As part of a regular series focusing on communities in the capital, Alan Kaye, the Residential Sales and Leasing Consultant at Cluttons, turns his attention to the capital’s largest complex of villas
Al Raha Gardens, the largest development of villas in Abu Dhabi, has a reputation for being particularly family friendly.
It is also well positioned for commuters. Situated next to Khalifa City A on the outskirts of the capital, Raha Gardens is around 25 minutes by car from the Corniche and the southern end of Dubai is approximately 50 minutes away.
It consists of 10 different communities and in total over 1,200 villas and townhouses. The first occupants moved into Al Raha Gardens in 2008 although the final villas were not completed until 2012.
There are ten different designs, varying in size from three to five bedrooms. All of the five-bedroom and some of the four-bedroom villas have their own private pools. Villas and town houses all have a maid’s room and are European in style inside while still having Arabic touches.
One of the many comments that I hear is that the villas are too close together. While this is a subjective comment, it is worth noting that there are wide variations between different communities.
Residents on social media also comment on the cost of running the air-conditioning. This is also very much down to personal use but from my experience talking to many satisfied tenants, it is just a question of being sensible. I always suggest that for the first month you set the air-conditioning as you would like it and then go from there; after receiving your first bill, you can then gauge whether you need to adjust it.
Throughout the communities there are many children’s play areas, open areas where there are fountains and places where you can just relax.
Romana moved here one year ago with his two daughters aged 13 and 15. He was particularly drawn to Al Raha Gardens because of the number of nearby schools – including Raha International School and Al Yasmina – and also various after school activities ranging from horse riding and ballet to swimming and judo.
“My children’s school is literally across the road, which means they can come home on their own. They also have numerous friends very close by so if I do arrive home late from work I do not have to worry.”
The hub of Al Raha Gardens is Garden Plaza, a community mall that also houses the communal gym and swimming pool, both accessible only to residents. There is also a large children’s play area. The mall itself has a Safa Supermarket, Boots the chemist, Mothercare and Claire’s accessories shop as well as a hairdresser, beauty salon, pet shop, florist and gift shop.
Garden Plaza is also home to two very popular cafes: Circle Cafe where you can sit and watch your children play and jones the grocer, which is a particularly nice place to go in the evening to relax.
Susannah from Australia has just moved into a four-bedroom villa with a pool. I asked her why she chose Al Raha Gardens over all of the other communities in Abu Dhabi.
“The primary consideration was that it was near to my work, but also the large outdoor space and the pool meant that we could lead a similar lifestyle to that which we led at home. It was also relatively good value taking into account current prices in Abu Dhabi.”
Prices range from around AED 190,000 for a three-bedroom townhouse to AED 310,000 for a five-bedroom villa with a private pool.
At the moment availability is quite limited but at Cluttons we always have a ready supply. So if you require relatively good value, a wide variety of choice of accommodation and a very family friendly environment then Al Raha Gardens should definitely be on your list.
