YOUR GUIDE TO SMARTER, HIGHER-EARNING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Short Term Rentals in DAMAC Celestia
An 8-storey residential tower by DAMAC Properties in Dubai South, near Expo City and Al Maktoum International Airport: location, amenities, pricing and short-term rental considerations for owners.
Floors
8 + 3 basement
Developer
DAMAC Properties
Completed
2019
Units
Studio-2BR apartments
Area
Dubai South
About DAMAC Celestia
DAMAC Celestia is an 8-storey residential tower in Dubai South, developed by DAMAC Properties. Construction began in 2014 and the building was completed in 2019, adding 967 studio, one and two-bedroom apartments to Dubai South's growing residential district near Al Maktoum International Airport and Expo City Dubai.
The tower is built over 3 basement levels used mainly for parking, above which its 8 residential floors are arranged around a shared amenity deck, a fairly typical structure for a mid-rise apartment building in this part of Dubai. Unit sizes across the building span a broad range, from around 425 square feet for the smallest studios up to roughly 1,400 square feet for the larger two-bedroom layouts.
Dubai South itself is a large, still-developing mixed-use district built around Al Maktoum International Airport and Expo City Dubai, rather than an established residential address with a long resale or rental track record. For owners and investors, DAMAC Celestia represents an affordable entry point into a district whose identity is still forming, shaped more by logistics, aviation and event activity than by tourism.
Location & Nearby Landmarks
DAMAC Celestia is roughly a 3-minute drive from Expo City Dubai, the permanent legacy site of Expo 2020 that continues to host events, exhibitions and office space. Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) is about a 19 to 20-minute drive away, and Trump International Golf Club Dubai is roughly 20 minutes by car.
Further afield, Dubai Autodrome is about a 25-minute drive and the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club is roughly 17 minutes away, both drawing on Dubai South's motorsport and equestrian-adjacent developments. Within the wider Dubai South Residential District itself, shared workspaces, schools and dining options are generally within about a 10-minute walk of the building.
Dubai South does not yet have its own dedicated Royale Stays area guide, so this section speaks to the building's immediate surroundings rather than a fuller area breakdown. For a broader read on what Airbnb management involves regardless of area, our citywide Airbnb management overview covers the basics that apply across Dubai.
Unit Types
DAMAC Celestia offers a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments across its 967 total units. Sizes vary broadly across the building, from around 425 square feet for the smallest studios up to approximately 1,400 square feet for the largest two-bedroom layouts. Royale Stays has not been able to independently confirm exact floor plans or square footage for individual unit types in this pass, so this guide describes the confirmed unit mix and overall size range only, rather than estimating per-layout figures that have not been verified. No floor-plan diagrams are included here, since floor plans are typically the developer's or broker's proprietary material.
Amenities
DAMAC Celestia's amenities include a temperature-controlled outdoor swimming pool with a separate children's pool, a fully equipped gym, a children's play area and a BBQ area. The building also offers a Jacuzzi, a spa and wellness centre with sauna and steam rooms, and landscaped gardens, a fuller wellness offering than many comparable Dubai South buildings.
Parking is provided across the building's 3 basement levels, with 24-hour security and CCTV coverage, high-speed elevators and a staffed reception. The building is also pet-friendly, a detail worth confirming directly for owners planning to let to tenants or guests with pets.
Transportation & Access
Dubai South has no Dubai Metro coverage of its own, and this is worth stating plainly rather than implying easy transit access. The nearest Metro stations, Expo 2020 and Dubai Investment Park, are both roughly a 23-minute drive from DAMAC Celestia, not a walkable distance. Residents relying on public transport are better served by bus: the Dubai Majestic Royal stop is about a 12-minute walk away, with feeder route F55 running to Expo 2020 Metro Station and F56 running to Danube Metro Station.
By road, DAMAC Celestia has access to Emirates Road (E611) and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311), with Sheikh Zayed Road also reachable from the area. In practice, Dubai South is a car-dependent district with feeder-bus options rather than one built around walkable Metro access, a fair trade-off for owners and tenants who drive but a genuine limitation for those who do not.
Rental & Price Trends
Royale Stays has not independently confirmed rents specific to DAMAC Celestia in this pass, so the figures below describe Dubai South's rental market at an area level rather than this particular building. DLD data puts Dubai South's overall rental range at roughly AED 35,000 to AED 450,000 per year, though that figure spans a very different mix of unit types, including villas, and is skewed upward by them, so it is not a reliable guide to a typical apartment's rent on its own. At the apartment level specifically, studios in Dubai South currently rent for roughly AED 39,999 to AED 45,000 per year, and one-bedroom apartments for roughly AED 50,000 to AED 65,000 per year. Service charges specific to DAMAC Celestia have not been independently confirmed via the DLD's Mollak index for this pass and are omitted here rather than estimated. Owners weighing a specific unit's earning potential against these area-level ranges can run their own numbers through Royale Stays' Dubai property ROI calculator.
Airbnb / Short-Term Rental Income Potential
Short-term letting anywhere in Dubai, including at DAMAC Celestia, runs through a DTCM (Department of Economy and Tourism) holiday home permit, the same licensing requirement that applies regardless of building or area. An owner considering Airbnb at DAMAC Celestia would need to hold that permit before listing a unit, in addition to confirming the building's own short-term letting policy. Royale Stays' guide to the Dubai holiday home permit covers what the process and fees generally involve.
Dubai South is a less-established short-term rental market than areas like Downtown Dubai or Dubai Marina, and Royale Stays does not currently have DAMAC Celestia-specific booking data to draw on. Where demand exists, it tends to be driven by proximity to Expo City Dubai and Al Maktoum International Airport, business travellers, event attendees and aviation-industry staff, rather than the leisure tourism that supports higher rates in Dubai's more established beachfront and downtown addresses. Owners should weigh that context honestly before assuming Downtown-level occupancy or rates are achievable here.
For an owner weighing whether Airbnb makes sense for a unit at DAMAC Celestia, the practical starting points are the same as anywhere else in Dubai: confirming the building's own short-term letting policy, applying for the DTCM permit, and pricing the unit realistically against Dubai South's still-developing demand base. Royale Stays manages the full furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in and guest communications process for owners who prefer not to handle it directly, and our guide to choosing the best Airbnb management company in Dubai sets out what to look for when comparing operators. Owners ready to move forward can submit their property for a management review to get a clearer read on its Airbnb potential.
Income context reflects Royale Stays' own managed-portfolio experience across Dubai, reviewed by Chris Veinbaums, DTCM-licensed operator; Dubai South-specific booking data was not available for this guide, as noted above.
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