# Executive Towers (Business Bay) vs The Lofts (Downtown)



## khan0965 (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi,

I am moving to Dubai (from London) end of November and I am currently doing plenty of research on where to live etc.

(FYI Working at DXB airport, looking at 1-bed apartments and wanting to get by without a car)

From what I have found out, here are some of the differences between the Executive Towers in Business Bay vs The Lofts in Downtown:

Executive Towers are c. 10k less expensie than The Lofts - *Is this accurate?*

Executive Towers attract a chiller fee which adds on c. 10% to the annual rent whereas The Lofts do not, is this true? If so, does this not negate the price difference?

Executive Towers are a shorter walk to the Metro - *Can anyone advise the walking distance/time from The Lofts to the Metro?*

Downtown is a much nicer place to be than Business Bay; less construction, noise and more amenities - *confirmation?*

Do you get larger 1-beds in Executive Towers than you do in The Lofts?

Are The Lofts generally better maintained than Executive Towers?

Any other thoughts to help me decide between the two would be massively appreciated. I am also open to living in other areas so any and all suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance.


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## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

I would recommend you go see both before making any firm decisions before you arrive. A lot of photos used to advertise the apartments are not true to life. That being said I’ve made some comments below, I used to live in the Lofts myself and looked at apartments in Business Bay a while ago. 



khan0965 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am moving to Dubai (from London) end of November and I am currently doing plenty of research on where to live etc.
> 
> ...


Most of that is true, also look at what comes with the apartments. In the Lofts you get a fully fitted kitchen and other white goods. In most Business Bay apartments you have to buy everything as nothing is provided. By the time you’ve bought a fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine etc the 10K is gone. If you only have a short term plan for Dubai (>2 years) that sort of expenditure makes even less sense.




khan0965 said:


> Executive Towers are a shorter walk to the Metro - *Can anyone advise the walking distance/time from The Lofts to the Metro?*


The walk from the Lofts to the Metro takes about 10 minutes, however, half of it can be walked inside in air conditioning due to public access to the Dubai Mall bridge from street level. All the route from Business Bay is outside, in summer it’s a sticky long walk. 



khan0965 said:


> Downtown is a much nicer place to be than Business Bay; less construction, noise and more amenities - *confirmation?*


Yes and no. Downtown is one of the nicer places to live in Dubai, there are a lot of amenities, but there is loads of construction. A new set of towers is being constructed next to the Lofts at the moment, the Opera house is being constructed across the road and a new set of towers will begin construction across the road at some point next year. Building sites are worked on pretty much 24 hours a day, it will not be quiet there. Business Bay does not have as many amenities, but it is slowly getting better. A lot of new places are opening, majority of road works are now complete too. More construction is happening in that area as well though. If you want to get away from construction as a priority I would say live in neither and pick any area more finished like JLT. That will increase your commute significantly though.


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## khan0965 (Oct 21, 2014)

Thanks for taking the time out to reply. It is much appreciated.

I will be put up in a hotel for the first month, so I plan on spending that time going around the various areas and viewing etc. before I make any decisions.

I have considered JLT/Marina but like you said it increases my commute time (double). I'll have to factor in cost of living/quality of living in JLT vs Downtown. *Is JLT closer to the beach than Downtown? What is walk to the Metro station like? Is the walk not doable from some of the towers set away from the Metro?* 

I have also read that there are a lot of towers in JLT not very well maintained - sounds like picking a good one can be a bit hit and miss.


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## mac86 (Mar 14, 2013)

Hi khan,

I live in the Lofts and think its brilliant. Originally looked at Business Bay but decided (as you've hit on above) that for the same money (once chiller, white goods etc. factored in) I would rather be in the Lofts. Personally I always go for Emaar properties, they look after the surrounding area so well, and the maintenance of the common areas is top notch. The Lofts have two pools which are very rarely packed out (although Friday afternoon is a very busy time) and I think the additional facilities (squash courts, gym, function room, cinema room (apparently, never used it) and games room) make it a really good place to live. It would take less than 5 minutes to walk to the entrance to the AC walkway to the metro, and it takes 10 minutes to walk to the mall from here. I live overlooking a building site at the moment but do not get disturbed and it doesn't really bother me.

Beaches wise, think they're about the same as JLT, there are plenty of options in Dubai for that. However, as you say, are you wanting to double your commuting time to live the other end of town? I used to live in the Greens but moved to Downtown to be nearer work, and incredibly glad I did.

Good luck with the move.


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## khan0965 (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi Mac,

Thanks for your response - your personal experience is really helpful. It affirms what I learned from my research so that's good. 

Can I ask how long you've been in Dubai? And how you're finding it? Where do you work?

If 86 is your year of birth then we're pretty much the same age. Feel free to throw any pearls of wisdom you may have my way.


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