Reehan 8, Downtown Dubai
Emaar Properties developed Reehan 8, a block of 48 homes with apartments from one to three bedrooms. It belongs to Old Town, the pedestrianised, low-rise quarter of Downtown Dubai that is split into six clusters, among them Yansoon and Miska. With so few homes under one roof, the lift and the pool are shared by a small crowd. That shapes every stay here.
Developer
Emaar Properties
Units
48 (1, 2 & 3-bedroom apartments)
On this page
- How long you stay decides the size
- What each size gives you
- Courts and a steam room
- The lounge and the roof
- Downstairs: the front desk and a shop under the same roof
- From arrivals to the front desk
- Three Red Line stops and a cool corridor
- Feeder buses and the Boulevard road
- Old Town among the towers
- A laptop table and the weekly shop
- The mall and the lake
- Running laps on the Boulevard
- How the name Downtown came about
- Dinner with a view of the fountain
- A nursery in the next cluster, and a doctor
- It suits you less if you want green space
- If you own here
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
How long you stay decides the size
A Downtown apartment is a base for anyone who wants the fountain and the metro without a car, and the supply within reach of the Burj Khalifa station is limited by the size of the district. For a weekend, a one-bedroom is all the space you need. Stay a week and the second bedroom starts to matter, because one of you can work while the other sleeps late. By the third week, the three-bedroom is what keeps a family from living on top of each other. The length of the stay decides the size, more than the number of people in the booking.
What each size gives you
Larger apartments in Downtown suit small families or couples, while the smaller layouts are the natural choice if you are travelling on your own. A one-bedroom in this block keeps everything within a few steps, which makes the first night easy. A two-bedroom lets you shut a door on a laptop. The three-bedroom is the one for grandparents or cousins who join you for a fortnight.
Courts and a steam room
The sport is the surprise here. A tennis court and a squash court sit inside the building. A steam room waits beside them. If you play, the cool hours suit the courts and the steam room finishes the session. Without a racquet, the gym still covers the daily routine, and the swimming pool sits close by, so none of it needs a trip across town.
The lounge and the roof
The social side of the building is quieter. A games room gives children somewhere to go when the afternoon heat closes the garden. A lounge or function room takes a family dinner that will not fit around one table. A roof or deck area adds a place to sit, and landscaped gardens soften the walk between the car park and the door.
Downstairs: the front desk and a shop under the same roof
A reception desk stands at the entrance. Security and CCTV cover the building after dark. Parking comes with the building if you have hired a car. Maintenance services are provided on site, so a dripping tap is a phone call. A supermarket sits within the building or its podium, and a cafe or restaurant shares the address. That means the first coffee and the last-minute milk do not need a taxi.
From arrivals to the front desk
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the only airport you need, and the last leg is one taxi ride from arrivals. Downtown has direct access to Sheikh Zayed Road and Financial Centre Road, so the car does not wander through back streets to reach the door. Taxis are easy to find in the district, and waits are generally under ten minutes when you head out again. Uber and Careem are reliable too.
Three Red Line stops and a cool corridor
Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall is the last of three consecutive Red Line stations through Downtown, after Emirates Towers and Financial Centre. An air-conditioned link with ten travelators carries you from the platform into The Dubai Mall. That turns a July errand into a cool one.
Feeder buses and the Boulevard road
Feeder bus F13 serves the metro station and the streets around it. Route 27 runs between the Gold Souq and The Dubai Mall. An app-booked Bus-On-Demand service covers short hops inside the district. By road, Sheikh Zayed Road and Financial Centre Road are the main access routes, and traffic near the mall is heavy at peak hours.
Old Town among the towers
Outside Old Town, high-rise contemporary towers dominate the skyline, so the low roofs here make a change of pace you notice on the first walk. Statues and sculptures line the pedestrian walkways, and the open space includes lakes and fountains. The Boulevard puts cafes and restaurants beside hotels and residential towers on one pedestrian route. Coffee and dinner stay on foot. Our guide to Downtown Dubai for owners covers the whole district.
A laptop table and the weekly shop
The Pavilion is a gallery and cafe on Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, and it works as a place to meet friends or get some work done over wifi. The bigger weekly shop is at Carrefour Market or Choithrams, which both have stores in Downtown. Zoom Market sits near the Boulevard. Almaya has a branch too.
The mall and the lake
The Dubai Mall has more than 1,200 retail outlets and over 200 dining options. The aquarium inside it has a walk-through viewing tunnel, which makes a wet afternoon easy to fill. When the day cools, Burj Park beside Burj Khalifa is a starting point for a walk or a light jog, with a quieter setting than the shops. The lake covers about 12 hectares.
Running laps on the Boulevard
The tree-lined Boulevard is a popular spot for jogging and evening walks, with open spaces around Burj Lake. Its pedestrian pavements also work for running laps past the cafes and the hotels. Burj Park opened in 2010 beside Burj Khalifa. It is open every day from 9 in the morning to 11 at night. That makes it the gentler hour for a walk after dinner.
How the name Downtown came about
The land was once called Umm Al Tarif. Emaar first revealed its Downtown project in 2003 as two developments: Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall. The Opera District came later. Construction of Burj Khalifa began in 2004, and the tower opened in 2010.
Dinner with a view of the fountain
Thiptara, a Thai restaurant at the Palace Hotel, looks onto the Dubai Fountain. At.mosphere on level 122 of Burj Khalifa serves afternoon tea. Dubai Opera, a dhow-shaped building in the Opera District, changes between theatre and concert-hall layouts for up to 2,000 people, so a night out is a walk along the same pavements.
A nursery in the next cluster, and a doctor
Blossom Nursery Downtown is at Yansoon 7 in the Al Manzil District on the Boulevard and follows the British EYFS framework. It takes children from eight weeks to five years, which suits a family that picks a three-bedroom. Mediclinic Dubai Mall opens daily from 8am to 8pm with family medicine and imaging. Sheikha Abdullah Salem Mosque and Al Ghafoor Mosque serve Downtown, and The Dubai Mall has prayer rooms inside.
It suits you less if you want green space
It suits you less if you want a large park or the sea at the door. Downtown has fewer large parks and open green spaces than suburban areas such as Arabian Ranches or Dubai Hills. Mercato Beach and Jumeirah Public Beach both sit within a 20-minute drive. If you would rather have a tower than a low-rise cluster, look at Boulevard Point or Opera Grand, two of the residential towers of Downtown, each with its own guide.
If you own here
An apartment qualifies for a holiday home permit only if its title deed is classed Residential, and a developer NOC is required where applicable. Royale Stays manages homes for owners from a management fee of 15%, covering furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in, guest communication and maintenance. Our Airbnb management guide for Downtown Dubai sets the district out from the ownership side. Miska 2, Reehan 4, Reehan 7 and Zaafaran 3 have their own guides.
Sources
Sources: propsearch.ae, RTA station list, betterhomes, Bayut, Roads and Transport Authority, Khaleej Times, Bayut area guide, Wikipedia, Emaar Communities, Emaar blog, Gulf News, Property Finder, Visit Dubai, Bayut nursery guide, Mediclinic Middle East.
Questions