Located on a thin strip of land at the far end of Saadiyat Island, the Hidd Al Saadiyat development is Abu Dhabi’s latest luxury beachside community.
Suprisingly for a city built on a collection of islands, few existing housing schemes in the capital are built with beach access.
“At Hidd Al Saadiyat it is all about location,” says Mahmoud Dandashly, commercial director for the private development company Saadiyat Development and Investment Company which is developing the 1.5 million square metres project that will one day be home to 4,000 people.
“Here we have seven kilometres of private beach, so even if you are in a villa not next to the water, you are never more than a few minutes walk from the sea.”
But with the smallest villas starting at Dh7 million and larger homes marketed for around Dh40m, Hidd Al Saadiyat is hardly a place for your average beach bum.
The largest villas, dubbed “beach palaces” by the developer, comprise just over 29,000 sq feet – that’s almost the size of a small school. For this you get a seven-bed mansion with the option to add another two bedrooms if you wish.
Even nosing around a slightly more modest 14,000 sq ft seven-bed “Beach Mansion”, it’s hard not to be awestruck by its sheer size.
Villas come with separate indoor and outdoor kitchens, a driver’s room, a formal majlis big enough to play a game of five-a-side football and a separate family living space.
The master bathroom, with its huge marble hamam-style bath and enormous shower is, again, an impressive size. Looking around the show villas on the first day of marketing, it’s obvious no expense has been spared with the developer. A staff of about 50 were on hand to guide visitors around, including a cohort of kandura-clad men clutching golden coffee pots and cups.
So, I ask Mr Dandashly, where he is going to find nearly 500 millionaires willing to part with their hard-earned cash?
“The local market,” he says quickly. “We’ve already sold around 70 per cent of the villas off plan and we expect there will be a lot of demand for the rest.”
Q&A
What will the finished scheme look like?
The project has been divided into two phases. The first will comprise 453 luxury villas, while the second will be slightly more accessible to your average buyer, comprising 15 low-rise apartment buildings with between 800 and 1,000 apartments. The project will also eventually include three mosques, a school, women’s centre, shops and restaurants, marina, yacht club, five-star resort and a collection of parks and beaches.
How many of these villas have been built?
Construction of the villas is now 40 per cent complete, according to SDIC, while 78 per cent of the infrastructure in the first phase has been completed. The first phase is scheduled for completion at the end of 2016.
Do the villas in phase one come with a swimming pool?
Yes, that’s a standard in all but the two smallest villa types, where they can be added by owners if they choose.
How many different types of villas are there?
In total there are eight different types of villas in the project, combining different sizes, layouts and designs.
What is SDIC?
Saadiyat Development and Investment Company is a privately owned Abu Dhabi-based development company. Hidd Al Saadiyat is its first project, and it does not disclose its exact ownership or funding.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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How to help
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