Marina Suites, Dubai Marina
Marina Suites is a 16-storey apartment building in Dubai Marina, developed by MiNC Properties, with homes that run from one bedroom up to three. Most of what makes a stay easy happens inside the building, so it helps to walk through one day there before you look at the map. Begin with the gym, because that is where the morning goes if you travel with a routine.
Developer
MiNC Properties
Storeys
16
Units
1-3BR
On this page
- A morning that starts downstairs
- The pool and the jacuzzi after lunch
- When children come along
- The front desk, the car park and the night
- The drive in from DXB
- Which hour you leave on
- Tram, metro and the street
- Across the water by boat
- The canal at walking pace
- Sand at JBR
- A couple on a long weekend
- Dinner by the water
- The weekly shop for a group
- Nurseries and a clinic
- Where the Marina came from
- What to weigh before you book
- If you own here
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
A morning that starts downstairs
The gym sits inside the building. A workout needs no walk across the district, and you can be back upstairs within minutes of the last set. If you would rather run, Marina Walk has regular joggers and cyclists, and the promenade also suits yoga. Gyms elsewhere in the district offer group classes and 24-hour access for anything the building does not cover.
The pool and the jacuzzi after lunch
Marina Suites has a pool and a jacuzzi. Together they let you give a whole afternoon to the tower. Save the outing for the evening, which is a sensible split on a hot day. A short swim followed by a soak is also an easy way to recover from a long flight.
When children come along
A play area for children is part of the building, and it helps when a swim has run its course and the afternoon is still long. Outside, the Marina has small parks and playgrounds alongside the promenade that families use. The play area keeps the first and last hours of the day indoors and cool.
The front desk, the car park and the night
A reception desk serves the building. Security and CCTV cover the premises, and maintenance is provided here as well. Parking for residents is covered, which counts for something in a district where public parking is limited and paid public spaces fill quickly.
The drive in from DXB
Dubai International (DXB) reaches the Marina by road in one leg. The Marina connects to Sheikh Zayed Road, a heavily used highway, so the last stretch depends on the hour you land. Any taxi or Uber can take you to the front desk in one ride.
Which hour you leave on
Marina roads fill up on weekends and public holidays, and again during school hours, so those are the busiest times for drivers. Marina Walk and the surrounding streets also get crowded at peak hours, for pedestrians as well as for the cars that crawl past looking for a space. About six minutes gets you from within the Marina to Sheikh Zayed Road. Visitor parking is available but tight at peak hours, so on a busy evening the tram or a taxi works better than the car. Covered parking at Marina Suites matters most if you arrive with a hire car.
Tram, metro and the street
The Dubai Tram has 11 stations. They serve the Marina and JBR, and the line connects to the metro at DMCC station. The Dubai Marina tram stop meets the Sobha Realty Metro station, so a trip across the city can start on the tram and finish on the Red Line. Uber and Careem cover the Marina well, and RTA street taxis are easy to flag along Marina Walk and outside the mall. Weekend evening waits stretch a little.
Across the water by boat
A marine water taxi route links Marina Mall with Marina Walk. Route BM3 runs from Dubai Marina Mall to Bluewaters Island. Ain Dubai stands there. The RTA ferry route FR2 connects Dubai Canal with Marina Mall by way of Bluewaters. FR4 runs from Marina Mall to Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis. A one-day hop-on, hop-off pass covers the Marina water taxi routes.
The canal at walking pace
More than 600 boats and yachts are moored along the Marina Walk. The promenade runs along the water for about seven kilometres, so a lot of daily movement happens on foot, with people strolling, jogging and cycling between home, the cafes and the mall. That makes the promenade a natural place to spend the hour before dinner.
Sand at JBR
JBR Beach is the closest beach to the Marina and can be reached by tram or on foot. JBR is the livelier beach with water sports. Marina Beach is quieter, and Kite Beach is known for kitesurfing. Beach access at JBR is free.
A couple on a long weekend
A one-bedroom home suits two people well, and the building supplies the rest of the weekend with its jacuzzi. The Marina works without a car. With a tram, two metro stations, a beach walk and a canal promenade in one district, you can fill most days on foot or on rails. The pool and the jacuzzi wait at the end of them.
Dinner by the water
Mama Zonia and Attiko are among the places to eat in Dubai Marina. Fresh Fish Restaurant and Bob's Fish and Chips cover seafood. Pier 7 stacks seven restaurants across seven floors at the water's edge. Buddha-Bar and the Address hotel offer dining with marina views. The reception desk at Marina Suites is where you start if a booking needs a hand.
The weekly shop for a group
Three-bedroom homes in the building give a group of friends or a visiting family their own rooms. Waitrose is inside Dubai Marina Mall. Spinneys and Al Maya are other options for the weekly shop, and West Zone covers the quick errand.
Nurseries and a clinic
Dubai Marina has no schools of its own, so a stay with school-age children means a daily drive of 10 to 20 minutes each way to one of the schools in nearby districts. Emirates International School Meadows is among the schools named nearby. Willow Nursery and Raffles Nursery serve the Marina for younger children. For health, Medcare Medical Centre and Emirates Hospitals Clinic both operate inside the district.
Where the Marina came from
Emaar Properties developed Dubai Marina, which is also known as Marsa Dubai. It is a master-planned waterfront community built around a 3.5-kilometre man-made canal, a tower district where most people live in apartments from studios to four-bedroom units. That layout explains why a 16-storey building like Marina Suites feels mid-sized here and why the district reads as a crowd of towers rather than a street of houses.
What to weigh before you book
Peak-hour traffic and limited public parking are the plain costs of the Marina. Noise near The Walk and The Beach adds to them. Noise in busy parts of the district varies between buildings, depending on floor level and orientation, so it is worth asking which floor and which side you are being offered. JBR has 40 towers, of which 35 are residential, set directly on the beach, whereas the Marina's towers surround a canal. It suits you less if you want sand at the door. Ocean Heights is one comparison in the district. Skyview Tower is another.
If you own here
If you own here, you can apply directly for a Dubai holiday home permit, while a tenant applying needs a no objection certificate from the landlord. Our guide to Dubai Marina for owners covers the district in more detail. Royale Stays manages homes for owners at a management fee from 15%. The service covers furnishing and photography. It also covers pricing and check-in, plus guest communications and maintenance coordination.
Sources
Sources: Gulf News, Bayut, Engel and Voelkers area guide, ServiceMarket blog, betterhomes, Wikipedia, Khaleej Times, The National, Bayut area guide, What's On, Gulf Business, Propsearch.
Questions