IHCL Hotel Apartments Dubai Marina Dubai

The IHCL Hotel Apartments are a 35-storey tower of 146 branded hotel apartments in Dubai Marina, launched in 2025 by BNW Developments. The brand is IHCL, the Indian Hotels Company that owns Taj, and one source says the tower will be managed by Taj Hotels. Units are one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments of about 810 to 3,643 sq ft, and two-bedrooms make up more than half the tower.

Prices start from AED 3.02 million (about Rs 7.78 crore). This is not an ordinary apartment purchase: you buy a freehold unit in a building run as a hotel, under the operator's rules. The sources checked leave large gaps, including the payment plan, the fees, and whether the tower is finished or due in Q2 2027. Below is what is known and what to ask.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

The source listing and a project guide both print AED 3.02 million, so that is the figure we use. Nobody publishes a price by unit type, and the guide does not say which unit the entry price buys. If it is the smallest unit of about 810 sq ft, the rate is about AED 3,728 per sq ft.

That is a steep premium for the Marina. Emaar's Marina Shores starts at about AED 2,020 per sq ft for a 745 sq ft one-bedroom, and DAMAC's branded Cavalli Tower has entry units of 867 to 1,004 sq ft at AED 1.75 to 2.65 million on a broker's figures. At the IHCL tower you are paying about 85% more per foot than Marina Shores for the hotel brand, the management and the waterfront position.

Of the 146 units, 77 are two-bedrooms and 43 are three-bedrooms, the three-bedrooms on the upper floors, many with private terraces, double-height ceilings and wide views over the Marina and Palm Jumeirah. The other 26 are not broken out. Ask for the price list against floor plans.

Which building is this? BNW's best-known IHCL project is Taj Wellington Mews on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, which IHCL signed with BNW in March 2025 as its first Taj-branded residences in the UAE. One broker page labels the Dubai Marina tower "Taj Wellington Mews" too, but IHCL's and BNW's own announcements attach that name only to the Ras Al Khaimah building. Check the brand and the operator named in your SPA.

Payment plan and total cost

No payment plan is published for this tower by the sources checked. If BNW is selling finished units, expect to pay the full price at transfer in cash or with a UAE mortgage; if it is selling off-plan towards a Q2 2027 handover, ask for the schedule. For comparison, BNW's Taj Wellington Mews in Ras Al Khaimah sells on 10% at booking, 60% during construction and 30% at handover.

Worked example: the costs that apply to the AED 3.02 M entry unit

VAT is the line most buyers miss. An ordinary home in Dubai carries no VAT on its sale. UAE VAT rules exclude hotel and serviced apartments from residential buildings, so their sale is normally charged 5%, which on the entry unit is AED 151,000. Ask BNW in writing whether the AED 3.02 million includes VAT.

Service charge and operator fees. Neither is published. Dubai Marina residential towers average about AED 16.10 per sq ft a year, with newer amenity-rich towers at AED 18 to 26; on 810 sq ft that is about AED 13,000 to 21,000 a year. A hotel-run building usually costs more, and the operator's share of room revenue comes on top. Get the budget and the management fee schedule before you sign.

Financing. UAE lenders assess hotel apartments differently from ordinary flats, and not every bank finances them, so talk to a bank before you rely on a mortgage for any part of the price.

Location and connectivity

The tower is described as sitting on the Dubai Marina waterfront, with views of yachts, the sea and the skyline; the exact plot is not published by the sources checked. Dubai Marina is fully built and one of the city's deepest rental and short-stay markets, which is the case for a hotel apartment here.

From the middle of the Marina, Marina Walk and Dubai Marina Mall are within walking distance, the Dubai Tram runs through the district, and JBR and the beach are about five minutes by car. The DMCC and Sobha Realty stations on the Red Line Metro are five to ten minutes away, Palm Jumeirah 10 to 15 minutes, Downtown Dubai 20 to 25 and Dubai International Airport (DXB) about 30. Your building's exact position on the canal changes those times by a few minutes.

The Marina's strength for a hotel apartment is visitor demand; its weakness is the many hotels and short-let flats already there, so an owner's income depends on how well the operator fills the rooms.

See all Dubai projects we track, or browse the full projects list.

Amenities and specifications

The sources describe hotel-style management with private ownership, short-term letting through the operator, and apartments facing the Marina, the Gulf and the skyline.

Not published: the amenity list, furnishing, appliances, parking and the retail that one broker's listing mentions. In a hotel-run building these follow IHCL's brand standards; ask for them in writing.

What you actually own

You buy a freehold apartment in Dubai Marina, registered in your name at the DLD, in a building whose operation is contracted to IHCL. The rules that decide your return sit in two documents the sources do not publish: the hotel management agreement and the owner's rental arrangement. Before you pay, find out whether the unit must go into a rental pool, how room revenue is split between owner and operator, how many nights a year you can use the unit yourself, who pays for furniture replacement, and what happens if you want to leave the programme or sell.

About the developer

BNW Developments, short for Bricks N Woods, is led by its chairman and founder Ankur Aggarwal, with Vivek Anand Oberoi as managing director and co-founder; both officiated at this tower's launch. The company's site also sells mortgage and property services alongside its developments.

Most of its published projects are on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah: Taj Wellington Mews, Aqua Arc and Aqua Maya. Taj Wellington Mews, signed with IHCL on 10 March 2025, has about 336 hotel apartments, with handover given as Q4 2027 by one source and Q1 2028 by another. In Dubai, BNW lists Marea, a waterfront apartment building in Dubai Marina, and this IHCL tower.

The sources checked do not name a building BNW has already completed and handed over. That makes it a young developer, and the IHCL name does not change that: IHCL runs the hotel, but BNW builds the tower, drawing on buyers' payments through escrow as it goes. If the tower is sold as ready, inspect it; if off-plan, confirm the escrow account and the DLD project number before paying.

For Indian buyers

Ownership. Dubai Marina is a freehold area, so an Indian citizen can own the apartment outright with a DLD title deed. There is no annual property tax in the UAE. Unlike an ordinary home, a hotel apartment normally carries 5% VAT on the purchase price.

Remittance. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme each person can send USD 250,000 per financial year, so a couple can send USD 500,000. The AED 3.02 million entry unit is about USD 822,300, and about USD 855,200 with the DLD fee, so even a couple needs two financial years or more. If the unit is sold as finished and the full price is due at transfer, plan the remittances before you sign. Tax collected at source applies above the threshold and is credited against your Indian tax.

Golden Visa. The threshold is AED 2 million of property, and every unit here is above it on price. Confirm with the DLD that a hotel-apartment title deed qualifies and, for an off-plan unit, what share must be paid first.

Income and tax. No return figure is published. Dubai Marina apartments yield about 5% to 7% gross on ordinary leases, but a hotel apartment earns from nightly stays less the operator's fees, and at nearly twice the Marina's price per sq ft the yield will be lower. To earn 5% gross on AED 3.02 million the unit would need AED 151,000 a year after the operator's cut. The UAE does not tax the income; an Indian tax resident declares it in India and reports the asset in Schedule FA every year.

Exit. A hotel apartment sells to a narrower pool of buyers than an ordinary Marina flat, and the buyer inherits the operator agreement; read the exit terms before you buy.

Pros

• One of very few ways to own a hotel apartment run under the Taj group's IHCL in Dubai
• Dubai Marina is fully built, with the Metro, tram, beach and a deep rental market
• A small tower of 146 units, weighted to two- and three-bedrooms
• Every unit clears the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold on price
• Upper-floor three-bedrooms with terraces and double-height ceilings are rare stock in the Marina
• Operator-run letting suits an owner who will not manage tenants from India

Cons

• At about AED 3,700 per sq ft if AED 3.02 M buys the 810 sq ft unit, about 85% above Marina Shores at AED 2,020
• Handover date and build state conflict between sources: Q2 2027 against ready to move
• No payment plan, service charge, operator fee or rental-pool terms are published
• Hotel apartments normally carry 5% VAT on the price, unlike ordinary homes
• BNW has no completed building named in the sources checked
• The exact IHCL brand for this tower is not confirmed by IHCL or BNW in the sources checked

Who this is for

• Buyers who want a Taj-group-run apartment in Dubai Marina and will pay for the brand
• Golden Visa seekers who want one property above AED 2 M
• Owners who want letting handled by a hotel operator rather than an agent
• Buyers who will read the hotel management agreement before paying

Who should look elsewhere

• Yield-first investors: the price per sq ft is far above ordinary Marina flats
• Anyone who wants to live in the unit full time or let it on a yearly lease without operator rules
• Buyers who need a published payment plan before committing
• Buyers who want a developer with finished buildings to inspect

Our verdict

This is a brand purchase first and a property purchase second. The Taj group's name on a Dubai Marina tower is new, and 146 units weighted to two- and three-bedrooms make a small building for the Marina. But the numbers that decide a hotel apartment are missing: the payment plan, the service charge, the operator's fees, the rental-pool split and the owner's usage rights. The sources cannot even agree whether the tower is finished or due in 2027. At about AED 3,700 per sq ft if the entry price buys the smallest unit, you pay nearly twice the rate of an ordinary Marina flat, plus 5% VAT if it is not included.

Consider it only if the IHCL name is what you want, and only after you have the hotel management agreement, the service charge and the VAT position in writing. For a Golden Visa or a yield, ordinary Marina apartments above AED 2 M do the job for less. Ask for the Building Completion Certificate or the Oqood before paying anything.

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 is the price of the IHCL hotel apartments in Dubai Marina?

From AED 3.02 M, about Rs 7.78 crore at 25.75 rupees to the dirham, on the source listing and a project page. Units run from about 810 to 3,643 sq ft. No price list by unit type is published, so ask BNW which unit the AED 3.02 M buys.

Is this a Taj hotel?

It carries the brand of IHCL, the Indian Hotels Company that owns Taj, and one source says it will be managed by Taj Hotels. Neither IHCL nor BNW confirms the exact brand for this Dubai Marina tower in the sources checked. IHCL's announced deal with BNW is Taj Wellington Mews on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, a different building.

What does a buyer actually own?

A freehold apartment in Dubai Marina, registered in your name at the DLD, in a building whose running is contracted to IHCL. How many nights you may use it, whether it must go into a rental pool, and how room revenue is split are set by the hotel management agreement, which is not published.

When is the handover?

One source gives Q2 2027; another describes the units as ready to move. Ask for the Building Completion Certificate if it is sold as finished, or the Oqood completion date if it is off-plan.

Is there VAT on a hotel apartment?

Normally yes. UAE VAT rules exclude hotel and serviced apartments from residential buildings, so their sale is usually charged 5% VAT, about AED 151,000 on AED 3.02 M. Ask whether the price includes it.

Does it qualify for the Golden Visa?

On price, yes: every unit is above the AED 2 M threshold. Confirm with the DLD that a hotel-apartment title deed qualifies and, if the unit is off-plan, what share must be paid first.

Can an Indian citizen buy?

Yes. Dubai Marina is freehold. Under the LRS each person can remit USD 250,000 a financial year; AED 3.02 M is about USD 822,300, so even a couple needs two financial years or more.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Dubai: Inara Residence (from AED 673,000, handover 2028). See every Dubai Marina project with prices and handover dates.

More by BNW ; hotel apartments carrying the brand of IHCL: Ramada Residences by Wyndham (from AED 1,850,000, handover 2026).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: DAMAC Casa (from AED 3,033,000, handover 2028), Omniyat Opus (from AED 3 M, ready) and Cotier House (from AED 3.08 M, handover 2027).

Read next: Off-Plan Property in Dubai: How It Works · Dubai Property Payment Plans: 1% Monthly, Post-Handover and More · The Dubai Golden Visa Through Property. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.