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The Lakes is Emaar’s gated collection of around 600 freehold villas and townhouses in Emirates Living, set between Emirates Golf Club and Address Montgomerie Golf Club and wrapped around a network of lakes, gardens, and shaded parkland. Completed in the mid 2000s, it was one of the earlier Emirates Living communities, and more than two decades on it remains one of the most settled, mature villa addresses in Dubai.
The community is divided into six gated sub communities, Zulal, Ghadeer, Maeen, Deema, Forat, and Hattan, each with its own entry point, security, and character, but all sharing access to The Lakes Club and the wider network of lakes and walking paths. Villas range from 2 to 7 bedrooms across 12 distinct floor plans, so buyers can choose a compact family home in Zulal or a sprawling golf facing residence in Hattan within the same overall community.
The Lakes sits about 3 km inland from Dubai Marina, so residents get a genuinely quiet, low rise, tree lined setting while remaining minutes from Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and the Marina itself. With no new supply possible and steady demand from families and senior professionals, the community has earned a reputation as one of Emirates Living’s most dependable long term holds.
The Lakes sits between Sheikh Zayed Road Interchange 5 and Emirates Hills, bordered by The Meadows and The Springs, and a short drive from Jumeirah Lakes Towers. This central position within Emirates Living gives residents fast access to Dubai’s coastal and business districts without the density of Downtown or the Marina itself.
Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road both run close to the community, giving residents a genuine choice of routes depending on traffic and destination. Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and Palm Jumeirah are all within a 15 minute drive, and Downtown Dubai remains a reasonable 25 minutes away even at busier times of day.
The Lakes Club covers the essentials within the gates, while Emirates Living’s neighbouring communities and Dubai Marina extend the everyday offer considerably within a short drive.
• The Lakes Club: a small supermarket, restaurant, and cafe sit inside the community's clubhouse, covering quick everyday needs.
• The Springs and The Meadows: Emaar's neighbouring communities offer supermarkets, pharmacies, salons, and casual dining within a five to ten minute drive.
• Mall of the Emirates: a full range of retail, dining, and cinema, including Ski Dubai, about 12 minutes away.
• Dubai Marina: Marina Walk and Dubai Marina Mall offer extensive shopping and waterfront dining about 10 minutes away.
• Community clinics: private clinics and pharmacies in Dubai Internet City and neighbouring Emirates Living communities cover day to day medical needs.
• Nearby hospitals: full service hospitals and specialist facilities in Dubai Marina and Al Barsha are within a short drive for more serious care.
• Parks and lakes: gardens, lakes, communal pools, barbecue areas, and children's playgrounds are woven through all six sub communities.
• Walking and cycling paths: jogging and cycling paths circle the lakes, and every sub community has its own shaded park, with some including tennis courts.
• Sports courts: basketball courts and small football pitches give residents further outdoor recreation close to home.
The Lakes is one of the earlier Emirates Living communities, completed in the mid 2000s, and it has aged genuinely well. Mature trees, established lakes, and well kept streets give it a settled, lived in character that newer suburbs elsewhere in Dubai are still growing into, and residents frequently describe the atmosphere as a proper neighbourhood rather than a newly built development.
Each of the six sub communities is separately gated with its own entry and exit points and dedicated security, which keeps through traffic light and gives parents genuine confidence letting children play outside or cycle to a friend’s house. The Lakes Club at the centre of the community offers a gym and aerobics studio, squash, tennis, and volleyball courts, swimming pools, a baby pool with a slide, a restaurant, and a small supermarket, giving residents a genuine social hub within walking distance of most homes.
The resident profile is a genuine mix of long established families, senior executives working in Dubai Internet City, Media City, and the Marina, and long term tenants who value the combination of schools, security, and space. Because The Lakes offers 12 distinct floor plans across a genuinely wide size range, the community naturally accommodates growing families who want to move from a smaller Zulal villa into a larger Deema or Hattan home without leaving the neighbourhood they already know.
With around 600 homes and effectively no possibility of new supply, The Lakes has a settled, unchanging quality that many newer communities cannot offer. Turnover tends to be driven by lifestyle changes rather than speculation, and many residents describe staying for a decade or more once they move in.
Lifestyle highlights:
The ultra premium mansion community immediately beside The Lakes, often described as Dubai’s answer to Beverly Hills, with Emirates Golf Club at its heart and some of the city’s largest, most exclusive villas.
Emaar’s neighbouring villa and townhouse communities, sharing similar lakes, parks, and retail, and offering a useful comparison point for buyers weighing size and price against The Lakes.
Mid rise apartment communities a short drive away, popular with tenants who work in Dubai Internet City and Media City and want a more affordable alternative to villa living.
The high rise waterfront district about 10 to 12 minutes away, extending The Lakes’ dining, nightlife, and beach access considerably.
The lakeside office and residential towers about 8 to 10 minutes away, offering further retail, dining, and a metro connection.
The technology and media free zones about 8 minutes away, a major source of professional tenant demand for The Lakes’ rental market.
The iconic palm shaped island about 15 minutes away, offering beach clubs, resorts, and fine dining within easy reach.
Golf and outdoors
Shopping and dining
Sport and entertainment
Schooling is one of the strongest reasons families choose The Lakes, with two highly regarded schools within walking distance or a very short drive, and a genuinely settled, family first community culture built up over more than two decades.
Schools:
Family amenities:
What You’ll Find:
The Lakes offers detached villas and a small number of townhouses across 12 distinct floor plans, each with a private garden and covered parking, and many with a private pool. The median villa currently sells for around AED 6.5 million, at roughly AED 2,040 per square foot, though pricing varies considerably by sub community, plot size, and finish.
Gross rental yields are strongest on smaller homes and taper as villa size increases. Three bedroom villas typically return about 6.2%, four bedroom villas around 5.7%, five bedroom villas about 5.2%, and six bedroom villas closer to 4.3%, reflecting the wider Dubai pattern of stronger percentage returns on more efficiently let, smaller configurations.
Market Insight:
The Lakes rewards patient, long term owners rather than short term speculators. The supply is permanently fixed at around 600 homes, the schools are genuinely strong, and the location beside Emirates Hills and a short drive from the Marina keeps demand from families and senior executives steady across market cycles.
The planned Emirates Hills 2 masterplan across Al Khail Street is expected to bring further attention, and likely further demand, to the whole Emirates Living corridor, including The Lakes. For buyers, that makes now a reasonable point to plan ahead rather than wait, since a scarce, well established community like this one tends to become only harder to enter as neighbouring development raises the profile of the wider area.
Master developer: Emaar Properties, part of Emirates Living Homes: Around 600 villas and townhouses across 12 floor plans Sub communities: Zulal, Ghadeer, Maeen, Deema, Forat, Hattan Ownership: Freehold, open to all nationalities Median villa price: Around AED 6.5 million, about AED 2,040 per square foot Gross rental yields: About 4.3% to 6.2%, highest on 3 bedroom villas Dubai Marina: About 10 minutes Downtown Dubai: About 25 minutes Key schools: Regent International School and Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills, both under 1 km away |
The Lakes suits buyers who want genuine lakes, golf, and strong schools without leaving central Dubai, and who value a settled, mature neighbourhood over the promise of a brand new masterplan still finding its feet. Its fixed supply, gated calm, and two decades of consistent Emaar management make it one of the most dependable family villa addresses anywhere in the city.
The case is straightforward. A genuinely fixed, scarce supply of around 600 homes that cannot be added to. Two of Dubai’s most respected schools within a kilometre of the gates. Direct views over championship golf courses in Hattan, and lakefront living in Zulal and Ghadeer. And a location inside Emirates Living that keeps Dubai Marina, Internet City, and Downtown Dubai all within a genuinely manageable drive.
At Vetra, we track The Lakes sub community by sub community. We know which Zulal and Ghadeer villas offer the strongest lake views, how Deema, Forat, and Maeen compare on value and plot size, and where Hattan’s premium golf facing homes sit relative to the wider Emirates Hills market. Whether you are a family choosing a school catchment, an executive wanting golf course views, or an investor looking for a stable, scarce villa hold, Vetra brings the expertise and honest guidance to help you make the right decision in The Lakes.
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