The World Islands

Building the islands took about 320 million cubic metres of dredged sand and 34 million tonnes of rock. The rock forms the breakwater, which has a submerged outer reef and an inner wall 3 metres above sea level. Owners received access in September 2008, 1 month before the financial crisis reached Dubai, and most island plans stopped there. By mid-2018, only 2 islands were in active use.

Nakheel is the master developer. Early invitations priced single islands between USD 15 million and USD 50 million, and by the end of 2009 the company said about 210 islands had been sold. In 2007, Kleindienst Group bought 6 islands for its Heart of Europe cluster. Other developers now build on islands of their own, among them ZAYA and the developer of Samana Collecta, which acquired about 6 island plots in 2025.

Hospitality arrived first, and these are the openings and launches so far:

• The beach club on Lebanon Island opened to the public in 2011, the first island to do so.
• Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort opened on Clarence Island in December 2021 with 70 rooms, suites and villas.
• IHG's adults-only voco Monaco Dubai opened in 2024, after a soft opening in early 2023.
• The voco Dubai Nice opened in January 2026 with 264 keys and a climate-controlled Raining Street.
• Amali Island broke ground in October 2024 on 24 villas, with about 90 percent sold at the ceremony and completion then set for early 2027.

The European-themed hotel cluster plans 20 hotels with more than 5,000 keys in total, and its developer has named 2027 as the target for all of them.

Kleindienst Group sells 3 of the main products:

• Côte d'Azur Resort: studio of about 400 to 680 sq ft | AED 1 million to AED 2 million | Main Europe Island
• Marbella Resort Hotel: 548 sq ft studio | AED 3.19 million in September 2026 | European cluster
• The Floating Seahorse: 1 to 4 bedroom villa on 3 levels with an underwater floor | from AED 21 million | Honeymoon Island

Other developers sell these:

• Zuha Island: ZAYA | 6-bedroom off-plan villa of 33,105 sq ft | AED 70 million in June 2026
• Amali Island: Amali Properties | villas of up to 7 bedrooms | AED 100 million to AED 200 million for the top homes
• Samana Collecta: Samana Developers | studio to 4-bedroom apartments plus floating and tree villas | expected from below AED 2 million
• Land trades as well: a commercial plot of 554,254 sq ft sold for AED 62 million in September 2026. A buyer can enter through a studio at the Côte d'Azur Resort for about AED 1 million, while a private villa on Zuha Island costs 70 times that. Across recorded deals in that cluster, prices range from about AED 1,700 to AED 5,800 per sq ft.

Each island runs its own crossing:

• Boats to the Lebanon Island day resort leave Jumeirah Fishing Harbour and take about 15 minutes, and seaplanes can also land there.
• Guests of the 2021 resort cross by speedboat from a jetty on Palm Jumeirah.
• The Nice hotel is about 15 minutes from the mainland by speedboat.
• Residents of the private villa estate get an 8-minute trip, mainland parking and a floating helipad.
• The newest branded island plans a yacht shuttle every 30 minutes.

In 2023, the first island opened to the public had no link to Dubai's utility network and ran on deliveries: about 10,000 gallons of diesel a month for its generators, around 20,000 gallons of water a week into 5 storage tanks, sewage collected by boat every 2 months and rubbish collected daily.

Bigger projects plan their own utilities. The Europe-themed islands plan a self-contained grid powered by solar and wind, with diesel backup, plus a vacuum sewage system that reuses treated greywater for irrigation. As master developer of its own island, the newest developer will build power, water, sewerage, and waste management.

Most finished space today is hotel space. There are no schools on the islands, healthcare is limited to first-aid points at the resorts, and residents shop on the mainland until planned island stores open. Homes come next: villas on Germany Island and the beach palaces on Sweden Island were at an advanced handover stage in August 2025, the 24-villa estate includes a 9,000 sq ft residents' clubhouse, and a new branded apartment project is planned as a year-round community with retail and co-working space.

• Private beachfront. Each villa on the Uruguay and São Paulo islands has up to 50 metres of its own beach.
• Skyline views. The same homes look back at Palm Jumeirah and Burj Khalifa across the water.
• Car-free streets. The hotel cluster is planned as a car-free destination, with visitors and deliveries arriving by boat.
• Freehold for foreigners. The archipelago is listed among the Dubai areas where foreign buyers can own freehold property.
• Global hotel brands. IHG runs 2 hotels here and plans an InterContinental resort, while Anantara has operated here since 2021.

Every errand, school run and hospital visit begins with a boat, and timings follow each island's own service. Delays have been long: the 6-island hotel project was on hold from 2011 to 2013 during a USD 199 million legal dispute, and its first completion target of September 2022 was missed. Utilities that depend on shipped fuel and water mean more running work than a mainland home needs. Recorded resales are few, so price comparisons are thin. Many studios for sale are hotel keys, which suits investors more than full-time residents.

Gulf buyers lead the floating villa market. Most of the more than 70 floating villas sold by 2023 went to Saudi buyers, followed by Emiratis and UAE residents. The main buyer groups for property on the World Islands are:

• Ultra-high-net-worth families buying private estates, the segment where the 24-villa launch sold about 90 percent of its homes.
• Hotel unit investors buying studios inside hotel projects that a brand or developer operates.
• Holiday home buyers looking at World Islands floating villas and beach villas for part of the year.
• Year-round residents and remote workers, the group newer launches with retail and co-working space are planned for.

Island life is a weaker fit for daily office commuters, families with children in mainland schools and anyone who may need a quick sale.

The wider Dubai market cooled in 2026. Sales volume across the emirate in the first 9 months was 21.8 percent lower than a year earlier, and sales value was 23.5 percent lower. The archipelago itself is more developed than in any earlier cycle: 3 hotels and a day resort now trade there, against 2 active islands as late as mid-2018. At the top end, a single estate villa has sold for AED 200 million.