Omniyat: Luxury in the palm of your hand
From the air, Palm Jumeirah looks like Dubai’s most audacious idea made real: a palm-shaped island rising from the sea. It has matured into a thriving neighbourhood, where residents enjoy schools, shops, beach clubs and fine dining. At its edges, the shoreline retains a sense of theatre. It is here that Omniyat and Dorchester Collection have built some of their most distinctive addresses.
Elevated living
One at Palm Jumeirah, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, was the first. Its tiered balconies create more of a vertical resort than a conventional tower: layered terraces jutting out towards the Gulf. This was an early attempt to bring Dorchester Collection’s legendary service, honed in London and Paris, into Dubai residences. Next came Ava at Palm Jumeirah, Dorchester Collection, Dubai – a slender, sculptural form with just 17 residences.
The building rises like a cresting wave, with glass shimmering in the light and interiors that push out toward the horizon. Seen from the water, AVA’s lines look almost weightless. Living spaces open onto expansive terraces that maximise the building’s position at the threshold of the island, between the calm of the Gulf and the buzz of the city.
Orla and Orla Infinity, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, extend this idea. Designed by Foster + Partners, both employ natural elements to soften their geometrical edges. Due for completion in 2026, initial impressions reveal towers shaped to channel breezes and catch the sunrise and sunset. Here, double-height lobbies and floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolve the boundary between indoors and out, while pools appear to blend seamlessly into the horizon. ORLA Infinity will have just 20 duplexes, underscoring the appeal of scarcity in a city often drawn to large-scale developments.
Collectively, these Palm Jumeirah projects form a portfolio with a more nuanced approach to waterfront living. They balance architecture and landscape, with Dorchester Collection’s service tying them together. For residents, the promise is less about spectacle and more what happens every day: privacy, discretion and ease.
A new chapter
Across the city, in the Burj Khalifa District, another waterfront tells a different story. Marasi Bay is being reshaped by Omniyat into an exclusive waterfront destination with a private marina, directly opposite Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest structure. Marasi Bay’s promenade moves to a different rhythm of life: joggers trace the canal, yachts moor beneath towers, the skyline mirroring in the water at dusk.
“We are reshaping Marasi Bay into Dubai’s definitive ultra-luxury waterfront destination,” says Omniyat founder and chairman, Mahdi Amjad. “Marasi Bay is transforming a former commercial district into a highly desirable, vibrant and extraordinary ultra-high-net-worth community.”
The anchor is The Lana, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, a pair of connected towers designed by Foster + Partners with interiors by Gilles & Boissier. One tower houses a hotel, with Dior Spa, rooftop pool and fine-dining restaurants, while the other is home to 39 private residences. Residents can dock yachts along the promenade and step directly into the hotel lobby.
Vela and Vela Viento, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, push the concept further. Vela’s corner pools appear to float above the marina, their reflections mingling with Downtown’s steel and glass. Vela Viento is more dramatic: tower bridges contain “hanging” dining rooms, suspended above the bay. This is architecture as experience, a daily ritual becoming a memorable moment.
Marasi Bay signals something important. In Dubai, where waterfront plots are finite, Omniyat has reclaimed commercial land and repurposed it for elegant living. The scale and quality are still ambitious – private marinas, Michelin-starred restaurants – but the focus is on curation.
Palm Jumeirah and Marasi Bay show how Omniyat is carving out an impressive niche with its Dorchester Collection portfolio. Palm Jumeirah remains the emblem of Dubai’s coastal bravado; Marasi Bay is its urban counterpart, an experiment in reshaping a district into a waterfront destination. Both are defined by design, function and a refined hospitality ethos.
For a city built on speed and spectacle, these developments point to a new chapter: one in which luxury is measured not in size but in service, proportion and the ability to live well by the water’s edge.
