Paloma Tower, Dubai Marina
Paloma Tower is a 39-storey residential tower in Dubai Marina, and it suits the traveller who plans to stay for weeks and wants a routine more than a checklist. A reception desk serves residents and the building has security with CCTV cover, while maintenance services are provided on site. Those things matter more on day twenty than on day two. Dubai Marina has a deep supply of apartments of different sizes, so the useful question is which tower gives a long stay its shape. This one answers with a full set of facilities under one roof.
Storeys
39
On this page
- Landing and the first shop
- Morning laps, afternoon courts
- The wind-down floor
- Boats, walks and the beach
- A week when the visitors arrive
- Evenings on the water
- Moving around without a car
- Families and school-age visitors
- Care and routine errands
- What a month can wear thin
- Paloma Tower or JBR
- Choosing another tower
- If you own here
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
Landing and the first shop
Dubai International (DXB) is the airport you arrive through. Taxis are widely available in Dubai Marina. Uber and Careem run there too, so the trip to the tower can be one leg with luggage and no changes. If you hire a car, parking for residents comes with the building, which settles where the car sleeps for the month.
Cooking at home is the first habit a long stay builds, and the Marina supports it. Waitrose is inside Dubai Marina Mall. Spinneys sits among the other grocery options in the area, with West Zone and Al Maya further out. Grocery stores here run from large supermarkets to small neighbourhood shops, so you can do one big shop and then top up on foot between dinners. Supermarkets and pharmacies cluster toward the east end of the Marina, with the banks. A pharmacy also sits within the building or its podium, so a forgotten headache tablet needs no outing.
Morning laps, afternoon courts
Laps in the pool, a session in the gym, a game of squash or a run on the track can each fill a morning without leaving the block. Swim before breakfast one day and run the track the next, then book the squash court for an afternoon when the heat sits on the Marina.
A games room adds an indoor option for slow evenings. Beyond the tower, Dubai Marina has F45 and The Marina Gym, with Wellfit and Balans Studio too, which suits you if you like to rotate classes through a longer stay. Gyms in the district offer personal training and group classes, with 24-hour access, and you can run or cycle along the promenade, or do yoga there.
The wind-down floor
After exercise the tower has a sauna and a steam room, with a jacuzzi beside them. Together they make a slower end to the day. Over a month that kind of ritual does more for a stay than another outing does, because it is the part you will repeat.
A barbecue area gives you an outdoor table for a weekend meal with friends, and a play area for children keeps a family stay workable when the weather turns and everyone wants to stay near the lifts.
Boats, walks and the beach
The Marina Walk has more than 600 boats and yachts moored along it, and the promenade runs for about seven kilometres. Much of the daily movement here happens on foot, with people strolling or cycling between home and the mall, and cafes on the way. Dubai Marina has few parks, so the promenade takes the place of green space.
The beach can be reached by tram or on foot. Beach clubs such as Zero Gravity and Barasti operate along the Marina and JBR waterfront. JBR Beach is the closest beach to the Marina. Between the beach and the clubs you can spend a weekend by the sea and still be home by dinner.
A week when the visitors arrive
Visitors in the second or third week want something to do. Marina Beach and AquaFun Dubai Water Park are in JBR. Adventure Island is beside them in JBR. Madame Tussauds Dubai and Bluewaters are the next stops across the water, with Ain Dubai beside them. A pedestrian bridge links Bluewaters Island to JBR, so you can walk over. Madame Tussauds Dubai opened there in September 2021.
Evenings on the water
Pier 7 stacks seven restaurants across seven floors at the water's edge on the marina, which is the easy answer when a group cannot agree on one cuisine. District 8 serves modern international cuisine, while Fresh Fish Restaurant and Bob's Fish and Chips cover seafood. Buddha-Bar and the Address hotel offer fine dining with marina views, which makes a good choice for a night you want to mark.
Cafes line the promenade along Marina Walk. The Scene and The Coffee Club serve breakfast near Dubai Marina Mall and Marina Walk. If you work from a laptop for an hour before lunch, a promenade cafe is an easy change of scene.
Moving around without a car
Sobha Realty and DMCC are the two Red Line stations on the edge of Dubai Marina. Dubai Tram has 11 stations. It serves the Marina and JBR, and it meets the metro at DMCC. A marine water taxi route links Marina Mall with Marina Walk, which is a pleasant way to cross the water on a slow afternoon.
Families and school-age visitors
No schools sit inside Dubai Marina. The school run is a 10 to 20 minute drive each way. Nurseries serve young children, and larger schools sit a short distance outside the district. The Marina has small parks and playgrounds alongside the promenade, which families use, and the play area in the tower covers the hours in between. For a month with children who are out of school, that mix is easier than it sounds.
Care and routine errands
A long stay brings small health needs. Medcare Medical Centre and Emirates Hospitals Clinic both operate inside Dubai Marina. Saudi German Hospital in Al Barsha is the nearby hospital named for emergencies. With the pharmacy in the building, you handle the minor things at home and keep the clinics for the rest.
What a month can wear thin
It suits you less if you want silence. Peak-hour traffic and limited public parking are the main costs of Dubai Marina, along with noise near The Walk and The Beach and few entry and exit points. Noise levels in busy parts of the Marina vary between buildings, depending on floor level and orientation.
Marina roads fill up on weekends and public holidays. They fill again during school hours, so those are the busiest times for drivers. Public parking is limited, and paid public spaces fill quickly. The tram earns more of its keep here than a car does.
Paloma Tower or JBR
JBR has 40 towers, of which 35 are residential and 5 are hotels, set directly on the beach, whereas the Marina's towers surround a canal. JBR Beach is the livelier beach. Marina Beach is the quieter of the two.
Choosing another tower
Dubai Marina is built around a man-made canal and has over 200 residential towers, most with waterfront or skyline views. If you want a different tower in the same district, compare facilities at Ocean Heights before you decide, then look at Skyview Tower for another view of the Marina. Our guide to Dubai Marina for owners sets the district out in more detail.
If you own here
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. A tenant applying for a Dubai holiday home permit needs a no objection certificate from the landlord, while owners can apply directly.
Sources
Sources: Bayut area guide, Engel and Voelkers area guide, ServiceMarket blog, The National, What's On, Bayut, betterhomes, Property Finder, Wikipedia, Knight Frank area guide, Khaleej Times, Property Finder blog, Gulf Business, Propsearch.
Questions