Kensington Waters, MBR City
Ellington Properties developed Kensington Waters. The building rises 13 storeys in Mohammed Bin Rashid City. That makes it a mid-rise block, tall enough to lift the upper homes off the street and low enough that a lift ride stays short.
The homes run from studios to three-bedroom apartments, which gives the building a wide range for one block. A studio suits one person on a work trip. A one-bedroom suits a couple. A three-bedroom suits a family that wants a kitchen and a door that closes.
Developer
Ellington Properties
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What thirteen floors change
Stay low and you are close to the pool deck and the front door. Stay high and you trade that for distance from the street, which counts for more over a long stay than over a weekend. Book a low floor if you want the pool close, and a high one if you want the street far away. A studio near the top and a three-bedroom near the bottom are both ordinary choices.
Sobha Hartland is an 8 million sq ft waterfront community in MBR City with a 22-hectare green belt around it. A building of 13 storeys is small beside that scale, and it keeps the feel of a single address rather than a district. Ellington Properties built it as one block, so the shared spaces below serve everyone upstairs.
A month here has a rhythm. The studio or one-bedroom holds the week, the gym marks the mornings, and maintenance services at the building keep the small repairs from turning into events. A three-bedroom stretches the same rhythm across a family, with parking for residents waiting at the end of each school-holiday outing.
Keys and the first evening
A reception desk for residents is where you collect the keys, with security and CCTV cover over the entrance. Parking for residents helps if you hire a car for the stay. The sequence of parking, desk and lift is short.
Lulu Hypermarket and Carrefour are the supermarket brands near the MBR City communities, with Allday Fresh among them. Choithrams Sobha Hartland is another name for the first shop. A studio needs one trip and a three-bedroom needs several.
A couple, a family and a laptop
For a couple, the building does the evening on its own. The swimming pool comes first, then the gym, and the barbecue area makes a late dinner outdoors easy. None of it needs a taxi or a booking.
A family uses the play area for children and the three-bedroom homes. The children go downstairs for an hour. The adults sit by the pool. When the group is larger, a studio or a one-bedroom next door gives the extra guests their own space.
A remote worker lives in a studio or a one-bedroom and wants things to work. Maintenance services at the building deal with a dripping tap or a faulty air-conditioning unit, so a working day is not lost to a repair. Parking for residents means a hire car for the weekend is one lift away.
Rail, buses and the highways
Business Bay Metro Station and ONPASSIVE Metro Station are the nearest rail stations to MBR City, and public transport inside the community is limited. Bus routes 84 and 15 run in the neighbourhoods around it, along with 21A. A taxi covers the last stretch to the door.
Al Khail Road (E44) and Al Ain-Dubai Road (E66) are two of the main highways serving MBR City. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) is the third. Al Meydan Road (D69) and Al Marabea Street (D65) are the arterial roads in and around Meydan and MBR City.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the airport you land at, and a taxi from arrivals is the simplest way to reach the building in one leg. The building has a reception desk, and security and CCTV cover it, so the door is a staffed one when you arrive late.
Nad Al Sheba Mall
Nad Al Sheba Mall opened in April 2025. It has over 100 stores across fitness, retail, entertainment, dining, healthcare and supermarkets, so a wet or very hot afternoon needs no other plan. Free parking covers more than 700 cars. The play area in the building handles an hour, and the mall handles an afternoon.
Home Bakery and Joud Coffee are among the dining brands there, with PDL Cafe and % Arabica for a slower morning. Spinneys is one of the supermarkets. That makes the mall the place for the larger shop, once the studio or one-bedroom fridge has run down.
The mall has GO Sport. FitnGlam and Fitcode joined for fitness and sport. If the gym in your own building is busy, those are the next options. Medcare Medical Centre runs a clinic at the mall, open every day.
Schools, mosques and green space
Sobha Hartland has two British-curriculum schools: Hartland International School and North London Collegiate School Dubai. Hartland teaches the National Curriculum for England. Its pupils range from Foundation Stage to Year 13. Safari Kids Nursery is one of the nurseries serving families in District One.
Sobha Hartland Mosque is one mosque in MBR City. Masjid Khadija Al Kubra is another.
The Nad Al Sheba forest trail is a shaded walking area under tall trees, with free parking, and Nad Al Sheba has a developed cycling track. District One has a boardwalk and a running and cycling track, with a large share of the community given to green space.
Dinner and the lagoon
Carna by Dario Cecchini is a steak house in MBR City, and Little Istanbul serves Turkish dishes. If you would rather cook, the barbecue area in the building covers a Friday supper without a booking.
District One is built around a Crystal Lagoons lagoon with man-made beaches, and villas are laid out around the water. Marasi MTS is a marina or ferry stop in MBR City. The Road Transport Authority runs it.
Racecourse day and the mall next door
Meydan Racecourse hosts the Dubai World Cup. Its grandstand has seating capacity for more than 60,000 people. A race day at Meydan fills an afternoon.
Dubai Hills Estate next door has Dubai Hills Mall, with more than 600 retail outlets, a large indoor mall. A group that wants a bigger shopping day than Nad Al Sheba Mall offers can add it to the plan.
How the district began
Mohammed Bin Rashid City was announced in November 2012 as a new city within Dubai. District One followed in mid-2013 as the first project in MBR City, a joint venture between Sobha Group and Meydan.
If you own here
Royale Stays manages homes for owners from a management fee of 15%, covering furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in, guest communication and maintenance. Our guide to MBR City for owners sets out the permit steps. Holiday-home hosts in Dubai need a permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism before welcoming guests, and the unit must be eligible under its title deed. A developer NOC is needed where applicable. Our approach to managing a Dubai apartment covers the rest. Keturah Reserve is another MBR City building with its own page. The Terraces is a third.
Sources
Sources: Sobha Realty communities page, Bayut Area Guides, Dubai Holding press release, Property Finder blog, Medcare branch list, Gulf News, Edcare school profile, Wikipedia, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Bayut, Propsearch.
Questions