Al Badia Hillside Village

TL;DR: Al Badia Hillside Village is a boutique Mediterranean-inspired residential community by Al Futtaim Real Estate within Dubai Festival City. Featuring 7 completed condos with approximately 240 apartments across 145+ unique floor plans (studios to 3BR duplexes, 560–4,862 sqft), it offers freehold ownership just 2 km from Dubai International Airport. Average DLD sale price: AED 2.21M. Rental yields up to 7.15%.

Introduction to Al Badia Hillside Village

Al Badia Hillside Village is one of Dubai's most architecturally distinctive residential communities — a boutique enclave designed by world-renowned French architect Xavier Bohl (Atelier Xavier Bohl) and developed by Al Futtaim Real Estate Group within the massive 1,600-acre Dubai Festival City (DFC) master development on the northeast bank of Dubai Creek. Rising from a purpose-built, 25-meter-high terraced hillside, this community was conceived to evoke the charm and intimate character of Mediterranean hillside villages while integrating centuries-old Arabian and Andalusian design traditions, creating a living environment that is genuinely unique within Dubai's property landscape.

The community's Phase 1 comprises seven completed residential condominiums (Al Badia Condo 1 through Condo 7), each approximately 7 to 10 stories, housing roughly 240 apartments. What makes Al Badia Hillside Village truly exceptional is its commitment to architectural individuality: over 145 unique floor plans ensure that virtually no two apartments are identical, a design philosophy that sets it apart from the standardized tower developments that characterize much of Dubai's residential stock. All properties are freehold and open to all nationalities, situated within a designated investment zone that offers foreign buyers absolute ownership rights.

Location Within Dubai Festival City

Dubai Festival City is a self-contained "city-within-a-city" developed by Al Futtaim Group on a 1,600-acre waterfront site along 3.3 kilometers of Dubai Creek frontage. The master development encompasses over 19,000 residential units, four international five-star hotels (InterContinental Dubai Festival City, InterContinental Residence Suites, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn), the Dubai Festival City Mall (2.4 million square feet, 400+ stores), Festival Tower office complex, marina facilities, and the Al Badia Golf Club.

Al Badia Hillside Village's position within DFC provides an extraordinary advantage: proximity to Dubai International Airport (DXB) at just 2 kilometers — approximately 5 minutes by car — making it one of the closest residential communities to the airport in all of Dubai. Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road (E44) are accessible within 5 minutes, and the Dubai Mall / Downtown Dubai area is approximately 16 minutes away. The Creek Metro Station and Al Jadaf Metro Station (both on the Green Line) are approximately 10 minutes from the community, and multiple RTA bus routes serve the DFC area via Gateway Avenue stops.

Architecture and Design: Mediterranean Meets Arabian Heritage

Xavier Bohl's winning design — selected from a competition among five international architectural firms and judged as the most complete and rigorous submission — draws primary inspiration from the quaint hillside villages of the French and Italian Riviera, reinterpreted through the lens of Arabian and Andalusian architectural heritage. The result is a community unlike any other in the UAE.

Cobbled streets wind through the development, connecting the seven low-rise condominiums that step up the 25-meter man-made hillside in a terraced formation. The architectural language incorporates Arabesque facade treatments, covered loggias (a traditional Arabic design feature providing shaded outdoor living space), enclosed courtyards unique to each apartment, and expansive open terraces accessible through French doors. Ground-floor units enjoy private gardens, while upper-floor residences command panoramic views across Dubai Creek, the Al Badia Golf Course, and the DFC skyline.

Interior finishes are executed to a premium standard, with cream and warm-toned palettes, crystal chandeliers in select premium units, en-suite bedrooms with dressing rooms, fully fitted kitchens with high-quality cabinetry and fixtures, built-in wardrobes, maid's rooms in larger configurations, and laundry facilities. Central air conditioning is supplied through district cooling, with several units marketed as "chiller free" (cooling costs bundled into the service charge).

Unit Types, Sizes, and Floor Plans

Al Badia Hillside Village's 145+ unique floor plans span a comprehensive range of configurations designed to maximize each unit's relationship with the terraced hillside, courtyards, and surrounding views.

Studios range from 560 to 695 square feet, offering efficient layouts with kitchen, bathroom, and private balcony or terrace — ideal for young professionals or investors seeking compact units in a premium location.

1-Bedroom Apartments span an unusually wide range of 884 to 1,771 square feet, reflecting the diversity of floor plans. Layouts feature open-plan living and dining areas, fitted kitchens, master bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and private balconies or terraces.

2-Bedroom Apartments measure 1,684 to 2,258 square feet and include dual-aspect living areas, two bedrooms (both with en-suite options in larger units), fitted kitchens, and generous terrace or courtyard access.

3-Bedroom Apartments offer 2,373 to 4,862 square feet of living space, accommodating families requiring substantial room. These units typically include maid's rooms, laundry facilities, multiple bathrooms, and expansive outdoor terraces.

3-Bedroom Duplexes — a distinctive offering within the community — range from 3,442 to 3,554 square feet, providing split-level living across two floors with internal staircases, enhancing the villa-like feeling within a condominium format.

Market Pricing and Investment Performance

Al Badia Hillside Village maintains consistent demand in both the sale and rental markets, supported by its freehold status, architectural distinctiveness, and proximity to DFC Mall and the airport.

The average DLD transaction price over the past 12 months is AED 2,210,382, with an average asking price of AED 2,025,083 over the past six months. Sale prices range from AED 1,259,999 to AED 4,200,000 across all unit types. One-bedroom apartments start from approximately AED 1,499,800, two-bedroom units from approximately AED 2,192,000, and three-bedroom units from approximately AED 2,800,000. The price per square foot ranges from AED 924 to approximately AED 1,412, and the market has recorded a 6% price appreciation over the past six months with 15 DLD-registered transactions over the past 12 months.

Rental rates are equally compelling. One-bedroom apartments achieve AED 80,000 to AED 100,000 per year, two-bedrooms AED 120,000 to AED 150,000, and three-bedrooms AED 170,000 to AED 200,000, with the overall community rental range spanning AED 90,000 to AED 265,000 per annum and an average of AED 161,241. Gross rental yields reach up to 7.15%, with one-bedroom units delivering 4.91% to 5.68%, two-bedrooms 5.31%, and three-bedrooms 5.82%.

Al Areesh Club and Community Amenities

Residents of Al Badia Hillside Village enjoy exclusive access to the Al Areesh Club — the community's private recreation and lifestyle hub within Dubai Festival City. The club provides a state-of-the-art fitness gymnasium, a multi-purpose aerobics studio with yoga classes, an outdoor swimming pool with swimming lessons for children and adults, all-weather tennis courts (with coaching programs for adults and children), football and squash courts, and a sauna.

Beyond fitness, the Al Areesh Club houses a poolside restaurant with seasonal outdoor barbecue, a beauty salon, a pharmacy, a dental clinic, and a Spinneys supermarket with a dedicated Food Hall featuring an artisan bakery, butchery, specialty coffee, and fresh deli counter. Family programming includes children's birthday party facilities and summer and winter kids' camps.

Building-level amenities across all seven condos include 24-hour security with CCTV surveillance, high-speed elevators, covered basement parking (one space per unit with additional visitor parking), central air conditioning via district cooling, and intercom systems. The community's cat-friendly pet policy permits feline companions, though dogs are not permitted per DFC community regulations.

Dubai Festival City Mall and IMAGINE Show

Residents are within walking distance of Dubai Festival City Mall, one of Dubai's largest retail destinations at approximately 2.4 million square feet of gross leasable area. The mall houses over 400 stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues, anchored by IKEA (the Middle East's largest), Carrefour hypermarket, LuLu hypermarket, Marks & Spencer, Ace Hardware, and VOX Cinemas with 18 screens. The mall attracts 23 million visitors annually and maintains a 95% occupancy rate. Hard Rock Cafe — described as the Middle East's only location — operates within DFC, and the recently opened Korea 360 (April 2025) provides a permanent Hallyu culture hub.

The jewel of DFC's entertainment offering is the IMAGINE show — a nightly multimedia spectacular that holds two Guinness World Records for the largest water screen projection and the largest permanent projection mapping surface. The show is projected across a 4,857-square-meter surface (equivalent to 36 stories) on the InterContinental Hotel facade — 4.5 times larger than the world's largest IMAX screen. The production deploys 60 projectors producing 1.4 million lumens, over 70 searchlights, and a custom-built 2-kilometer marine-grade fountain structure with a hydraulic lifting system, incorporating fire, water screens, and pyrotechnics. All shows are free for visitors and visible from the Festival Bay waterfront promenade.

Al Badia Golf Club

The original Al Badia Golf Club, designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones II firm, featured an 18-hole, par-72 championship course stretching 5,398 to 7,303 yards with an Arabian oasis theme — 12 of its 18 holes incorporated water features including interconnected lakes, streams, and waterfalls. While the original 18-hole course ceased public play in February 2017, a new reversible 8-hole short course by Robert Trent Jones II opened in early 2025 on an 11-acre parcel near the original course, featuring a 30,000-square-foot Himalayas-style putting green. The maintained grounds continue to serve as a significant visual amenity for Al Badia Hillside Village's elevated apartments, with "golf course views" remaining a premium selling feature.

Schools and Education Within DFC

Dubai Festival City hosts two internationally accredited schools directly within the master community. Universal American School (UAS) is an IB World School offering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, and Diploma Programme alongside a US Diploma option. Accredited by MSA (Middle States Association) and CIS (Council of International Schools), UAS serves approximately 1,250 to 1,500 students across 70+ nationalities with annual fees ranging from AED 37,330 to AED 81,021.

Deira International School (DIS) holds the KHDA's highest "Outstanding" rating across all six key performance indicators and offers the British National Curriculum combined with the IB Diploma Programme and IB Career Programme. Accredited by COBIS, BSO, and the IBO, the school serves over 1,700 students from 80+ nationalities with consistent IB pass rates of 98% to 100%. Additional schools within short driving distance include Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud (approximately 1.4 km), Cambridge International School, and GEMS Modern Academy.

Service Charges

Service charges across Al Badia Hillside Village range from AED 18.82 per square foot per year (Condo 7) to AED 22.42 per square foot per year (Condo 1). These RERA-regulated charges cover utilities (district cooling, water, common area electricity at approximately AED 11.95/sqft), services (cleaning, security, landscaping at AED 4.16/sqft), maintenance (AED 2.13/sqft), master community fees (AED 1.87/sqft), management (AED 0.89/sqft), insurance (AED 0.82/sqft), and a reserved sinking fund (AED 0.60/sqft). District cooling is included in the service charge — a notable advantage that eliminates a significant separate expense faced by residents in many other Dubai communities.

About Al Futtaim Group

Al-Futtaim Group, founded in the 1930s in Dubai, is one of the UAE's largest private, family-owned multinational conglomerates, operating over 200 companies across 30+ countries in sectors spanning automotive, retail, real estate, and financial services. The real estate division, Al-Futtaim Real Estate (AFRE), manages a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of malls, residential communities, commercial developments, and investment assets. Across MENA, the group operates four major malls (Dubai Festival City Mall, Festival Plaza Dubai, Cairo Festival City Mall, and Doha Festival City) totaling 750,000 square meters of gross leasable area at 95% occupancy, attracting 75 million visitors annually. Al Futtaim Contracting, the group's construction arm, has operated for over 50 years across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.

Al Badia Hillside Village represents the group's most architecturally ambitious residential concept — a development where Mediterranean village charm, Arabian design heritage, and Dubai Creek waterfront living converge to create one of the city's most characterful and enduring residential addresses.