# The real Marigold Hotel on Tour



## Capt Lightning (Dec 28, 2016)

Not sure whether this goes here or in Entertainment, but it is a documentary about four pensioners sampling retirement living in different countries.  The  pensioners may not be so well known in the US, but are household names in the UK. I've never been to Orlando, but I have spent time in Boca Raton and recognise the lifestyle and type of people who live in these communities.
Sounds like Hell on Earth to me.

This review is from  'The Independent' newspaper.

The BBC’s favourite pensioners were back to help pad out the  Christmas schedules – and check out more retirement options. Four of the  eight celebs who visited India for The Real Marigold Hotel swapped  Jaipur for over-60s hotspot Florida in this Christmas special. (Next  year the series will upgraded to BBC1 and feature new  faces.) 

Very-hard-to-please actress Miriam Margolyes, former  professional darts player Bobby George, chef Rosemary Shrager and  generally-more-upbeat-than-the-rest dancer Wayne Sleep were giving two  “leisurevilles” a test run – gated communities for retirees. Days were  filled with classes, clubs and cocktail hours. While it might not  exactly have had the high-octane levels of the numerous festive dramas,  it proved to be a heartwarming hour that put the important topic of  ageing firmly on the Christmas agenda. 


  The foursome sampled the affordable Oak Run Country Club in Orlando and the swankier set-up that is The Polo Club of Boca Raton.  Margolyes immediately declared their Oak Run digs “a pretentious rabbit  hutch” and all scoffed at the idea of a day filled with bingo, pilates  and pool aerobics. A trip to a local gun shop didn’t exactly help, when  Margolyes and George were informed that the majority of their neighbours  in the compound were likely gun-toting Trump supporters. But when they  actually got involved in the activities – good old Sleep even ran a  dance class – they appeared to warm to the benefits of structured  living.


  Boca Raton polo club was a different proposition. “A grotesque  spending of money… deeply pretentious,” scoffed Margolyes,  unsurprisingly. “I couldn’t give a monkey’s about it,” said George, also  unsurprisingly. Most striking were the lack of lines on show for a room  of pensioners. The gang met a 79-year-old who had had 10 facelifts and  another who waxed lyrical about “Thirsty Thursday” nights. “Nobody’s  miserable here, how could you be miserable?” said said. The irony was,  she couldn’t actually smile, so it was hard to tell. We also discovered  why no one talked about politics when Margoyles got in a heated fight  with a Trump supporter. 


  Elsewhere, Shrager gave Botox a go and was cock-a-hoop. “I’d  forgotten what it is to feel pretty,” she said. But it was telling that,  once out of the gates and into Miami, all seemed happier and more  relaxed. Getting accidentally inebriated, on a boat trip in Biscayne Bay  at sunset, with wrinkles, scars and wobbly bits all on show – now that  looked like a way to live at any age.


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## Myquest55 (Dec 28, 2016)

Capt - is the topic title the same as the documentary?  I wonder if we can get that in the US - is it streaming on Netflix or Hulu?  I would love to see it!  Thanks for sharing.


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## DaveA (Dec 28, 2016)

The Captain said:  "Sounds like Hell on Earth to me."


"Classes, clubs, cocktails"    - - Sounds like being trapped on a cruise that never reaches port again or a never-ending nightmare, IMHO. :disgust:


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## Meringue (Dec 28, 2016)

Yes Capt, I watched it.  Rather "stepford wivesish" imo, nobody seems normal & miserable like us in the UK.  I shall be watching the "fearsome four" tonight as they sample life in Japan.


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## RadishRose (Dec 28, 2016)

It's on Youtube-


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## Manatee (Dec 28, 2016)

We lived in Boca Raton for 4 years.  When our daughter went off to college we were happy to move back to the gulf coast.  Living in Boca is not cheap.

Retirement in Florida can be as expensive or cheap as you want.  You just have to look before you leap.


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