Community Overview
Dubai Marina is a self-contained bustling high-rise district home to residential and serviced apartments and hotel towers offering an array of entertainment venues and restaurants. Construction started over a decade ago, the area has now grown into a fully-fledged waterfront lifestyle destination with marinas, beaches within walking distance and a walkway promenade, snaking through its midst. Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) is a master development in its own right, fronting Dubai Marina along the shoreline.
Location
Dubai Marina is nestled between Dubai’s main artery Sheikh Zayed Road (SZR) and the Gulf with a view of the Palm Jumeirah from many towers. Part of ‘new Dubai’ it is ideal for commuters to the capital. Dubai Marina is serviced by its own metro stations (Nakheel, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers) and access to SZR is easy. The ‘old’ centre of Dubai, Bur Dubai and Deira, is about a 30-minute drive away. Major shopping malls like Ibn Battuta, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall are around 10 to 20 minutes away respectively, and the area has its own mall; Dubai Marina Mall. The Marina’s proximity to Media City and Internet City make it a favourite for those working there.
Who lives here?
Dubai Marina is known as a hip and glitzy neighbourhood, thus attracting young professionals mostly renting their properties. Nationalities, as in most areas in Dubai, are very mixed.
Amenities & facilities
Standing out is the well-stocked but not oversized Dubai Marina Mall for a spot of retail shopping. It has a Waitrose supermarket, cinema and many restaurants. The area itself is dotted with neighbourhood convenience stores, gyms, beauty parlours, restaurants, cafés etc. The large number of hotels contributes to nightly entertainment options. The absence of schools may indicate who the area targets, however, there are some nurseries. There are many spots on the water offering boat trips and there are many boardwalks from which to enjoy water views from the start of the marina at Grosvenor House, home to the popular Buddha Bar, to the Dubai Marina Yacht Club and beyond. The nearby JBR beaches are open to the public and private beach clubs are available also. The eateries, shops and street market are the place to ‘see and be seen’, especially on the weekends. Water sport outlets offer all kinds of related activities and for the fearless there’s Skydive Dubai.
 Property choices
With well over 150 towers to choose from, built by many different developers, the residential offering differs as widely in quality as in price. JBR, with 40 towers alone, is a preferred choice for those wanting to be as close to the beach as possible. Meanwhile, Emaar’s own tower developments (the master developer) within Dubai Marina are often named as being among the best for quality and facilities. Dubai Marina is also home to the tallest and second tallest residential building in the world; Princess Tower.
Pros
- Vibrant community offering a sociable lifestyle
- Everything within walking distance
- Due to a large offering of properties there are good rental and sales deals available
- Beach and marina access
Cons
- There are still quite a few towers under construction, related noise when choosing a place to live should be taken into consideration
- Not enough visitor street parking
