Opera Grand, Downtown Dubai
Emaar Properties developed Opera Grand, a Downtown Dubai tower that holds 200 homes in total. For a district of very large towers, 200 homes is a measured count. You can learn it in a day, and that suits a stay of a week or two.
The facilities do the heavy lifting. There is a swimming pool with a separate children's pool, plus a spa and a roof or deck area for the hours when you want air without leaving the building.
Developer
Emaar Properties
Contents
- What 200 homes do to the lobby
- Your first 48 hours
- A week and a month in the same lobby
- Where the children and the couples go
- July on the roof and in the pool
- The Red Line and the buses
- Clinics and nurseries, then the mosque
- Dinner by the water
- A drive to the sand
- Dubai Mall on a weekday
- Business Bay and the street that changed its name
- Sharks and bikes on a long boulevard
- If you own here
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
What 200 homes do to the lobby
A reception desk serves residents, and security and CCTV cover run through the building. With 200 homes under one roof, you can learn the lobby quickly. Downtown mixes city energy with calm, and it has cafes and late-night supermarkets at street level. That is a plus if you like a settled feel and a minus if you want the anonymity of a big hotel.
The roof or deck area is the part of the building that changes a stay from a flat to a place. A barbecue area sits alongside the pool facilities, so a group can turn an ordinary evening into a dinner.
Your first 48 hours
Dubai International (DXB) is the airport for this stay, and a taxi brings you to the door in one leg. Downtown sits on Sheikh Zayed Road between DIFC and Business Bay, so business visitors stay beside the financial district and the office towers.
Your keys come from the reception desk, and the cafes or restaurants on site cover the first meal. The supermarkets can wait for the morning. Carrefour Market, Choithrams, Almaya, West Zone Fresh and Grandiose all have stores in Downtown Dubai. Spinneys runs three branches. Almaya is another name to look for.
On the second morning, the gym in the building is the easiest start. The tree-lined Boulevard is a popular spot for jogging and evening walks, with open spaces around the Burj Lake. Burj Park sits on an island. It is a landscaped park with views of Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain. The fountain runs choreographed displays of water and light during its shows.
A week and a month in the same lobby
In a week, the gym sets the morning and the spa sets the afternoon. The cafes or restaurants on site cover the nights you stay in.
Stay a month and the practical items climb the list. Parking for residents gives a hire car a permanent space, and maintenance services are provided at the building. The sauna then becomes the weekly routine that keeps a long stay from feeling like a long wait.
Where the children and the couples go
A couple will find the sauna and the spa do the work of an afternoon off. The swimming pool is the place for a swim before dinner.
A family gets the most from the separate children's pool and the play area. Downtown is pet-friendly, with designated walking areas and access to pet-friendly parks, which helps if the family travels with a dog.
If you work from the flat, the gym frames the morning. The cafes or restaurants on site frame the rest of the day. Parking for residents suits a hire car, and maintenance services are provided at the building when a light or a tap needs attention.
It suits you less if you want shops under the tower. The building has cafes or restaurants on site, but a full shop or a supermarket means going out. Parking for residents eases that, and with 200 homes the car park is a smaller affair than in the district's giants.
A group of friends gets a different use from the building. The barbecue area and the roof or deck area give them a table of their own, and the swimming pool is there for the afternoon before.
July on the roof and in the pool
The year changes how you use the building. In winter the roof or deck area is the draw, with the evening air and the barbecue to hand. In July the swimming pool and the spa take over, because the heat sends the day indoors and the pool carries the afternoon.
The Red Line and the buses
The Red Line runs from Centrepoint through Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall and Business Bay to the west-coast stations. The Dubai Mall stop is R25. The Green Line meets it at Union and BurJuman, which makes the two lines easy to combine for a longer day out across the city.
Bus route DXB1 runs from Al Hamra bus station to Dubai Mall, and RTA bus route 27 runs between the Gold Souq and The Dubai Mall. An app-booked Bus-On-Demand service covers short trips within Downtown Dubai.
Clinics and nurseries, then the mosque
Mediclinic Dubai Mall and the Excellency Centre are among the clinics near the boulevard. Emirates Hospital sits in neighbouring Business Bay, just beyond Downtown's edge.
Pinocchio Nursery and Hummingbird Nursery also operate branches in Downtown Dubai, which matters if a family stay includes a child under five.
Sheikha Abdullah Salem Mosque and Al Ghafoor Mosque serve Downtown Dubai, and The Dubai Mall has prayer rooms inside.
Dinner by the water
Souk Al Bahar's restaurants face the Dubai Fountain, and several cafes inside The Dubai Mall look onto the fountain as well. Leila serves Lebanese food from Clarens Tower 2 on the Boulevard, and Al Hallab Bab El Bahr serves coastal Lebanese food at 29 Boulevard. Gal, a Turkish restaurant, trades at ground level of Address Downtown. Turkish food is easy to find.
A drive to the sand
Mercato Beach is quieter. Jumeirah Public Beach is one of the city's best-known spots, both within a 20-minute drive of Downtown. The Dubai Fountain Lake Ride takes visitors across Burj Lake in a traditional abra boat during fountain shows.
Dubai Mall on a weekday
About six million people visit Dubai Mall each month, and it holds more than 800 fashion brands. A weekday morning is the quiet way in. Dubai Ice Rink inside the mall is an Olympic-sized skating rink.
Business Bay and the street that changed its name
Business Bay is next door, and its main retail centre is Bay Avenue inside Executive Towers, while Downtown's is The Dubai Mall, and that difference decides which neighbour suits a stay with shopping on the list.
Fashion Avenue opened in March 2018 as an extension of The Dubai Mall with more than 150 fashion brands. The main avenue was called Emaar Boulevard until December 2012, when it was renamed Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard.
Sharks and bikes on a long boulevard
The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in The Dubai Mall holds over 300 species. Bike rental stations in Downtown Dubai offer pedal-assisted bikes. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, the 3.5 km street through Downtown, is where they ride. Elite Downtown Residence 1 and Act One Act Two are two other Downtown guides to read alongside this one, and The Address Residences Dubai Opera is a third.
If you own here
Royale Stays manages homes for owners from a management fee of 15%, covering furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in, guest communication and maintenance. Owners weighing the whole district can start with our Downtown Dubai ownership page. Every holiday home needs a permit from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism before the first booking. Owners or managers register the unit on the Holiday Homes System first.
Sources
Sources: betterhomes, Property Finder blog, Bayut area guide, Bayut, Roads and Transport Authority, Wikipedia, Gulf News and Savills, Visit Dubai, Emaar blog, Property Finder, dubizzle blog, Gulf News, Propsearch.
Questions