving

22.01.2022 We had a very successful Oktoberfest celebration last year - great food and beer, along with some truly excellent outfits. This year we will be holding an event celebrating all things Bavarian on Friday 25th September at 12:30pm in the lounge, and we are looking forward to a socially distanced lunch and beer tasting. We will have lots of decorations on display, and even some prizes for best dressed!

22.01.2022 A big shout out to Aaron, our Village Manager, who after several years at the helm here is moving to a new job. We’ve loved having him as part of our family, and to show our appreciation we are having a celebratory lunch this week. We will miss you Aaron, but hope you will have great success in your new role.

21.01.2022 Oktoberfest traditionally runs for a few weeks from September to October each year. Our 2020 Oktoberfest celebration was a great opportunity for us to get together (properly socially distanced of course), drink some beer and eat some German-themed foodas if we needed an excuse!! We had blue and white and yellow decorations lifting the mood in the room and the food was enjoyed by everyone. There were some fabulous outfits too, and we gave out sweet treats at the end of lunch to show how much we love the dress ups! Prost everyone!

19.01.2022 2020 has been such a crazy year that somehow it doesn’t feel right to be doing something so normal as having a Melbourne Cup Day lunch! But on 3rd November from 1pm that is exactly what we will be doing Dust off your best racing millinery, fancy frocks and tailored suits and join us for lunch while we await the main event. We will have sweeps available on the day for those inclined. Let’s all celebrate that for an afternoon we can join together with millions of other Aussies and do something a bit more ‘normal’ for a change watch the race over a beer or a glass of wine, with some good food and a fabulous hat on! Bliss!

19.01.2022 World Photography Day was on 19th August, so we decided at Bondi Beach Astra to have an afternoon last week playing with props and taking silly photos! We had lots of fun, hope the results make you smile too :)

18.01.2022 Talk about one of the best places in the world to retire. Pinching ourselves that we’re so lucky! #bondibeachastra #retirementliving

18.01.2022 Want to get better at using technology? We’re hosting a technology workshop in the Bondi Beach Astra Lounge, tomorrow, Tuesday 21 July from 11am-12. As always, anyone is welcome. If you wish to get familiar with specific apps on your devices, please bring them with you. We’ll have our usual morning cup of tea before the session gets underway and we’ll break in time for lunch.

18.01.2022 Our residents' health and wellbeing is our number one priority in these uncertain times, and we uphold the highest standards of health and safety here at Bondi Beach Astra. We have a number of COVID-safe measures in place in the building. Handles, surfaces, buttons and other common touch points are regularly disinfected throughout the day. Residents and visitors to the village alike are reminded to sanitise their hands when they enter the building, and hand sanitiser is a...vailable in the common areas. Our team is dedicated to helping our residents in any way we can, and to making sure that all appropriate guidelines are followed. We also have a 24/7 medical alarm system, monitored by health professionals who, at the press of a button, can answer any questions residents might have at any time. We are thrilled that our newly refurbished lounge is open for residents to use again, and that we are able to resume some planned social activities. Events and activities take place in accordance with the latest health advice, and with social distancing at all times. Thanks to our wonderful Bondi Beach Astra community for all your support and help throughout this challenging time. See more

17.01.2022 Who doesn’t like a good coffee? The problem is, most of us will stick with what we know and not try new things...especially if we have to pay for it!! To mark International Coffee Day on 1st October we held a coffee tasting morning at Bondi Beach Astra, and the aim of the event was to try different intensities and flavours over the course of the morning. It’s always great to come together over a cuppa and a biscuit for a chat, and this had the added bonus of allowing us to explore different blends from all over the world. The more intense and flavoursome types won the day yet another proof that Aussies really know their coffee. The machine that we bought for this event is now in the communal kitchen for all the residents and their guests to enjoy. Yum! See what other events we have coming up https://www.bondiastra.com.au/whats-on

16.01.2022 No, it’s not just some stock photo of Bondi Beach. It’s the view from Unit 50 at Bondi Beach Astra, and it happens to be available for sale first in, best dressed! Click through for photos of the unit interior. #viewfrommywindow #bondibeachastra

15.01.2022 Photos taken mid-2020.

15.01.2022 It was World Food Day recently and, as we are a multi-cultural and multi-lingual community, we thought it would be nice to celebrate with a pick and mix lunch from around the world. We had Indian, Mediterranean, Asian, and a variety of European food. It was a lovely mix of flavours and styles, and we are blessed to be living in an area that has great take out options all around! Thanks to everyone who helped out on the day it was a lot of fun to catch up once more over some great nosh! https://www.bondiastra.com.au/

14.01.2022 Next week is the government’s Get Online Week, and as part of this initiative we are holding a special technology workshop with Q&A followed by a free BBQ lunch. The theme of the workshop is ‘Having Fun Online’ and will cover varied and wonderful topics such as playing games, Google Earth, memes and videos, social media and more! Come along to the Bondi Beach Astra lounge at 11am for a cuppa, and please bring your devices if you want specific guidance. After an extended Q&A session we will enjoy a BBQ together from 1pm. Let’s get online and have fun!!

14.01.2022 One of our favourite nights of the year is Christmas in July with our residents! With this year being a little different in terms of new ways we're all learning to socialise, now more than ever we appreciate having a well-known restaurant with lots of tasty offerings on their menu, so close to home. We'll start with a drink in the lounge at 5pm, before going to dinner downstairs at the Bondi Trattoria for a lovely meal and then returning to the lounge for dessert and ente...rtainment. It’s going to be such a great chance to let our hair down after what has been a very strange first half to the year. #bondibeachastra #retiredliving

13.01.2022 Gotta love whale season, especially when it’s right on your doorstep! #bondibeachastra #retirementliving

12.01.2022 One of our regular activities is afternoon tea, held twice a week, and we always welcome residents, their friends and families, as well as prospective residents, to attend. So if you are in the area why not come by Bondi Beach Astra on a Tuesday or a Thursday at 2:30pm for a chat with our friendly residents. Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided.

08.01.2022 We’ve got quite a few Maxine Gray-types mentioned in this article among our residents. So fantastic to have such a lively and enthusiastic community of residents who dive into every day with enthusiasm and gusto. Maxine Gray counts herself among those over-70s who are healthy and travelling well, and puts it down to staying active and having a sense of purpose. ‘I do see older people that just want to sit in a chair and stop doing anything, but there are so many more who a...re enthusiastic and have a positive attitude to life,’ Mrs Gray said. ‘We definitely outnumber the couch potatoes.’ #bondibeachastra #retirementliving

07.01.2022 Want to learn more about using technology? This month's technology workshop is taking place next Tuesday, 15th September, from 11am in the lounge. We will be exploring the interesting and varied topic of watching videos online. If you want to get familiar with specific apps on your devices, please bring them with you. We’ll have our usual morning cup of tea before the session gets underway and we’ll break in time for lunch.

02.01.2022 What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas in July - fabulous decorations, delicious food and drink, sparkling conversation, and a healthy dose of socially distanced fun!