DAMAC Upper Crest Downtown Dubai

Upper Crest is a 44-storey furnished and serviced residential tower in Downtown Dubai, completed by DAMAC Properties in 2017 and operated under its DAMAC Maison hospitality brand. It holds studios, one, two and three bedroom apartments, with 24-hour concierge, an infinity pool, a spa and a restaurant in the building.

Asking prices start near AED 1,650,000 (about Rs 4.25 crore), which works out at roughly AED 1,749 per sq ft. That is around 40% below what new Downtown stock asks, and this page is largely about why. The source listing carries no price. Compare it with the other Downtown buildings we track: Blvd Heights, One Residence and The Opus, plus the whole Dubai section and our projects list.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

Set that against the district. Downtown's new stock asks roughly AED 2,800 to 3,200 per sq ft, and the finished Emaar buildings around it sit at the top of that band. Upper Crest at about AED 1,749 is not slightly cheaper, it is a different price level, and the discount is the whole question a buyer has to answer.

Three things explain it, and none of them is hidden. The building completed in 2017, so it is competing with towers eight years newer. It is furnished and serviced, which narrows the resale pool to buyers who want that product. And its income depends on an operator rather than on a straightforward tenancy, which makes the yield less predictable than a plain apartment's. The market has priced those in. What it has not priced in, because nobody publishes it, is the building's actual service charge, and that is the figure that decides whether the discount is generous or fair.

Payment plan and total cost

No developer payment plan applies to a building finished in 2017. A purchase is a resale settled at transfer, in cash or with a mortgage: up to 80% of value for a UAE resident, typically 50 to 75% for a non-resident.

Then the annual cost, which in a serviced building is the number that matters most and the one no source prints. Downtown runs about AED 18 to 25 per sq ft a year. A serviced tower sits above its district band, because the hospitality operation, the concierge and the replacement of furnishings all live inside the budget. On a 900 sq ft one-bedroom, AED 25 per sq ft is AED 22,500 a year and AED 35 would be AED 31,500, and the difference between those two figures is most of a month's rent.

Ask the owners' association for three years of actual charges. An estimate from an agent is not the same document. While you are asking, get the management agreement too: it sets whether you must let through the operator, what share it takes, and who pays to replace a furniture package that is now eight years old.

Location and connectivity

The tower stands in Downtown Dubai's Burj Khalifa district, minutes from Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, about five minutes by car from Business Bay and Sheikh Zayed Road, ten from DIFC, and 15 to 20 from Dubai International Airport, with the Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall Red Line station serving the area.

For a serviced building that location is the product. Short-stay demand in Downtown is driven by the mall, the Burj, Dubai Opera and the business districts a few minutes away, and it is the deepest short-let market in the city. It is also the most competitive: every serviced tower and every hotel apartment in the district is bidding for the same guest, which is why the operator's performance, not the address, decides your income.

Amenities and specifications

Apartments are sold furnished, and the building runs as serviced residences with 24-hour concierge. The amenity set is an infinity pool, a gym, a spa with sauna and changing facilities for men and women, a landscaped roof garden, a children's play area, a terrace lounge, a cafe and a restaurant. That is a full hotel-grade list, and it is also the reason the service charge sits where it does.

The unit sizes are the quiet advantage. A one-bedroom of 827 to 1,002 sq ft and a three-bedroom of 1,722 to 1,791 are generous by current Downtown standards, where new towers push studios below 400 sq ft. On a resale, inspect the furniture package and ask what the operator's refurbishment cycle is; eight years is long enough that a refresh is due, and the cost of it is a question of contract, not of goodwill.

About the developer

DAMAC Properties, founded in 2002, is one of the largest private developers in Dubai, with 50,000 homes handed over, more than 54,000 under construction and 8,800 units delivered in 2026. Upper Crest belongs to its DAMAC Maison portfolio, where DAMAC builds the tower and then operates it as serviced residences.

For a resale buyer, DAMAC's construction pipeline is not the relevant record. The operating arrangement is. DAMAC Maison and the owners' association together decide what the building costs to run and how a unit may be let, and those two facts set your net return far more than the developer's delivery statistics do. Ask for the management agreement and the association's accounts, and treat them as the developer's real track record here.

For Indian buyers

Downtown Dubai is freehold, so an Indian citizen owns an Upper Crest apartment outright with a Dubai Land Department title deed, pays no annual property tax in the UAE and no UAE tax on the income. At about AED 1.65 million the entry unit is roughly USD 450,000, above one person's Liberalised Remittance Scheme allowance of USD 250,000 a financial year, so it takes two remitters, two financial years, or a UAE mortgage. Tax collected at source applies above the current threshold and is credited on your Indian return.

Two points matter more here than on a plain apartment. First, the income: a serviced unit's gross figure is a hotel-style rate that arrives after the operator's share and after a service charge that is above Downtown's already high band, so ask for net figures from the association and the operator rather than working from a headline yield. Second, the tax treatment at home: whether the unit lets short-term or long, rent from Dubai is taxable in India for a resident at slab rates as income from house property with the standard 30% deduction, and the property is declared in Schedule FA every year you hold it. The AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold is above the entry price, so a single small unit does not carry a visa on its own.

Pros

• A Downtown address at about AED 1,749 per sq ft, roughly 40% below the district's new-build rate
• Finished, occupied and lettable from the day of transfer
• Furnished and serviced, so a unit can be let short-term at hotel-style rates as well as on a normal tenancy
• A full amenity set including an infinity pool, spa, roof garden, restaurant and 24-hour concierge
• Unit sizes are generous for Downtown: a one-bed reaches 1,002 sq ft and a three-bed 1,791

Cons

• A serviced building's service charge is above its district band, and no figure for this building is published
• The 2017 furniture and fit-out package is eight years old; replacement cost falls somewhere between owner and operator
• Short-let income is cyclical and management-fee heavy, so the headline yield overstates what reaches you
• Resale buyers for serviced units are a narrower pool than for plain apartments
• The low rate per sq ft is partly the market pricing in all of the above, not a mispricing

Who this is for

• Investors who want a Downtown address and a furnished unit that can let short-term
• Buyers who want to own in Downtown at the lowest rate per sq ft available
• Owners who will use the apartment part of the year and let it the rest

Who should look elsewhere

• Buyers who want a plain apartment with a predictable, low service charge
• Anyone who will not read the management agreement before buying
• Long-term hold investors who need the widest possible resale pool

Our verdict

Upper Crest is the cheapest way into a Downtown title deed, and the reasons it is cheap are all visible rather than hidden. The building completed in 2017, it is furnished and serviced under DAMAC Maison, and a serviced unit sells to a narrower pool than a plain apartment does. At about AED 1,749 per sq ft against Downtown's roughly AED 2,800 to 3,200 for new stock, the discount is large enough to be worth the work of understanding it. The work is two documents. The first is three years of actual service charges from the owners' association, because a serviced building's running cost sits above its district band and nobody publishes the figure. The second is the management agreement, which decides whether you can let the unit yourself, what the operator takes, and who replaces an eight-year-old furniture package. Get honest answers on both and the arithmetic is straightforward: generous sizes, a real amenity set, a Downtown address and a rate the district does not otherwise offer. Get vague answers and walk, because the gap between a serviced unit's gross yield and what reaches the owner is where this product disappoints people.

The lowest rate per sq ft in Downtown, for a finished, furnished, serviced building with genuinely large layouts. Worth buying if the service-charge history and the management agreement stand up to reading. Not worth buying on the headline yield alone.

Talk to Realty Hunting for the current price list, the developer's latest payment plan and a site-visit plan.

Run this project's numbers yourself. The calculator opens on the price and unit size above; change the currency, the rent or the mortgage and it recalculates the fees, the cash you need on day one and the net rent.

FAQs

What does an apartment at Upper Crest cost?

Asking prices start at about AED 1,650,000, which works out at roughly AED 1,749 per sq ft. With studios from 440 sq ft and three-beds to 1,791 sq ft, the range of ticket prices across the building is wide; the entry figure is the one the portals publish.

Why is the rate so far below Downtown's?

Three reasons together. The building completed in 2017, so it is not new stock. It is furnished and serviced, which narrows the buyer pool and raises the running cost. And a serviced unit's income depends on an operator's performance rather than a simple tenancy. The market prices all of that in; it is not a mispricing waiting to be corrected.

What are the service charges?

No figure for the building is published by the sources checked. Downtown runs about AED 18 to 25 per sq ft a year and serviced buildings sit above their district band because the operation, the furnishings and the concierge are inside the budget. Ask the owners' association for three years of actual charges, not an estimate.

Can I let it on Airbnb or short-term?

The building is operated as serviced residences under DAMAC Maison, so short-letting is the model rather than an exception. What governs your unit is the management agreement: whether you must use the operator, what share it takes, and whether you can let independently. Read it before you buy; it decides your net income.

How big are the apartments?

Studios 440 to 499 sq ft, one-bedrooms 827 to 1,002, two-bedrooms 1,143 to 1,221 and three-bedrooms 1,722 to 1,791. Those are generous sizes for Downtown, where new towers push studios to 400 sq ft and below.

Does it qualify for the Golden Visa?

The AED 2 million threshold is above the building's entry price, so a single studio or small one-bed does not qualify on its own. Larger units do, and the DLD allows more than one property to be aggregated to reach the threshold.

Can an Indian citizen buy here?

Yes, Downtown Dubai is freehold. At about AED 1.65 million, roughly USD 450,000, the entry unit needs two remitters or two financial years under the USD 250,000 per person LRS allowance, or a UAE mortgage. Rent is taxable in India for a resident and the asset is declared in Schedule FA.

What is the difference between this and a normal Downtown apartment?

Ownership is the same: a freehold DLD title deed. What differs is that the unit comes furnished, the building is run by a hospitality operator, the service charge carries that operation, and the income can come from short stays. It is closer to owning a hotel room with a title deed than to owning a flat, and it should be priced that way.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Downtown Dubai: W Residences (from AED 1.67 M, handover 2026), Binghatti Sky Blade (from AED 1,674,999, handover 2027), One Residence (from AED 1.61 M, handover 2027) and Shapoorji Pallonji Imperial Avenue (from AED 1.7 M, ready). See every Downtown Dubai project with prices and handover dates.

More by DAMAC: Green Acres at DAMAC Hills (from AED 1,660,000, ready), Nice Villas (from AED 1,706,000, off-plan) and Portofino DAMAC Lagoons (from AED 1,569,000, off-plan).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Urban Life Residences (from AED 1.65 M, off-plan), Sobha Central The Horizon (from AED 1.68 M, handover 2029) and Sunset Bay (from AED 1.69 M, handover 2026).

Read next: Property for Sale in Downtown Dubai: Prices and Real Yields · DAMAC Projects in Dubai: Prices, Clusters and the Delivery Record · Dubai Rental Yields by Area, Gross and Net · Resale Property in Dubai: Costs, Checks and When It Beats Off-Plan · The Cost of Buying Property in Dubai. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.