• The villa has a 14,000 sq ft built-up area. Courtesy LuxuryProperty.com
    The villa has a 14,000 sq ft built-up area. Courtesy LuxuryProperty.com
  • As well as the outdoor pool, there's an indoor Jacuzzi. Courtesy LuxuryProperty.com
    As well as the outdoor pool, there's an indoor Jacuzzi. Courtesy LuxuryProperty.com
  • The staircase is the centrepiece of the house.
    The staircase is the centrepiece of the house.
  • Chandeliers hang throughout - even outside the front entrance.
    Chandeliers hang throughout - even outside the front entrance.
  • Remove the TV and it feels like you have gone back in time.
    Remove the TV and it feels like you have gone back in time.
  • Gold is the prominent colour with some dashes of blue.
    Gold is the prominent colour with some dashes of blue.
  • The traditional Regency look extends across the property.
    The traditional Regency look extends across the property.
  • The mural adjacent to the Jacuzzi adds a sense of tranquility.
    The mural adjacent to the Jacuzzi adds a sense of tranquility.
  • The basement area is ready to be turned into whatever the new owner wishes.
    The basement area is ready to be turned into whatever the new owner wishes.
  • The kitchen has modern appliances amid the vintage decor.
    The kitchen has modern appliances amid the vintage decor.
  • There are 10 bedrooms with this one featuring a lush carpet.
    There are 10 bedrooms with this one featuring a lush carpet.
  • The bathrooms continue the gold theme.
    The bathrooms continue the gold theme.
  • The property has views over the sea and Dubai skyline.
    The property has views over the sea and Dubai skyline.
  • Guests can dine in style.
    Guests can dine in style.
  • The villa resembles a seven-star hotel rather than a private house.
    The villa resembles a seven-star hotel rather than a private house.

Dh42m Pearl Jumeirah villa in Dubai has grandeur in every corner


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

Standing at the top of the stairs and then slowly ghosting down each step makes you feel like a film star every time.

Fans of the love story element of Titanic could endlessly reenact the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack awaits Kate Winslet's Rose before she gracefully makes her way down to greet the penniless artist dressed as a nobleman.

If that isn't your thing then substitute in any high quality period drama – the UK's Downton Abbey perhaps, or turn and announce to no-one in particular over the banister: "I'm Gatsby", in homage to the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of the classic novel about the fabulously wealthy mansion dweller in New York.

Husbands could await their wives before uttering unbridled words of admiration as they prepare to set off into the night...

"My love, you look truly remarkable..."

The staircase in question doesn't belong on the set of a Hollywood movie – it is on Dubai's Pearl Jumeirah island, and it is deserving of every ounce of the dramatic build up.

On the market with LuxuryProperty.com, it is eye-opening in every respect, from its Dh42 million price tag to the extraordinary interior.

All of the villas on the island are custom built, so it is highly unlikely you will come across any two the same, and you would be hard-pressed to find another in Dubai that looks quite like this.

Rather than the modern take of sharp lines, minimalism and huge glass panels with light pouring in, the theme here is a more traditional Regency look.

It is like stepping back into an era when spare time was spent hosting large gatherings with invites out among the top social circles by letter and envelope rather than social media.

The vintage statement begins with the exterior and its lavishly-designed perimeter wall, through to the main entrance which is topped by an outdoor chandelier.

Upon entering you step into an atrium where you are graced with the flowing staircase and its gold banisters – and it's a taste of what is to come, for gold is prominent throughout. It is found within the patterned windows, in the wallpaper, wall moulding, light fixtures and furniture – even the taps are gold.

Then there's the basement which has been given the artistic treatment as well. This huge vacant area has a mosaic-tiled Jacuzzi, and to bring the outdoors in, it is overlooked by a mural featuring a lake and mountain scene. Most unusual.

With a sauna room adjoined, it could all be turned into a fitness studio or health-related environment.

Spread across 14,000 square feet and with 10 bedrooms, it is of a size that makes you feel like Lord or Lady of the Manor – if that's your thing.

There's 10 bedrooms with this one featuring a lush carpet.
There's 10 bedrooms with this one featuring a lush carpet.

Q&A: Evgeniya Starinkova, private client advisor, LuxuryProperty.com

This property is certainly an eye-opener. Is it a rarity to see such vintage design in a new house in Dubai?

The design aesthetic of the home is truly unique and provides a buyer with the best of both worlds – a well-built villa complete with all the modern conveniences one would expect complemented by a heritage interior that provides for a distinctly classical vintage character.

Homes adopting this genre of vintage interior design are indeed somewhat of a rarity in Dubai. I am reminded of the phrase "luxury never goes out of fashion" and indeed the vintage design will also never go out of fashion.

It has 10 bedrooms … who needs 10 bedrooms?

A cricket team without a wicketkeeper? A football team without a goalie? The forwards of a rugby team and the halfbacks?

But more seriously, this home lends itself to family life. Grandparents, cousins, siblings – all of them can be happily accommodated in this home. What is unique about the villa is that 10 bedrooms is just the start. There is an abundance of family and entertaining space spread across the entire expanse of the home.

How advanced is the infrastructure on Pearl Jumeirah?

Pearl Jumeirah is one of Dubai's best kept secrets. A stunning island where homes are being constructed by owner occupiers and are being designed with true architectural merit. Several of these homes are already occupied by families. There is plenty of ongoing construction around the area with a boutique mall set to be delivered by 2020. It is also home to the famous and immensely popular Nikki Beach.

How long has it been on the market?

We brought this villa to market three weeks ago and we have already seen significant amounts of interest as it is incredibly unique and boasts a fantastic address.

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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

Super 30

Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5

Company profile

Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):

PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)

Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry

4/5

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The five pillars of Islam
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Info

What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship

When: December 27-29, 2018

Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The biog

Family: Parents and four sisters

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah

A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls

Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction

Favourite holiday destination: Italy

Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning

Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes

Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

57%20Seconds
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Company profile

Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

THE%20SWIMMERS
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