Burj Daman, DIFC
Burj Daman was completed in 2013 and stands in DIFC, a mixed-use free trade zone with a professional business community and apartment towers beside the offices. Apartments in the district range from studios to three-bedroom units, with four and five-bedroom penthouses in some towers. Our DIFC area guide covers the whole district. So you are staying in a working district, one that quietens in the evening and fills again on weekday mornings.
Floors
65
Developer
Daman Real Estate Capital Partners
Completed
2013
Area
DIFC
What the building has
A swimming pool serves residents and a gym sits inside the building. A barbecue area and a squash court add options for the afternoon. Good. After a long day of meetings or sightseeing, a swim before dinner is a simple pleasure, and the squash court gives a business traveller a way to burn off the day.
The building has landscaped gardens and a spa, plus a roof or deck area. A business or meeting room is available for anyone who has to work between outings. If you are in town for a conference, the meeting room saves a trip to a cafe with weak wifi. Two colleagues can sit down with laptops and finish a document before dinner.
Retail units and cafes or restaurants sit on site, so a small errand does not mean leaving the block. A day-care or nursery space is part of the building, which matters if you travel with a toddler. A prayer room is there for residents who want one.
Parking for residents comes with the building, and a reception desk serves residents. Security and CCTV cover the premises, and maintenance is on site. On a long stay those small things add up, because a faulty tap gets fixed and the door stays watched.
From the airport
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is 15.1 km from the tower, about 16 minutes by road without traffic, and a taxi from arrivals covers the trip without a change. It is a short airport run. Aim to land outside the evening rush and the drive stays easy.
The metro and buses
Financial Centre station sits on Sheikh Zayed Road on the Red Line of Dubai Metro and takes its name from DIFC, and it is 0.69 km from the tower.
Feeder bus F11 links the Financial Centre and Emirates Towers metro stations with Al Satwa, stopping at Iranian Hospital and Satwa Bus Station. Feeder bus F28 also runs from Emirates Towers metro station to Al Satwa, and the Emirates Tower Metro Bus Stop is 0.62 km from the tower. For a late return, a taxi is the easier choice.
Roads and parking
Roads around DIFC carry heavy traffic at peak hours, and school transport can suit families better than driving. Gate Avenue parking is ticketless and charged through Salik, with the first hour free once per day. If you hire a car, keep trips short at the busy hours and use the metro for the rest.
Gate Avenue
The Gate Avenue mall is 0.4 km from the tower; Gate Avenue 3 and Gate Avenue 4 are open from 5am to 1am, and the mix covers homegrown and regional brands, salons and dining venues. Gate Avenue has casual dining, specialty coffee shops and breakfast spots. A first morning can start with coffee there. Nice.
Dubai Mall is in neighbouring Downtown Dubai, while DIFC itself has a boutique retail district around Gate Avenue. For a big mall day you leave the district. For everything else you stay, and the walk back to the tower is short.
The grocery run
Almaya supermarket is 0.57 km from the tower; a Spinneys supermarket is in Central Park Towers, and Gate District has a Jones the Grocer Express for gourmet and artisanal foods. Choithrams and Al Maya also serve the area, so a week of cooking is easy to organise, even for a family that wants to eat in most nights.
Dinner in Gate Village
Gate Avenue has a modern Italian restaurant with a Michelin listing, and Mashrou3 Tabkha serves traditional flavours. Gate Village has Zuma, a contemporary Japanese restaurant, and LPM, which serves French-Mediterranean food. Book a table at the busier ones, because they fill on weekday evenings.
Galleries
Gate Village has the Opera Gallery and Tabari Artspace, with Christie's Dubai covering commercial art sales and auctions. The Empty Quarter Gallery is 0.23 km from the tower, which makes it an easy hour before dinner on a free afternoon. DIFC Art Nights is held twice a year, in April and November, at Gate Village, and entry is free.
Gyms and sport
Fitness First and Barry's Bootcamp are gyms in the DIFC area. UP Fitness is another, as is D5 Executive Gymnasium, and Gymtown Bodybuilding is 0.53 km from the tower. If the building gym feels small, other places to train are close by.
Doctors and pharmacies
Craft Clinic and The Garden Medical Center offer skin, body and dental care in the DIFC area. LIFE Pharmacy is 0.54 km from the tower, and Al Zahra Medical Centre is 0.79 km away. For a minor ailment you will not travel far.
Schools
Citizens School in Al Satwa follows the British curriculum and enrols students from FS1 to Year 7. Raffles Early Childhood Centre follows the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and admits children up to age six, and GEMS Wellington Primary School is 1.09 km from the tower. Families on a long stay should settle the school run before booking.
Green space and the beach
Green space inside DIFC is limited, and the district has no direct beach access. Zabeel Park has a perimeter jogging track, a boating lake with lakeside restaurants, and children's play areas. La Mer is 3.21 km from the tower, so the sea is a drive, not a stroll.
Mosques
The DIFC Grand Mosque is the mosque inside the district, and Obai Bin Kaab is a mosque mapped in Dubai International Financial Centre.
How DIFC began
DIFC was established in 2004 as a financial hub for companies working across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. It has its own civil and commercial laws, written in English, while UAE criminal law and immigration rules still apply inside the zone.
What to weigh
Galleries, restaurants and retail sit in one district, and Gate Village connects on foot to Gate District and Gate Avenue. Burj Daman suits you if you want a pool and a spa, plus a squash court in a business district with a metro station close by. It suits you less if you want a leafy street or a beach on the doorstep. For most visitors that is a fair trade. Limestone House and Index Tower are two other DIFC towers with their own guides.
If you own here
A holiday home permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism is needed before welcoming guests, backed by a title deed or approved sale and purchase agreement. 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 DIFC for owners sets out the permit steps.
Sources
Sources: DIFC, Wikipedia, Bayut, Bayut DIFC area guide, What's On, Gulf News, Dubai Online, Propsearch.
Questions