The Astera, Interiors by Aston Martin

The Astera occupies a beachfront plot on Al Marjan Island, a man-made archipelago in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. This is the one address in Dar Global's UAE set that is not in Dubai, a point worth holding onto, because Al Marjan Island registers title with the RAK Municipality property register rather than the Dubai Land Department. The tower stands directly opposite the Wynn Al Marjan Island integrated resort, about 5 minutes away, which is expected to open in 2027 and is the island's anchor catalyst. Dubai International Airport is roughly 45 minutes by road and central Dubai about an hour, so the location trades immediate Dubai proximity for a quieter beach setting and a lower entry price.

Against the rest of the Dar Global UAE range, The Astera differs on three plain points. It is the only Ras Al Khaimah address: D-Villas at Jumeirah Golf Estates, DG1 and Da Vinci Tower in Business Bay, and Trump International Hotel & Tower are all in Dubai. It carries Aston Martin interiors, where Da Vinci Tower carries Pagani, DG1 is Dar Global's own Gensler-designed tower, and Trump International is Trump-branded. And it is the lowest entry price in the set, from AED 1,870,000, while it is also under construction to a December 2028 handover rather than already complete like Da Vinci Tower or running to a long 2031 horizon like Trump International. It is a 19-storey single tower of 260 homes, more compact than the Dubai high-rises.

The developer is Dar Global, established in 2017 and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DAR) in February 2023, the first Saudi company to join the LSE Main Market, with Dar Al Arkan as controlling shareholder. It is the international arm of Dar Al Arkan and builds branded residences for overseas buyers, with a Gulf portfolio that includes AIDA at Yiti in Muscat, Trump Tower and Amaya in Jeddah, and Rayana at Wadi Safar in Diriyah. The brand structure here is two-party and worth understanding: Dar Global is the developer and carries delivery, in a joint venture with Aarvees Group, while Aston Martin licenses its design and name only. Aston Martin's in-house design team is responsible for the interiors; it does not build and is not a co-developer. The firm states this is the first time its design team has applied its work to a Middle East real estate development. Dar Global's own portfolio and unit-delivered totals are not stated here as fact.

The residences run from one to three bedrooms across apartments, plus three-bedroom beach villas, which the developer describes as townhouses. One-bedroom apartments span roughly 78 to 121 square metres, two-bedroom apartments roughly 102 to 137 square metres, the three-bedroom apartment around 254 square metres, and the three-bedroom villas roughly 228 to 267 square metres, within an overall envelope of 61 to 265 square metres. The homes are branded residences with interiors by Aston Martin's design team, described in the launch materials with leather, polished metal and wood finishes and floor-to-ceiling glazing onto the Gulf.

On demand and the honest investment picture: The Astera is an off-plan purchase under construction, so the central risk is timeline and delivery to the stated December 2028 date. The works are progressing on a clear paper trail, foundations from October 2024 with Stromek Emirates Foundations and the main works contract awarded to Gulf Asia Contracting in July 2025 for AED 201,462,000. Direct developer allocations are sold out; entry today is via resale, so the AED 1,870,000 launch price may no longer be obtainable from the developer. The Wynn resort is the genuine catalyst, though its opening has slipped from a firm early-2027 expectation to a Q1 2027 target with a modest delay flagged in 2026 reporting.