Miska 1, Downtown Dubai
Miska 1 is an apartment building in Old Town, the pedestrianised quarter of Downtown Dubai, developed by Emaar Properties. Its homes run from one bedroom up to three. Old Town is a low-rise quarter of four- to seven-storey buildings in a traditional Arabic-inspired style. Miska is one of its six clusters. You trade the glass towers of the Boulevard for a calmer street.
Developer
Emaar Properties
Unit Mix
1, 2 & 3-bedroom apartments
Area
Old Town, Downtown Dubai
On this page
- A weekend that starts at the water
- A week or a month
- One bedroom or three
- Pool, sauna and jacuzzi
- The drive from DXB
- The Red Line and the feeder bus
- Water taxis and longer bus trips
- If you own here
- Clinics and pharmacies
- Laps on the pavement and the quiet park
- Branded towers next door
- The school run and a wet afternoon
- How Old Town came to be
- An evening with a view of the water
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
A weekend that starts at the water
For a weekend, the building is a launch pad. The Dubai Fountain is 0.7 km away, and Souk Al Bahar is 0.64 km away. You can plan the evening around the water without booking a car. Downtown sits just off Sheikh Zayed Road, borders Business Bay to the west and DIFC to the east, and has the Dubai Canal nearby.
A week or a month
Over a week, the routine settles in. The building has a gym, and UFC Gym is 0.53 km away if you want a class instead. Spinneys is the closest supermarket, at 0.28 km. Over a month, the practical pieces matter more, and maintenance services are provided at the building, so a problem on day twelve has a desk to go to.
One bedroom or three
The mix is the useful part. A one-bedroom suits a couple, while larger units suit small families or friends who want a door each. A three-bedroom turns the flat into a base for a bigger family or a group of adults sharing. On a long stay, a second bedroom doubles as an office with a door you can close, and the third gives a visiting relative a bed of their own. It suits you less if you want a studio, since the mix starts at one bedroom.
Pool, sauna and jacuzzi
The wet side of the building is generous. There is a swimming pool plus a sauna and a jacuzzi, with landscaped gardens around them. The sauna suits a cool evening and the pool a hot afternoon. The gardens give the slow hour before dinner somewhere to go.
Children get a play area in the building. Parking sits inside as well, and a reception desk and security with CCTV cover run the front. A family arriving with car seats and a pushchair can unload once and stop worrying about the street.
A week here has an easy shape. Mornings belong to the gym. Afternoons go to the Dubai Fountain or the souk. By evening the sauna and the jacuzzi are waiting, with the gardens for the hour in between. The weekend then needs no plan at all, because the water is close.
The drive from DXB
Dubai International (DXB) is 19.8 km from the building by road, which routes at about 20 minutes without traffic. A taxi from the rank takes you to the quarter in one leg.
Traffic around Dubai Mall gets very busy in the evenings and at weekends, and parking at Dubai Mall and Souk Al Bahar is free. Most Downtown towers have basement or podium parking, and visitors can use RTA-paid parking zones. The building has its own parking, so a hire car never becomes a daily puzzle, and a weekday morning is the easy time for a mall run.
The Red Line and the feeder bus
The Red Line station named for Downtown is Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall, and it is 1.52 km from the building. Feeder bus F13 serves the station. It also covers the streets around it. The nearest bus stop is South Ridge Tower, only 0.17 km away, so the feeder bus is the easy way to cover the distance.
Water taxis and longer bus trips
The Dubai Water Canal runs from neighbouring Business Bay to the sea, with walkways and cycle paths as well as four marine transport stations. The nearest stop, Al Wajeha Al Maeyah MTS, sits 0.88 km from the building, so a boat trip starts close to the door. Business Bay Bus Station is 1.18 km away for longer bus journeys, and it is the one to know if the Red Line is not going your way.
If you own here
If you own here, every holiday home needs a permit from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism before the first visitor arrives. Owners or managers register the unit on the Holiday Homes System first. 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. Our guide to managing homes in Downtown Dubai covers the district in more detail.
Clinics and pharmacies
Medx clinic is 0.9 km from the building, and Supercare Pharmacy is 0.62 km away, so a cold or a headache is a short errand, and the building's maintenance services handle the flat itself. Mediclinic, at 1.02 km, is the nearest hospital on the list, and Mediclinic Dubai Mall has an on-site pharmacy and an on-site laboratory.
Laps on the pavement and the quiet park
The Boulevard's pedestrian pavements are used for walking and running laps past its cafes and hotels. Statues and other artworks line Downtown's pedestrian walkways, and the open space includes lakes and fountains. After the laps, the landscaped gardens at the building are the place to cool down.
Bayside Park is 0.48 km from the building, and that is the nearest green space. Burj Park is a landscaped island park with views of the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain shows.
Branded towers next door
Address Boulevard, Address Fountain Views and Vida Residences are among the serviced and branded residences in Downtown, which combine residential living with hotel-style services. Downtown offers luxury apartments, serviced residences and penthouses, with a limited number of villas. Old Town sits at the calmer end of that range.
The school run and a wet afternoon
JSS School, at 2.4 km, is the closest school to the building, so a school-age child on a long stay has a daily trip by car or taxi, and the play area in the building covers the hours either side of it. Jumeirah English Speaking School and Citizens School serve Downtown families, with British curricula.
Cinemacity, 0.84 km from the building, gives you a film for the evening when the fountain crowds are thick. Inside The Dubai Mall you will find the aquarium, an ice rink and Play DXB, which makes a wet afternoon easy.
How Old Town came to be
The main avenue was called Emaar Boulevard until December 2012, when it was renamed Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. Burj Khalifa opened in 2010, and the district around it has filled in since. Old Town is pedestrianised.
If you would rather have a tower, The Lofts West Tower and Standpoint Residences are residential buildings of Downtown, and each has its own guide. Either gives you a comparison point if Old Town is too quiet.
An evening with a view of the water
Dubai Mall restaurants with a terrace, among them spots facing the lake, have views of the fountain show. Thiptara, a Thai restaurant at the Palace Hotel, looks onto the Dubai Fountain. Arabeska serves Middle Eastern food and Basta serves Italian, so the table does not have to be a hotel one, and the security desk at home means a late return is easy.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard lines up cafes and restaurants beside hotels and residential towers along one pedestrian route, so a stay near it is walkable to meals and coffee. Its pavements run the length of the street.
Sources
Sources: Propsearch, betterhomes, Gulf News, Bayut, RTA, Wikipedia, Khaleej Times, Emaar Communities, Mediclinic Middle East.
Questions