Riah Towers, Culture Village
Creek metro station is nine minutes from Riah Towers on foot, and three minutes by car. If you want to reach the rest of Dubai by train, the first step is a short walk.
Riah Towers is a 19-storey residential building in Culture Village, also called Jaddaf Waterfront, built by Radiant Star and Arra. Below is a week there, and what it means if you own one of the flats.
- Developer: Radiant Star and Arra Ltd
- Storeys: 19
- Completed: December 2016
- Mix: two-bedroom apartments in the recent sales
- Metro: 9 minutes on foot
- Dubai International: 11.1 km by road, about 13 minutes in free-flowing traffic
Developer
Radiant Star and Arra Ltd
Units
160
Completed
December 2016
Location
Culture Village, Al Jaddaf
On this page
- The building and its flats
- Pool, gyms and steam
- Culture Village
- Arriving from Dubai International
- Metro, buses and boats
- The first errand
- Dinner
- By road
- A free afternoon
- A morning by the creek
- The weekend
- Shopping and the cinema
- Families and schools
- What is on in the city
- Hotels and the district
- A week at Riah Towers
- What the register shows
- What owners get from us
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
The building and its flats
Riah Towers is a freehold high-rise near Dubai Creek with 154 residential units, from studios to three-bedroom apartments and penthouses. The balconies look over the creek, and the one-bedroom flats have a spacious balcony off the bedroom, which is where most evenings end.
A studio has a large living hall and a kitchen with an oven and an electric cooker. You can cook a proper dinner here. The three-bedroom units are chiller-free and have built-in wardrobes, which keeps the monthly bills simple on a long stay.
That range of sizes gives the building a mixed crowd. A solo traveller takes a studio, and a family of five has room in the bigger flats, while a couple on a work trip can pick a one-bedroom with the balcony.
Pool, gyms and steam
There is a swimming pool, and the entrance floor has separate, fully equipped gyms for men and women. Steam and sauna facilities are separate too, and retail outlets sit in the building.
Parking is reserved for residents. High-speed lifts serve the floors, guards stand watch around the clock, and CCTV and maintenance staff cover the rest. WizKidz, a nursery, is inside Riah Tower, so the youngest children do not have far to go.
Culture Village
Culture Village, also known as Jaddaf Village, is a waterfront community with towers that borrow from Emirati and Islamic architecture. Palazzo Versace, Dubai Wharf and D1 Tower are among its developments.
Walk the cobblestones and you meet traditional wind towers, sculptures, creek-side souks and cafes. An amphitheatre stages live performances and cultural festivals, and a dockyard shows traditional dhow building.
The name Al Jaddaf means the rower. It points back to the dhow builders and the shipyard on the creek, and you can still see that heritage from the walkway, where the dockyard keeps the old craft of boat building alive in front of visitors.
Arriving from Dubai International
The drive from Dubai International is 11.1 kilometres, around 13 minutes when the road is clear. Real traffic adds to that, and rush hour adds more. It is a short ride after a long flight. A taxi at the kerb is the simple answer.
Metro, buses and boats
Al Jadaf and Creek are consecutive stations on the Green Line. On foot, Creek is nine minutes away and Al Jadaf is ten.
The Al Jaddaf marine station runs abras to Dubai Festival City and Creek Harbour, and the ferry stop is fourteen minutes away on foot. Bus C04 runs to Wafi Mall and the Gold Souk, which makes a cheap day out.
The first errand
Carryfood is fourteen minutes away on foot, and Lulu Hypermarket is twenty. W Mart is closer to hand, and a new West Zone Supermarket has opened in Lilac Residence.
A clinic is fifteen minutes away on foot. Latifa Hospital and the Dubai Healthcare City hospitals sit further out and are easy to reach by car.
Dinner
Four places to eat fall within 500 metres, among them Levante and Amalfi. Teible at the Jameel Arts Centre is a few streets off, and Arabesque Jaddaf is another choice for a quiet table.
After dinner, the walkway is a good place to wander, with the towers across the creek lit up behind the water. It is a short stroll home, so nobody hurries.
By road
Sheikh Rashid Road, Oud Metha Road, Al Khail Road and the Dubai-Al Ain Road (E66) circle Al Jaddaf, and a link leads onto the Business Bay Extension. From the front door you can reach most of the city by taxi in a single ride, and the roads are busy only at peak hours.
A free afternoon
A small park is eight minutes away on foot, and the Jameel Arts Centre is nine. Jaddaf Waterfront Park and Playground sits near a sculpture park and the Jaddaf Waterfront Marina.
The marina is nine minutes away on foot, and a one-day tour office sits only seven. Dubai Municipality Sports Club is nineteen minutes away for anyone who wants a court or a pitch. Beyond the village, Creek Park, with the Dubai Dolphinarium, and Zabeel Park are a ride away, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library stands on the creek. Zabeel Stadium and the Dubai Police Officers' Club Stadium sit beside Al Jaddaf for anyone who has come for a match.
A morning by the creek
Culture Village is quiet in the morning. An early riser can walk to the park and the marina before the heat builds. It makes a gentle first scene for the day, with coffee on the way back.
The weekend
A family can fill a Saturday morning on foot at the playground and the sculpture park. In the afternoon, the Jameel Arts Centre is an easy second stop, and the fireworks spot near Festival City gives a free show on the right nights.
Shopping and the cinema
Wafi City has a Carrefour and a cinema, and Dubai Festival City Mall is the other option. Al Jaddaf has no large mall of its own. By car, the mall at Festival City is six minutes away.
On foot, the cinemas at VOX are twenty-one minutes. That is a long walk in the summer heat. Most people drive or take a taxi.
Families and schools
Swiss International School and Dubai English Speaking School are among the schools around Al Jaddaf. The nearest schools are a long walk, so most families go by car. New Indian Model School and Cambridge International School are each about twenty-six minutes on foot.
What is on in the city
Dubai's year runs to a clear calendar. Winter belongs to the shopping festival, spring to Ramadan and Eid, midsummer to Summer Surprises, and November to fitness.
If you arrive this autumn, the Dubai Fitness Challenge is running through November, with classes and events across the city. Dubai Ride closes a stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road to traffic for a family route past Dubai Mall, Dubai Opera and Burj Khalifa, and riders pre-register. Dubai Run follows on 22 November, a free morning run on the same road.
National Day arrives at the start of December with fireworks and family activities, and the Dubai Shopping Festival opens a few days later.
Hotels and the district
Marriott Executive Apartments and the Al Jaddaf Rotana Suite Hotel give the district a hotel side, and Palazzo Versace Dubai adds a grander name.
There are few villas, and nightlife is limited.
Our reading: a Green Line station, creekside walks and the Healthcare City hospitals close by suit you if you want a quieter base than Downtown.
A week at Riah Towers
On Monday you land at Dubai International and take a taxi to the tower. On Tuesday you walk to Creek station, and on Wednesday you stroll to the Jameel Arts Centre.
At the weekend you take the abra across the creek, then walk back along the water for dinner. Nothing on that list needs a car. Not one item.
What the register shows
The register labels all of these as sales. Read the table as a snapshot of a handful of deals, not as a price list.
| Unit type | Sales | Dates | Price (AED) | Size (sq m) | AED per sq m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-bedroom | 2 | 24 Jun 2026 to 4 Sep 2026 | 1,510,000 to 2,100,000 | 131.82 to 152.91 | 12,594 |
AED per sq m is the median where a row has more than one sale.
What owners get from us
If you own here, we look after the whole stay. Royale Stays handles furnishing and photography. We set the pricing and run check-in. We answer guest messages and handle maintenance. Our management fee is from 15% of booking revenue.
Letting a flat here starts with the Department of Economy and Tourism holiday-home permit in your name, which we file.
Sources
Sources: Bayut, Engel & Voelkers Dubai, Roads and Transport Authority, dubizzle Property blog, Property Finder, Dubai Media Office, The National, Visit Dubai.
Questions