Al Barza, Al Bandar — Building Guide (2026)

Building: Al Barza

Precinct: Al Bandar, Al Raha Beach

Developer: Aldar Properties

Completed: October 2010

Storeys: 6

Total units: 132 apartments — 28 studios, 30 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom

Ownership type: Freehold — available to all nationalities

Distinguishing feature: Exposed brickwork exterior — the only building in Al Bandar with this architectural treatment

All Al Bandar studios: Every studio apartment in the Al Bandar precinct is located in Al Barza

Size range: 520 sq ft (studios) to 2,034 sq ft (largest 2-bedroom units)

Al Barza — Overview

Al Barza is the mid-rise residential building of the Al Bandar precinct — a 6-floor, 132-apartment building completed in October 2010 by Aldar Properties, distinguished architecturally from its Al Bandar neighbours by its exposed brickwork exterior. Where Al Naseem Residences are cascading high-rise glass towers and Al Manara is a glass-cube tower of full-floor apartments, Al Barza has a warmer, more textured character — the exposed brick facade gives the building an identity within the Al Bandar peninsula that is immediately recognisable and that sits in visual counterpoint to the predominantly glass architecture of the rest of the precinct.

Al Barza holds a specific distinction within Al Bandar: it is the only building in the precinct that contains studio apartments. All 28 studio apartments available in the Al Bandar community are located in Al Barza, making it the sole address in Abu Dhabi’s most active waterfront marina community where a studio-format residence is possible. This makes Al Barza the entry point into Al Raha Beach freehold studio living for the broadest range of residents — single professionals, airline staff, and couples who want the Al Bandar marina address at the most accessible price point within the precinct.

The building adjoins Al Manara and overlooks the marina piazza directly, giving Al Barza residents the most immediate connection to the marina social environment of any building in Al Bandar. The marina promenade — Pacifico TIKI, Ornina, Desert Lotus, Nolu’s, Art House Cafe — is accessible on foot from Al Barza in under two minutes. The Al Bandar Marina basin and the Halla Walla Watersports Club are visible from the building’s upper floors and accessible at ground level.

Al Barza is the exposed-brickwork mid-rise of Al Bandar — the only building in the precinct with studio apartments, positioned directly overlooking the marina piazza, with all the Al Bandar community infrastructure (marina, Clubhouse, Spinneys, promenade dining) accessible on foot.

The Units

Studios — 28 units

All 28 studio apartments in the Al Bandar precinct are located exclusively in Al Barza. Studios range from approximately 520 to 590 sq ft and are configured with high ceilings, timber floors, the latest kitchen appliances, and direct views over the marina and the lap pool. The high-ceiling specification gives the studios a sense of vertical space that compensates for the compact floor area, and the timber floor finish adds a warmth that distinguishes them from the tiled formats common in most Abu Dhabi studio configurations. All studio apartments come with one allocated car space.

The studio format at Al Barza serves a distinct market: residents who want the Al Bandar marina lifestyle — the promenade dining, the water access, the Clubhouse facilities, the five-minute airport commute — but who prioritise value over space. For airline professionals on rotating schedules, for young professionals establishing themselves in Abu Dhabi, and for investors seeking the highest rental yield configuration in the Al Bandar market, Al Barza studios represent an option that is simply not available in any other Al Bandar building.*

One-Bedroom Apartments — 30 units

Al Barza’s 30 one-bedroom apartments range from approximately 848 to 925 sq ft. Each apartment has marina and sea views and is equipped with the latest kitchen appliances. One-bedroom units have one allocated car space. Some units have balconies; all have the fitted-kitchen, built-in-wardrobe, and full-bathroom specification standard across the Al Bandar precinct. The 1-bedroom configuration in Al Barza is broadly comparable to the 1-bedroom stock in the Al Naseem towers, with the Al Barza units offering the lower-floor mid-rise building character rather than the cascading high-rise balcony format of Al Naseem.

Two-Bedroom Apartments — 72 units

Al Barza’s 72 two-bedroom apartments are the most numerous unit type in the building, ranging from approximately 1,365 to 2,034 sq ft. The larger 2-bedroom configurations at the upper end — 1,880–2,034 sq ft — are among the most spacious 2-bedroom apartments in the Al Bandar precinct. Most 2-bedroom units have balconies or large sun decks. All come with one allocated car space and the full specification of fitted kitchen, built-in wardrobes, and modern bathrooms. There are no 3-bedroom or 4-bedroom apartments in Al Barza — those configurations are available in Al Naseem and Al Manara respectively.

Amenities

Building Amenities

Al Barza’s own building amenities include a fully equipped gymnasium, a swimming pool (the lap pool visible from the studio apartments’ marina-facing outlook), a sauna, steam rooms, and a children’s play area. Covered parking is allocated one space per apartment. The building operates under 24/7 security and CCTV monitoring, with Aldar community management maintaining the building to the standard applied across the Al Bandar precinct.

Al Bandar Community Amenities

As part of the Al Bandar precinct, Al Barza residents have full access to all Al Bandar community infrastructure: the Clubhouse (gymnasium, outdoor swimming pool with jacuzzi, squash courts, dance studio, billiards room, children’s playroom, juice bar), Spinneys supermarket, the Al Bandar Marina (131 berths, 6.5m–24m, 220m visitor pontoon, 24/7 operation, managed by Aldar Marinas LLC), and the full marina promenade dining and retail strip. The Halla Walla Watersports Club operates from the marina, offering waterskiing, wakeboarding, kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing.

The Marina Promenade — Dining at Al Barza’s Door

Al Barza’s ground-level position directly facing the marina piazza makes the promenade dining more immediately accessible from Al Barza than from any other building in the Al Bandar precinct. Pacifico TIKI Dining and Lounge, Ornina Arabian Lounge, and Desert Lotus are all within approximately two minutes on foot. Nolu’s Restaurant and Art House Cafe extend the promenade options within a five-minute walk. The licensed dining scene — unique among Abu Dhabi’s suburban residential communities — is the social infrastructure that most directly defines the daily lifestyle for Al Barza residents.

Spinneys supermarket is within the Al Bandar precinct and accessible on foot. Carrefour Market is approximately 500 metres from Al Barza. The Al Muneera Beach Plaza open-air retail strip — with Leopold’s of London, Berris La Brioche, and Meylas Emirati Restaurant — is approximately 750 metres away along Al Raha Boulevard.

Al Barza’s Architectural Character

The exposed brickwork facade that distinguishes Al Barza from its Al Bandar neighbours is not merely decorative — it reflects a deliberate design decision to give the mid-rise building a material identity that complements rather than competes with the glass towers of Al Naseem and the glass cube of Al Manara. In a precinct defined by contemporary glass architecture, the exposed brick introduces a warmer, more textured visual reference that gives Al Barza a sense of permanence and crafted character.

The building’s position on the marina piazza — directly adjoining Al Manara and facing the marina basin — means that its ground-floor and lower-level retail and common areas are fully embedded in the social circulation of the marina community. Residents arriving at and leaving Al Barza pass through the most commercially active part of the Al Bandar waterfront, making the community’s daily social life a natural part of the building’s daily experience rather than something accessed separately.

The Aldar HQ building — the Middle East’s first circular skyscraper — is visible from the upper floors of Al Barza and from the marina promenade, forming the most distinctive architectural landmark in the daily sightline of Al Barza residents. Its position along the coastline between Al Muneera and the Al Bandar peninsula makes it a constant and distinctive visual reference that reinforces the sense of living within Abu Dhabi’s most architecturally ambitious waterfront development.

Healthcare

HealthPlus Family Clinic Al Bandar is approximately 350 metres from Al Barza — the closest medical facility to the building and one of the shortest clinic-to-residence distances of any Al Raha Beach building. For hospital-level care, Mediclinic Khalifa City and NMC Royal Hospital Khalifa City are both accessible within approximately 10 minutes via the E10 highway. Burjeel Medical Centre Al Zeina is approximately 3.1 km.

Schools

Raha International School Gardens Campus — Abu Dhabi’s first IB-accredited school, established 2006 — is approximately 3.9 km from Al Barza, accessible in 5–8 minutes via the E10 junction. GEMS American Academy in Khalifa City is approximately 10 minutes. The broader Al Raha Gardens school cluster, including Yasmina British Academy, is accessible within the same 5–10 minute school-run window. Yellow Submarine Nursery operates near the Al Muneera and Al Zeina communities, accessible within approximately 10 minutes.

Getting Around

By Bus

The Al Rahah St / Al Bandar St bus stop is approximately a 5-minute walk from Al Barza and serves routes 170 and 175, connecting directly to Abu Dhabi’s central bus network. This is the same bus stop that serves the broader Al Bandar precinct and is the most walkable public transport access point in the community.

By Car

Al Bandar Street connects to the E10 highway (Al Salam Street / Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Street) within approximately two minutes. Abu Dhabi International Airport is approximately 10 minutes via Airport Road. Yas Island is approximately 10–15 minutes. Abu Dhabi city centre is approximately 20–25 minutes. Dubai is approximately 50 minutes via E11. Covered parking is allocated per unit.

By Water Taxi

Abu Dhabi Maritime Water Taxi connects the Al Bandar Marina — within walking distance of Al Barza — to Yas Bay and Yas Marina on Yas Island at approximately AED 10 per adult one-way. For major Yas Island events, the water taxi provides a practical bypass of the E10 traffic that builds around the Yas Island junction.

Rental and Sale Prices

Rental Prices

From live market listings, Al Barza rents are as follows:

Studios (520–590 sq ft): Approximately AED 100,000–105,000 per year*

1-bedroom apartments (~850 sq ft): From approximately AED 126,250 per year*

2-bedroom apartments (1,365–2,034 sq ft): From approximately AED 140,000–175,000 per year based on size and floor*

Al Barza studio rents are among the most accessible in the Al Bandar precinct. Contact Address Point Properties for current availability and verified rental listings.*

Sale Prices

Al Barza apartments are available for freehold purchase. Published sale price ranges from market data show Al Bandar studios from approximately AED 770,000–1,060,000; 1-bedroom from approximately AED 950,000–1,600,000; 2-bedroom from approximately AED 1,600,000–3,600,000, with the larger 2-bedroom configurations commanding higher prices.* Contact Address Point Properties for current availability and unit-specific pricing.*

Investment in Al Barza

Al Barza’s studio apartments deliver the strongest rental yields within the Al Bandar precinct.* The combination of the lowest entry purchase price in Al Bandar, the highest demand from the airline professional and young professional demographic that the precinct attracts, and the scarcity of studio supply — 28 studios across the entire Al Bandar community, all in Al Barza — creates a yield dynamic that the larger-format units in Al Naseem and Al Hadeel typically cannot match in percentage terms.* All property in Al Barza is freehold; purchases of AED 2,000,000 or above qualify for the UAE 10-year Golden Visa. Contact Address Point Properties for current yield analysis.*

Al Barza Within the Al Bandar Building Hierarchy

Al Bandar has four buildings, each with a distinct identity. Al Naseem A, B, and C (366 units) are the cascading high-rise towers with wrap-around glass balconies — the architectural centrepiece of the Al Bandar peninsula. Al Barza (132 units) is the 6-floor mid-rise with exposed brickwork — the most human-scale and texturally warm building in the precinct, and the only one offering studios. Al Manara (12 units + 1 penthouse) is the glass-cube boutique tower of full-floor luxury apartments. Al Hadeel (at the western waterfront edge of the precinct) is the newest addition (2017), with the 10th-floor infinity pool and the townhouse inventory.

Al Barza sits between Al Naseem and Al Manara both physically and in terms of market position — above the entry-level Al Seef and Al Dana pricing, within the established Al Bandar premium, but below the full-floor Al Manara and the upper-floor Al Naseem configurations. For buyers and tenants who want the Al Bandar address and the marina lifestyle at a configuration that does not require the space or cost of a 2-bedroom Al Naseem unit, Al Barza is typically the most discussed alternative.*

Sports and Active Life at Al Barza

Cobra Fitness — known for its martial arts and combat sports training — operates within the Al Bandar community, accessible from Al Barza within the precinct without requiring a car journey. The promenade cycling and jogging track that runs from the Al Bandar waterfront through the canal network toward Al Muneera and Al Zeina starts from the Al Bandar waterfront and is directly accessible from Al Barza on foot, providing a continuous active recreation corridor that extends 11 kilometres along the Al Raha Beach coastline during the cooler months. Halla Walla Watersports Club at the marina offers structured water sports — waterskiing, wakeboarding, kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing — for residents and day visitors from October through April.

The Al Bandar Clubhouse, shared by all four Al Bandar buildings including Al Barza, includes squash courts and a dance studio alongside the gymnasium and pool — a leisure offering that goes beyond the standard gym-and-pool model typical of Al Raha Beach residential buildings. For Al Barza residents whose own building includes a sauna and steam rooms alongside the pool and gym, the combination of in-building and Clubhouse facilities gives access to one of the more comprehensive leisure configurations available within a single Al Raha Beach address.*

Seasonal Events — Aloha Abu Dhabi

The Aloha Abu Dhabi festival — organised annually by Aldar across the Al Raha Beach waterfront — takes place on the promenade immediately accessible from Al Barza. The five-day festival brings live music, street performers, food stalls, open-air yoga, and children’s activities to the marina and promenade area, typically in the cooler months. For Al Barza residents, the event takes place effectively at the building’s doorstep — the marina piazza and the promenade that Aloha Abu Dhabi occupies are the same spaces that Al Barza residents walk through daily. This seasonal programme is one of the differentiators between living at an Al Raha Beach address and living in a comparable-specification building elsewhere in Abu Dhabi: the developer-organised community events calendar brings a festival-grade outdoor programme to the immediate community environment.*

Al Barza and the Al Raha Beach Freehold Market

Al Barza sits within the broader Al Raha Beach freehold investment zone — Abu Dhabi’s most established waterfront freehold market, consistently ranked in the top four areas for luxury apartment purchases across the emirate. Al Barza’s position within Al Bandar, the most actively transacted and most socially prominent sub-community in that zone, gives it a market liquidity advantage over the smaller and less-publicised communities in the district. Studio and 1-bedroom units in Al Barza are among the most frequently listed and most frequently transacted in the Al Bandar precinct, reflecting consistent demand from a tenant demographic that values the marina address above all other Al Raha Beach lifestyle markers.*

The 10-year maturity of the Al Bandar development — completed December 2010, fully occupied and managed since then — means Al Barza benefits from all the infrastructure refinements that come with a settled community: a functioning and popular restaurant strip, a well-maintained marina with an established resident boating community, reliable community management under Aldar, and a school and healthcare catchment that is genuinely proven rather than projected. For buyers choosing between a 2010-vintage Al Barza studio and a newer-build studio in a less-established community, the infrastructure certainty that comes with Al Bandar’s maturity is a meaningful underwriting of the investment.* For specific current pricing, yields, and availability, contact Address Point Properties.*

Frequently Asked Questions — Al Barza

How many apartments does Al Barza have?

Al Barza has 132 apartments across 6 floors: 28 studios, 30 one-bedroom apartments, and 72 two-bedroom apartments. There are no three-bedroom or four-bedroom units in Al Barza — those configurations are available in Al Naseem Residences (3-bedroom penthouses) and Al Manara (full-floor 4-bedroom apartments), the other buildings in the Al Bandar precinct. Al Barza was completed in October 2010 and developed by Aldar Properties.

Are all Al Bandar studios in Al Barza?

Yes — every studio apartment in the Al Bandar precinct is located in Al Barza. The other Al Bandar buildings (Al Naseem A, B, C; Al Manara) do not offer studio units. This means Al Barza is the only address within the Al Bandar marina community where studio living is possible, making it a distinct market position for residents who want the Al Bandar lifestyle at the smallest and most affordable format available in the precinct.*

What makes Al Barza architecturally distinct?

Al Barza is the only building in the Al Bandar precinct with an exposed brickwork exterior — a deliberate material choice that distinguishes it from the glass tower architecture of Al Naseem and the glass-cube format of Al Manara. The exposed brick gives Al Barza a warmer, more textured character and a visual identity within the precinct that is immediately recognisable. Studios within Al Barza also feature timber floors — a distinctive internal specification that adds to the building’s material differentiation from its all-tile and all-carpet counterparts in the wider Al Raha Beach corridor.

What are rental prices in Al Barza?

From live market listings, Al Barza studio apartments of approximately 520–590 sq ft rent for approximately AED 100,000–105,000 per year.* One-bedroom apartments of approximately 850 sq ft are listed from approximately AED 126,250 per year.* Two-bedroom apartments vary depending on size and floor, from approximately AED 140,000 upward for the smaller configurations.* All figures are indicative asking prices from market research. Contact Address Point Properties for current availability and verified listings.*

Is Al Barza freehold?

Yes — Al Barza is freehold and all apartments are available for purchase by all nationalities. Al Barza is part of the Al Bandar precinct within the Al Raha Beach designated freehold investment zone. Purchases of AED 2,000,000 or above qualify for the UAE 10-year Golden Visa. The freehold status applies to studios, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units.

Summary

Al Barza is the 6-floor, 132-unit mid-rise building of the Al Bandar precinct within Al Raha Beach, completed October 2010 by Aldar Properties. Its exposed brickwork exterior makes it architecturally distinct from every other building in the precinct. It holds all 28 studio apartments in Al Bandar — the only studios in the marina community, ranging from 520–590 sq ft with high ceilings and timber floors. One-bedroom units: 30, from 848–925 sq ft. Two-bedroom units: 72, from 1,365–2,034 sq ft. No 3BR or 4BR units. Overlooks the marina piazza directly; promenade dining (Pacifico TIKI, Ornina, Desert Lotus) within 2 minutes on foot. Building amenities: gym, pool, sauna, steam rooms, play area. Full Al Bandar Marina and Clubhouse access. HealthPlus Family Clinic Al Bandar approximately 350m. Raha International School (IB) approximately 3.9 km. Bus routes 170/175, 5-minute walk. Airport 10 minutes. Studio rents AED 100,000–105,000; 1BR from AED 126,250 per year.* All property freehold.

Prices marked with an asterisk (*) are indicative only, sourced from market research, and subject to change without notice. All Al Barza apartments are freehold. Address Point Properties makes no warranty as to the accuracy or currency of the pricing information on this page.