Opal Gardens, Meydan District 11
Opal Gardens is a gated villa and townhouse community in District 11 of Meydan, part of Mohammed Bin Rashid City (MBR City). The development comprises 435 homes across four, five and six-bedroom villas, four-bedroom semi-detached villas and four-bedroom townhouses, arranged around a central crystal lagoon. As of this guide, the project is in its final stages of construction, with handover currently targeted for the third quarter of 2026. Royale Stays manages the setup, pricing and guest side of listing a villa here for a fee starting from 15%.
Developer
Nakheel (marketed as Meydan Group)
Homes
435 (4, 5 and 6-bedroom villas, semi-detached villas and townhouses)
Sizes
Roughly 3,500 to 8,450 sq ft
Area
Meydan, District 11
Handover
Targeted Q3 2026 (near complete)
About the Community
Opal Gardens is a gated villa and townhouse community developed within District 11 of Meydan, part of Mohammed Bin Rashid City. The project comprises 435 homes: four, five and six-bedroom villas, four-bedroom semi-detached villas and four-bedroom townhouses, built around a central crystal lagoon designed for kayaking, canoeing and swimming. Villas range from roughly 3,782 to 8,453 sq ft, while townhouses run from about 3,507 to 4,851 sq ft.
Opal Gardens is currently developed and marketed under Nakheel, per Nakheel’s own official construction-progress page and Dubai Sotheby’s International Realty’s listing, both titled “Opal Gardens by Nakheel.” Several property portals and agencies (including propsearch.ae, offplan-dubai.com and goldpillars.ae) instead attribute the project to “Meydan Group” — this is not a conflict: Meydan is itself one of Nakheel’s own master-community brands within Mohammed Bin Rashid City, alongside Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Islands and District One. The main contractor is Parkway International Contracting LLC. Note this development is unrelated to Opal Tower in Business Bay, a separate commercial office tower (and coincidentally the street name of Royale Stays’ own Business Bay office address).
Location & Nearby Landmarks
Opal Gardens sits toward the north of District 11 within Mohammed Bin Rashid City, close to Al Ain-Dubai Road (E66). Per the developer, it is roughly 20 minutes from Downtown Dubai, 20 minutes from Dubai Marina, 15 minutes from Dubai Mall, 10 minutes from Meydan Racecourse and around 40 minutes from Dubai International Airport (DXB).
For a wider view of District 11 and its other developments, see Royale Stays’ District 11 area guide. For a look at a fellow District 11 villa and townhouse community with construction already well underway, see Wadi Villas by Arista Properties.
Villa Types
Opal Gardens offers five configurations across 435 homes: four, five and six-bedroom villas, four-bedroom semi-detached villas, and four-bedroom townhouses. Villas range from roughly 3,782 to 8,453 sq ft, while the townhouses run from about 3,507 to 4,851 sq ft. Every home is designed with generous layouts, large windows, large balconies and terraces, and select units include optional private pools.
Amenities
The community is built around a crystal lagoon at its heart, suitable for kayaking, canoeing and swimming, encircled by a 5-kilometre cycling and pedestrian trail. Other shared amenities include a children’s play area, an outdoor fitness centre, sports courts, picnic areas, a yoga platform, a clubhouse and a mosque, along with retail and leisure elements, schools and supermarkets planned within the wider community.
Opal Gardens' own crystal lagoon is a separate amenity from the crystal lagoon at District One, a different, earlier MBR City villa community developed by the Meydan Sobha joint venture -- see the FAQ below for the full distinction.
Transportation & Access
District 11 sits close to Al Ain-Dubai Road (E66), giving a roughly 10 to 15 minute drive onto the wider Mohammed Bin Rashid City road network. The area has no Dubai Metro station of its own; the nearest stations are Business Bay and Noor Islamic Bank, making District 11 a car-dependent community, consistent with most low-density villa districts in MBR City. A future metro expansion has been discussed as part of Dubai’s wider 2040 Urban Master Plan, but nothing is built yet.
Rental & Price Trends
Opal Gardens homes are currently listed from around AED 4.2 million for an entry-level four-bedroom townhouse, a figure repeated consistently across multiple independent listing sources. This is below the roughly AED 7 million starting price reported at the project’s original 2023 launch, which likely reflected the initial villa-only unit mix before today’s broader range, including the townhouse entry point, was marketed. As an off-plan project still finishing construction ahead of its targeted Q3 2026 handover, Opal Gardens does not yet have a completed-unit resale history. Owners weighing an Opal Gardens purchase against a standard long-term Ejari tenancy, or against other MBR City villa options, can model both scenarios with Royale Stays’ Dubai property ROI calculator.
Airbnb / Short-Term Rental Income Potential
Short-term letting anywhere in Dubai, including a villa at Opal Gardens, requires a DTCM holiday home permit. Nakheel is a major freehold master developer, not a hotel brand or serviced-apartment operator, so once handover completes the permit is applied for directly, the same routing that applies at Wadi Villas, MAG City and other MBR City villa communities. Read more in Royale Stays’ holiday home permit guide.
Royale Stays does not currently manage a property at Opal Gardens, and because the community has not yet been confirmed handed over ahead of its targeted Q3 2026 date, no Opal-Gardens-specific short-term rental listing or earnings data exists yet anywhere. The company’s real Dubai villa short-term rental track record comes from a managed villa in MAG City, part of the same MBR City masterplan, plus villas in DAMAC Hills and DAMAC Hills 2. Royale Stays’ Airbnb management services, furnishing, photography, dynamic pricing, guest communications, check-in and maintenance coordination, are available from a management fee starting at 15%. Owners planning ahead of handover can submit their property for a free assessment.
Income data reflects Royale Stays' own managed MAG City villa, a separate MBR City property, Hospitable-verified for December 2025 to April 2026, reviewed by Chris Veinbaums, DTCM-licensed operator. Opal-Gardens-specific performance data does not exist yet; the project has not been confirmed handed over as of this guide's publication.
Questions