Sapphire Residence, Dubai Silicon Oasis
Sapphire Residence was developed by Deyaar Development PJSC and rises nine storeys in Dubai Silicon Oasis. It holds 90 homes in total, and they are one-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. That is a small building with two very different sizes. It fits a solo traveller and a family arriving together. The guide starts with who the block suits, then a day inside it, the two home types, the road in and the streets nearby.
Developer
Deyaar Development
Storeys
9
Units
90
Unit types
1 and 3-bedroom apartments
Area
Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai
Who a nine-floor block suits
Nine floors and 90 homes keep the lobby quiet. The lifts in a nine-storey block are short. Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) has a mall, a hospital and a lake path inside one authority-run community, so a stay here suits you if you want to settle in, with a car for trips out. The community is built as a 15-minute city, with homes, shops and offices close together, so most daily errands stay inside it. Plan to see the city every day, and a district with a metro station may suit you better.
A university visit is easy to base here, because Academic City sits next door and rents are affordable. A reception desk for residents and maintenance services in the building make a long stay, such as a term of study or a relocation, easier to run.
From the gym to the steam room
A day in Sapphire Residence runs in time order. The gym comes first, while the morning is cool. The swimming pool takes the middle of the day. The landscaped gardens are the place to sit once the sun drops.
Evenings have more to offer than you might expect from a nine-storey block, and none of it needs a taxi. The barbecue area suits a shared meal. The residents' lounge gives a small group somewhere to gather. The sauna and the steam room close the night.
Children get a play area inside the grounds. The landscaped gardens add outdoor space that is not a car park. A family can keep a young child busy for an afternoon without leaving the grounds.
One bedroom or three
The homes here are one-bedroom and three-bedroom. No two-bedroom sits in between. A one-bedroom suits a solo traveller or a couple on a long stay. A three-bedroom suits a family of five. Two couples can share it too. Elsewhere in DSO, apartments run from studios to three-bedroom units, so if you want a two-bedroom, a neighbour may be the better answer. Mas Tower and Silicon Heights II are two other Dubai Silicon Oasis buildings with their own guides.
Someone working from the apartment has a few reasons to like a building this size. The residents' lounge or function room is a place to take a call away from the bedroom, and the reception desk handles deliveries and callers. Maintenance services are in the building if the air conditioning misbehaves on a hot day. Nine floors also means a short wait for the lift.
Parking for residents is part of the building, which matters in a district where most people drive. Many DSO buildings give residents reserved parking, and public parking is usually paid. Security and CCTV cover the premises. A car left overnight is not unwatched.
The road in
Dubai International (DXB) is the airport you land at. Taxis, ride-hailing and private cars are the convenient ways in and out of DSO, given the limited direct metro coverage. A taxi from arrivals to the door in one leg is the simplest start.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) and Dubai Al Ain Road (E66) run beside the community, with Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street (D54) as a further route. Traffic builds up at the main entrances and exits in the morning and evening peaks.
RTA route X25 links Al Karama Bus Station with DSO, and the community has more than 20 bus stops spread through its streets. For the final leg, a short taxi hop is easier than waiting.
There is no metro station in DSO today. Buses 320 and 365 run to Centrepoint on the Red Line, and Rashidiya on the Red Line is the second metro option, paired with bus 365 for the onward ride.
Visitors and trips out
Costa Coffee and Starbucks operate in DSO's shopping centres, with a Starbucks at Souq Extra. Souq Extra also has KFC and Krispy Kreme among its food outlets.
Relatives visiting from abroad have options nearby. Radisson Red, inside Dubai Digital Park, is a place for visiting family to stay, and Radisson Blu Hotel Apartments is a four-star serviced residence. Dubai Safari Park, IMG Worlds of Adventure and Global Village are the attractions people combine with a DSO stay, and a car makes all three easy.
Lake path and North Park
DSO Lake Ecological Park, on 57 Street, is open 24 hours and has a lake with paved paths for walking and jogging. DSO North Park, by IT Plaza, has play areas, a football court and a running track.
If the building's own gym is not enough, Nitro Gym is in Apricot Towers, and Gym Nation is on the top floor of Souq Extra Mall.
Casual dining in DSO covers Indian and Italian food, plus restaurants and bars in the hotels. Foodings Restaurant is in Emirates Tower Residence 1, and Chili Ways is in the Silicon Central food court.
How DSO began
Dubai Silicon Oasis was announced in 2003. It formally opened in 2004. In 2005 it became an independent authority, and the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority took over the land.
Clinics, classrooms and a hospital next door
Symbiosis Medical Centre in Cedre Village covers family medicine and dentistry. Fakeeh University Hospital, open 24 hours, serves DSO from neighbouring Academic City.
GEMS Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis teaches from Nursery to Year 13 and offers British and IB pathways. Emirates British Nursery follows the EYFS curriculum.
Shopping within the community
Silicon Central Mall has more than 150 stores, with Lulu Hypermarket and Brands For Less as anchor tenants. Fabyland and Total Ninja, two indoor family attractions, sit inside it, which gives a hot afternoon an answer.
Spinneys and Carrefour Market serve the community. A Carrefour Market with an in-store bakery and a butcher is in Binghatti Terraces, and Silicon Central Mall holds a Lulu hypermarket for a full grocery shop. Al Maya Supermarket is in Silicon Gates 1 for smaller daily buys.
What to weigh
It suits you less if you want calm and a metro on the doorstep. DSO has no metro line, it is a lively district, and construction is still under way in places, which brings noise and dust.
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. A building or owners' association no-objection certificate may be needed on top of the DET permit, and many buildings run a registration process for visitors. Our overview of how we run a Dubai apartment day to day sets the ownership side out.
Sources
Sources: betterhomes, Bayut, Property Finder blog, RTA news, Bayut area guide, Property Finder area insights, Property Finder, GEMS Education school page, Wikipedia, Houst.
Questions