Roma by Giovanni Boutique Suites
Roma by Giovanni Boutique Suites rises 21 storeys and holds 400 homes in total. The building was developed by Arthur & Hardman Real Estate Development. Four hundred homes make it a big address by Sports City standards, with the lifts and the neighbours that come with a tower of this size.
The homes are studios and two-bedroom apartments, and nothing sits between the two, which keeps the choice simple. A studio suits a solo traveller or a couple. A two-bedroom suits a family or two friends sharing the bill. A reception desk for residents handles arrivals. Security and CCTV cover the building, so a late landing ends at a staffed door. It suits you less if you want a one-bedroom for a couple who need a separate living room.
Developer
Arthur & Hardman Real Estate Development
Storeys
21
Location
Al Hebiah Fourth, Dubai Sports City
From the steam room to the roof
The day inside starts in the gym and moves to the water. The gym takes the early hours. The swimming pool takes the afternoon. A steam room and a jacuzzi finish the sequence, a sequence that suits a hot afternoon better than a second walk outside.
A roof or deck area gives you the top of the tower to sit on. A residents' lounge or function room gives a group a second indoor space. Between them they cover the slow hour of the evening, once the steam room has done its work.
Retail units sit on site at Roma. They handle the small errand without a car. Parking is reserved for residents, and maintenance services are provided at the building.
If you are working from the apartment, a studio keeps everything in one room, and the gym downstairs gives the day a hard edge. The residents' lounge or function room gives you a second place to open a laptop when the studio feels small. Neither replaces a co-working desk in Dubai. Both cost nothing in a taxi fare, and both are a lift ride away.
New projects and construction activity can cause temporary noise and disruption in parts of the district, and the more established sections suit anyone who is bothered by it. Quiet and affordable, known for sports facilities and green spaces, the community is also car-dependent with limited public transport. Bermuda Views and Golf Tower are two other towers here with guides on this site, and either gives you a comparison point if Roma does not fit your dates.
Studio or two-bedroom for a longer stay
For a week, a studio is enough. For a month, the two-bedroom makes sense, because a second room turns one flat into a place where two people can work and cook without trading places. On a long stay the steam room and the maintenance team, both on site, are the two features that change the routine most.
The community mixes apartment towers with gated villas, with sport venues and a golf course inside it. A Dubailand location gives a quieter residential environment than central Dubai neighbourhoods, and the streets are described as quiet and peaceful, with landscaped walkways, walking trails and cycling paths.
The first evening is simple to plan. Reception takes the keys, retail units on site handle the first bag of essentials, and the parking bay is waiting if you hired a car. By the second morning you have a routine and have not yet needed to leave the tower, which is the pace a building with a gym, a pool, a steam room and a shop on site is set up for.
Arriving, and the roads out
A taxi from Dubai International (DXB) reaches the community in one leg. Dubai Sports City is a freehold community in the Dubailand district, close to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) and Al Khail Road (E44).
Al Khail Road (E44) and Hessa Street (D61) are the two main roads used for trips across Dubai. Morning congestion is the thing to plan around. The community has only two entry and exit routes.
There is no metro station here, so you reach the Red Line by road, with Dubai Internet City the nearest station named for the area. Bus stops line Golf Course Drive and other main roads, and routes F34 and F38 serve the community, as does J02. It suits you less if you plan to travel without a car, a taxi app or patience for buses.
Sports City, before it was a district
The district was planned around sports venues and academies as well as homes, with building starting in 2004. The Els Club golf course was the first facility completed and opened in January 2008. The cricket stadium followed a year later.
Three entrepreneurs backed the project: Abdul Rahim Al Zarouni, Abdul Rahman Bukhatir and Abdul Rahman Falaknaz. Dubai Sports City is the owner and operator of the master development, and Triplanet Range Group built the ten-tower Elite Sports Residence inside it.
The stadium next door
Dubai International Cricket Stadium seats 25,000 and lights the ground with floodlights mounted around its round roof. The ICC Academy has two full-sized grounds. The International Cricket Council has its headquarters in the area, and Rugby Park is a rugby stadium with 5,000 seats. Its neighbour, ISD Dubai Sports City, has football, athletics, tennis, padel and table tennis venues.
If the building gym is not enough, Fit Republik is a large indoor gym in Dubai Sports City, and the Sports Village has an Olympic running track. Fitness First is listed as a well-equipped gym with personal training and group classes.
Parks, classrooms and a clinic
Dwight School Dubai teaches the IB curriculum from Pre-KG to Grade 12. Victory Heights Primary School follows the UK curriculum up to Year 6. The Wonder Years Nursery teaches the British Early Years Foundation Stage to children aged 6 months to 4 years.
Aster Clinic and Saudi German Clinic are the two medical facilities named inside the district. NMC Specialty Hospital is the nearest hospital named for the area.
Sports City Mosque and Al Abrar Mosque serve the Victory Heights area.
Where the shopping and dinner are
Big Value and Almaya are local supermarkets in and around the district, with Grandiose, Carrefour and Spinneys branches close by.
The district has no mall of its own. The closest malls are City Centre Me'aisem in Dubai Production City and First Avenue Mall in Motor City, and Ribbon Mall is the third name people use.
The Kebab Shop and Poke Poke are restaurants named for the district, with Copper Kettle and Pulcinella listed too. 261 Bar and Restaurant overlooks the Els Club course, with indoor seating and a terrace where pets are welcome, and the Big Easy Bar & Grill is at the same club.
If you own here
A tower of 400 homes is a building with plenty of neighbours to learn from. Royale Stays manages homes for owners from a management fee of 15%, covering furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in, guest communication and maintenance. Our guide to Dubai Sports City for owners sets out the permit steps. For the full range of the service, read what Royale Stays handles on an owner's behalf.
Sources
Sources: Bayut, Property Finder, Wikipedia, Dubai Sports City, Bhomes, Gulf News, betterhomes, The Els Club Dubai.
Questions