# SILVERENE vs BOTANICA (Dubai Marina)



## ashesc (May 23, 2012)

Guys,

Need some feedback on the two apartments above. If you live in either the Silverene of the Botanica in Dubai Marina, it would be great if you can give me some advice We're eyeing the 2-bedroom apartments

Hubby and I are torn between the two for different reasons. I want to know all the good and bad of both 

Surroundings
- Noise daytime/night
- Traffic getting out of the marina on SZR and home 
- Environment around the apartment in the evenings - we felt that Silverene is right next to the walk so it's not as isolated as Botanica? Or can you easily walk from Botanica to JBR for some 'life'?

Apartment
- Size? I like the size of Botanica - it's bigger than Silverene
- The closets in Silverene are so SMALL! 
- The bathtub in the master bedroom in the Silverene is quite oddly designed, so that when you shower the water will trickle to the edges and onto the floor? How did you fix this? 
- Spacious balcony in the Silverene is nice - do you get any breeze at all in the evenings? We were standing there and it seemed quite hot, then again I don't know if that's just normal Dubai weather

Amenities
- Guest parking in Botanica - the agents said there is none? Where do your guests park when they come and visit? Are there any in the Silverene?
- Any problems withe pool in either?
- Gym - good? We liked the one in the Botanica. Unforunately the one in Silverene is still under construction

Price of how much you got your 2bedroom apartment for? If you don't mind sharing 

Also, if any of you out there is okay with us visiting to see how your apartment looks like fully furnished, that will be even better.

It will be great to get some feedback to assist in our hunt for the perfect apartment, haha :confused2:


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Never been in Botanica, but I know it's a ballache trying to leave the Marina. It's built by Select Group, they're a shower of ****e so expect it to start falling apart rather quickly.

Silverene seems to be well built and has a Carrefour supermarket on the ground floor. The apartments aren't very well laid out though and the pool is laughably bad if you actually intend to swim (it's about a metre deep in the deep end). The Silverene gym has been 3 months from completion since I viewed an apartment there in November. Traffic shouldn't be too bad, and you can avoid all the traffic lights by taking a shortcut through Marina Mall car park directly from SZR. Balcony will get a strong breeze in the winter months.

They're both about equal distance from JBR Walk really, both will have similar traffic noise.


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

Hi!

I just signed a lease for a place in Silverene. You are correct that the closets were small, but I think location and being brand new topped my list. The Carrefour Market on the ground floor is a nice touch as in the Marina Mall next door. 

I did compromise with overall space, but I think it's worth it in the long run. 

I didn't see the Botanic, but I did see Dusit or Dorsit in the same general area. I thought the area was a little isolated for my taste.

No dishwasher at the Silverene which the agent really considered a bad thing. It's a nice appliance to have, but I felt they were a little over-dramatic about living without one. 

I was kind of surprised at the quality of some of the places in JBR. I saw three flats in JBR and they were a bit dumpy. The Promenade was nice tho. Nice facilities and EMAAR does a nice job with their entries. Saw Majara too on the Marina/SZR side. Nice facility but both places had lots of tile damage.

Good luck with your decision. 

cheers,
albert


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## ashesc (May 23, 2012)

Hey guys,

Thanks for the response. 

We're brand new to Dubai (i.e one month old) and have been told that that marina is a good place to "start of" with as that's where all the bars, restaurants and "life" is? I guess what we're looking for is somewhere you can still walk out at night , go out for drinks, and have people around. Not just, roads and sand. Any suggestions, if not the Marina for sim type of environment? Hubby works in the Jebel Ali area so we want to be in this side of Dubai.

Gavtek - thanks for the tip on Select Group properties, didn't know about that one! And we didn't get the chance to get close to the pool for Silverene. I'll go back to have another look at the amenities 

Cupo mocha - did you sign for a 2 bedroom or 1 bedroom? If it's the 2 beds, did you have problems with the bathroom in the master bedroom? Did it have fridge, and washing machine provided too for your apartment? Do you guys have any issues with the kitchen "space"? Also, I noticed there were no light fittings either, i.e it was just light bulbs hanging off the ceiling  Was it sim for your apartment - so you had to buy light fittings?

We went to see a few in JBR too and we decided that's not for us. Most of the apartments that we went to were quite old and although it was very spacious and some were even fully furnished for the same unfurnished smaller place in the Marina, it just wasn't out cup of tea.


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## Vento (Dec 30, 2011)

Ive lived in botanica. Traffic wise its not that bad, since its the furst tower in jbr, you can relatively quickly get away from jbr and to marina or szr

Personally i moved away and is happy to goto jbr in car when needed

If u own a big car, try check the parking facilities in botanica first. From ground floor to p1 is very narrow

Anyways, if i had absolutely no other option than jbr i would stay as long away from jbr as possible and as such boyanica is a good choice. 

There are many weekly rentals available in botanica. Try obe for a week or two


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

Hi ashec,

I live in Silverene with a 2 bedroom. I like it here allot personally.

Points to consider - 

Pool is shallow, no doubt. It is fine for me though.

Bathtub in the master - Yes, the design is a problem for showering. Fine for bath though. Water will run to floor, stupid design. However, the extra bathroom has a great shower.

Dishwasher - I don't have one, but there is a place for one that can replace the cabinet next to the sink. You would have to pay the cost of the dishwasher and get approval from the landowner I'm sure. I don't care and have been fine without it.

I am on the Marina side of the building, low floor, and I have no noise issues. The quality is very good on all other aspects.

Access is good to go in either direction on SZR and as Gavtek mentioned you can exit from SZR and go through the Marina Mall parking lot to get to the building without hitting a light. I don't do that very often as my schedule tends to have me avoid the worst traffic most of the time.

Once you have a couple more posts, send me a PM. You can come over for a quick look if you want sometime.


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

ashec:

my place is completely furnished with surpringly tasteful furniture. Since it's set up for a short-term lease (luckily I have a year lease), it has pots, pans, knives, forks...the works. No DW as mentioned above, but not a deal breaker.

I do wish it had a shower vice a tub in the master, but I didn't see one place that met all my criteria. This was definitely the best place I saw, and hand's down the best location. 

I didn't really like JBR--the area or the flats. Everything had a grime about it, like the place is party central and not really live central. If you want to always be out and about, that is probably the better location. I like the convenience of the market downstairs and the not overcrowded Marina Mall. 

xchaos777: I leased a place in TowerA, 11th floor facing the Mall. It has a nice Marina view as well. 

I hope to move in, maybe, tomorrow!

cheers,
albert


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

I'm in same tower, same side, lower floor.


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

*Silverene living*



xchaos777 said:


> I'm in same tower, same side, lower floor.


Great to meet a neighbor! I was there yesterday signing my lease. Once my company finalizes the money transfer, I'll take possession of the keys. 

I know the gym is still being worked, and I read the comments about the pool being shallow. Like for you, it's not really that big a deal to have a shallow pool. 

I've wandered through the Carrefour, and it seems to have all the necessities. Plus, the Waitrose in the mall has a bit more as well.

Hopefully, we can chat more once I'm in the building, esp. if I have any questions on how to manage the appliances 

cheers,
albert


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## ashesc (May 23, 2012)

*Silverene discussions*

Cupo_mocha/xchaos777,

Thanks for your comments!!

Hubby and I went back to Silverene again last night - well just around the area to get an idea of the surroundings at night. It is nice to have the Carrefour downstairs isn't it. 

The place that we are looking at is in the "shorter" tower - is that Tower A or B? And it's at the "corner" so you can see SZR and it's facing the marina/mall. We were worried that the noise from SZR will be a bother at night but we can't really know until we actually move in there, and have the curtains and furniture in place - I don't suppose you have any problems with night-time noise xchaos?

*Do you guys know if the prices of apartments will go up or down mid-summer? *We don't have to move out of our current temporary accomodation until mid July so we're sort of in a dilemma as to whether or not we should sign for something good now (i.e Silverene!) or wait.

I think we're bending towards Silverene over Botanica, haha. I personally really like the layout of the Botanica 2-bedrooms over Silverene but you can't have everything can you :confused2:

Few more quick questions

1. *Guest parking *- are there any for your friends who come and visit? 
2. Are they going to install a *security tag *so only residents can use the lifts that lead up to the apartment block from Carrefour?
3. Price on dubizzle for a *2-bed unfurnished is 110k*. We are hoping to get it at 100k or even 90k for that matter - any comments on this?
4. cupo_mocha - I don't see anymore *fully furnished apartments* in Silverene - did you go through an *agent or dubizzle*? 2-bedroom?

xchaos I'll PM you once I can! Thanks


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

*Silverene living*

From what I understand, as you come about the entry roundabout, that level is guest parking. You can enter resident parking either through that level or the lower street level. 

My company had a relocation company, SIRVA, work my house hunting. They were great. I did look at dubizzle for pricing and availability, but my agents said some landlords only work with relocation companies. Not sure if that's true, but they showed me flats that weren't on dubizzle. My place is a furnished 2BR/2BA place. 

TowerB is the shorter tower, I'm pretty sure. 

Not sure about the "residents" only elevators tho. I'm sure they'll put something like that in at some point. Luckily, the Carrefour seems to only be for the two towers and maybe Majara across the street. 

I would've liked if the second BR was separated from the master (for guests) and the bath en-suite, but you can't have everything. 

I haven't been there in the evenings yet, so I don't know if the SZR noise is a problem. xchaos mentioned that he didn't seem to notice it tho.

My agent said negotiations are possible mainly based on the number of payment cheques you can provide the rent with: fewer checks, price goes down. Maybe you can get something in the 90K range.

They did also mention that prices have been going up recently for rent. That's a sampling of two agents, but it could be a trend in the area. 

albert


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

I am not on a corner, I'm in the middle. I have no noise issues inside.

That level parking used to be visitor, but now that Carrefour is open...I don't know how available it is. My friends either park on street, the sand lot towards the mall, or security let's them in the garage.

I would say 90-100k on SZR end, 110-120k in the middle, up to 130-140k on Marina end....for 2 beds. Should be able to get 3 or 4 checks.

Rents are holding firm in this building it seems.


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

That's right. Sorry, the Carrefour does have a sign on the street that does point to parking up on the "visitors" level. Visitors could always park in the Mall if it gets really tight I guess.

The place I'm waiting on is in the middle as well, so it's good to know that there isn't much noise.


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## KONY (May 25, 2012)

Hello to All,

From what i see in many forums, it seems there are really few opinions abt Botanica tower...probably due to the fact it's new


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

ashesc said:


> Guys,
> 
> Need some feedback on the two apartments above. If you live in either the Silverene of the Botanica in Dubai Marina, it would be great if you can give me some advice We're eyeing the 2-bedroom apartments
> 
> ...


hi, any luck with your decision?


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## ashesc (May 23, 2012)

Cupo_mocha, hey

Na, haven't made up our minds lol. We're going to see a few more on Saturday, including a fully-furnished apartment in Silverene too so we can get an idea or how the space will work. '

You must've moved in by now ay? How's it there?

Thing is we still have some time before we need to move out of our current temporary plcae so we're trying to take our time to decide..


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

ashesc said:


> Cupo_mocha, hey
> 
> Na, haven't made up our minds lol. We're going to see a few more on Saturday, including a fully-furnished apartment in Silverene too so we can get an idea or how the space will work. '
> 
> ...


Hi. Yes, yesterday was moving day. It really is a great place. I'm enjoying the Carrefour and mall being so close, which has helped with setting up the flat.

As mentioned before, the master bath design with the rut between the tub and the wall. It's a very odd design with no quick DIY solution it seems. I'll keep thinking about how to engineer a solution.

Hopefully, you're relooking helped get you closer to your decision.

cheers,
albert


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

Welcome to the building!


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## cupo_mocha (May 23, 2012)

Thanks!


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## Tartangirl (Apr 2, 2012)

Have you considered JLT? It is easy walking to the Marina but, in my opinion, much nicer and quieter but still close to the action.


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

Tartangirl said:


> Have you considered JLT? It is easy walking to the Marina but, in my opinion, much nicer and quieter but still close to the action.


You can certainly walk across...however, it is not anywhere near as nice and convenient. And in this time of year, that walk might not be anything but inconvenient.

In the end, you get what you pay for...and I am paying for the location.


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## atlanticresident (Jun 2, 2012)

xchaos777 said:


> You can certainly walk across...however, it is not anywhere near as nice and convenient. And in this time of year, that walk might not be anything but inconvenient.
> 
> In the end, you get what you pay for...and I am paying for the location.


Hi all, I was interested in the Silverene as well - a few questions - would appreciate any help in making my decision - 

1. do any of the 2 or 3 bedrooms have a maid's room? It doesnt appear to be from the floor plan?
2. My office is at the DIFC - I have heard crazy stories about the traffic - but wanted to get a sense of driving times during peak hours?
3. We have a 2 year old and wanted to get a sense if there are any nurseries in the vicinity. I researched posts on this site and it looks like there is a raffles nursey school in the area, but I wasn't sure if it was close by.

Thanks in advance!


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

Hi,

I think you are correct on the maids rooms here, none that I have seen have them.

Traffic shouldn't be that bad usually. But, just takes one small wreck on any given day to change that.

Can't help on the other point, sorry.


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## deevineb (Apr 12, 2012)

Dear all

This is my first post on this forum!

I will be relocating to Dubai from the UK soon and after looking at many apartments online, have found that I am drawn to the Silverene tower. I will be in Dubai in a couple of weeks time with the aim of signing up for an apartment and wondered if anyone could give me the name(s) of reputable agents who can show me around, in particular, any 2 bed apartments for rent in Silverene?

Thanks

Dee


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