Simply Abu Dhabi III

Saadiyat Marina It’s all happening down at Saadiyat Marina where the scene is being set for a commercial hive of activity and investment opportunities aplenty. These are exciting times for the UAE and the Marina is sure to prove a bit hit on many levels. Sea-faring heritage comes face to face with a pulsating business community at the bustling waterfront Marina on Saadiyat Island. With berthing for over 1000 boats, a Royal Yacht Club, boutique hotels and luxury apartments, the Marina is set to make a splash when it opens in stages in 2012. Not long to wait then for our opportunity to be part of this exciting maritime and commercial adventure. Supporting infrastructure surrounding the Saadiyat Marina will include private beach villas, a 128-hectare, or 317-acre, golf club, and opulent hotels and resorts. Bustling shopping complexes, tempting waterfront restaurants, a Maritime Museum and a New York University campus to educate a predicted 2,500 students are also being built around the marina. Located on a spectacular business bay, the Saadiyat Marina District has been designed to become the commercial heart of the island with a dynamic, city lifestyle and unique energy. By day, this ultra-modern Marina will offer visitors chic cafes and charming boutique arcades set among designer apartments and busy commercial office premises. By night, a vivacious social scene comes to the fore with elegant restaurants overlooking the Marina and beautiful boutique hotels offering the chance to relax and indulge. As Lee Tabler, TDIC’s Chief Executive Officer has explained, the Marina is being created to offer something for everyone: “Aimed at attracting tourists and visitors to a place where people from all walks of life can enjoy themselves, the marina projects on Saadiyat Island will offer world-class facilities and a cosmopolitan, waterfront holiday or lifestyle.” Providing valuable networking possibilities between brokers, retailers and third-party service suppliers, the Marina is set to give the economy a huge boost and achieve the TDIC’s goal of increasing tourism to the area. By its very nature, with businesses at the Marina relying on each other to prosper, it is also hoped to give added value to hotels and residential and retail properties nearby as well as entice visitors who appreciate the lifestyle associated with boats and the ownership of yachts. Al Marina, as the area is known, has a vast array of unique office premises from which an impressive portfolio of national and international business will operate. First rate accommodation combined with specialty leisure and entertainment facilities are also expected to draw huge numbers of visitors to the area. In another exhilarating instalment of the A&J diaries, we hope to be amongst the first in the queue and a visit to the hotly anticipated Maritime Museum has to be top of our wish list. Maritime Museum Scheduled to open between 2018 and 2020, the Maritime Museum based in the Saadiyat Marina District will celebrate the maritime legacy of the Arabian Gulf and preserve the unspoiled marine environment. Designed by the Pritzker-prize winning architect Tadao Ando, the virtuoso design of this testament to the Arabian Gulf ’s maritime heritage features a reflective surface merging sea and land – two of the characteristic elements of Abu Dhabi – and has a ship inspired interior with floating decks. With an interest in nautical history and seafaring tales, we can’t wait for the opportunity to visit the museum for ourselves. Saadiyat Lagoons Imagine living in the height of cosmopolitan style. Low rise island homes surrounded by water offer the ultimate laidback boating lifestyle where you are free to relax, drift and dream. When you do awake it will be to the stunning sounds of nature as waters lap at your gardens edge and you appreciate all that is great about the world. A spectacular view lagoon on this secluded area of Al Reem Island accommodated on 600 hectares of land and offering 70 hectares of recreational activities is a place where dreams really will come true. Saadiyat Reserve Providing luxury residential waterside living, the district will comprise 523 hectares of space offering residents and visitors an International Golf Course, Boutique Eco Hotel and Eco Centre. This international tourist destination will offer a beautiful contrast to Saadiyat Beach as it is designed around a nature reserve with flourishing natural wetlands and a tidal championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II nestled within clusters of mangrove trees. The Wetlands will be an eco friendly and themed destination that will also provide a Marine Research Facility where visitors can enjoy a truly unique experience of the region’s ecology. Saadiyat Retreat This private island within an island is where private homes and exclusive boutique resorts lie hidden within a breathtaking natural environment. A secluded eco- heaven, this luxurious resort retreat on Al Reem Island will provide your own personal paradise which has to be experienced to be believed. Saadiyat Island Property and investment opportunities Fancy a totally new laid-back lifestyle or looking for the perfect investment opportunity? It’s all happening on Saadiyat Island. With the focus very much on developing a tourist hotspot with facilities, amenities and local attractions aplenty, there are worse things you could do than invest in a property on ‘The Island of Happiness’. The Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) are directing Saadiyat’s mixed-use development and are working to strict commercial guidelines, selling land to private investors who will then develop their plots in accordance with the master plan, supporting planning regulations and design guidelines to create a new residential and tourism environment. Little gems designed to entice on Saadiyat Island... With so much being promised by the ambitious Saaadiyat Island project it would be impossible for us to encapsulate it all, but there are plenty of gems waiting to be uncovered when you visit this enchanting destination. Alongside the four main landmarks in the cultural district which are set to become the signature for the island – the Louvre, the Guggenheim, the Performing Arts Centre and the Maritime Museum – the Manarat Al Saadiyat is a purpose-built, 15,400 square metre art and exhibition centre designed to showcase Saadiyat’s exciting projects and host art exhibitions from around the world. Located in the Saadiyat Cultural District, Manarat Al Saadiyat will encompass major galleries, sales centre, and a restaurant. It will also feature a dedicated space for touring international art and cultural exhibitions, specifically designed to house works of art. If it’s more rest and relaxation you’re craving, the South Beach is the ideal family destination. In the beautiful waters of the Arabian Gulf this 268 hectare district offers boardwalks with restaurants and cafes for a dynamic beach life style and lots of leisure and entertainment to appeal to all. Other treats waiting to be uncovered on your island journey include the promenade, the lagoons, the wetlands and Saadiyat Retreat. Your only problem when arriving on this stunning island is sure to be where to start! Saadiyat Promenade With a scintillating combination of restaurants and cafes serving up an impressive range of international cuisine and light snacks, the atmosphere at this family friendly and cosmopolitan waterfront can’t fail to put a smile on your face and get in you the holiday spirit. Laidback coastal resorts, large beachside boardwalks, family activity centres, appealing tourist attractions and residential homes merge easily to contribute to the relaxed, friendly vibe which will pull in regional and international visitors on a huge scale. SAADIYAT ISLAND a new chapter in the stor y of the UAE 22 SIMPLY ABU DHABI