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AVENEW Development’s second partnership with Marriott International will place private villas and low-rise residences on the Hawaii cluster of Dubai’s World Islands, with sales opening in 2027.
Dubai’s most audacious piece of real estate, the man-made archipelago known as The World Islands, has just landed one of hospitality’s most recognized names. AVENEW Development, a Dubai developer barely two years old, has partnered with Marriott International to bring The Ritz-Carlton Residences to the Hawaii Islands cluster, part of an archipelago of roughly 260 man-made islands sitting about four kilometers off the Jumeirah coastline.
It’s a compact announcement with a much bigger story behind it: a once-stalled megaproject finding new life, a young developer moving fast, and a hospitality name already established elsewhere in Dubai now staking a claim offshore.
The Quick Facts
- Developer: AVENEW Development, via Prime Properties Holding Limited and AVENEW Real Estate Development LLC
- Hospitality brand: The Ritz-Carlton Residences, licensed through Marriott International
- Location: Hawaii Islands cluster, The World Islands, Dubai
- Unit types: Standalone villas plus two- and three-bedroom low-rise residences
- Concept: A private island retreat with Ritz-Carlton service
- Sales launch: 2027, with pricing, floor plans and unit counts still to come
- Significance: AVENEW’s second branded-residences partnership with Marriott in under eight months
A Private Retreat, Not Another Tower
Rather than another high-rise on the skyline, the plan pairs standalone villas with low-rise buildings holding two- and three-bedroom units, a lower-density approach built around the idea of a secluded island retreat. It’s a deliberate departure from how most of Dubai’s branded-residence boom has played out so far, largely in vertical towers along the Marina, Business Bay and Downtown.
Marriott is positioning the project as an extension of Ritz-Carlton’s global residences network, which typically gives owners access to the brand’s service standards, a global concierge desk, and in some cases elite-tier status within the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. What hasn’t been released yet: pricing, an exact unit count, or a construction timeline. AVENEW has said only that sales will open in 2027.
Why The World Islands, and Why Now
To understand why this deal matters, it helps to know what The World Islands have been through. Nakheel built the archipelago’s islands between 2003 and 2008, reportedly at a cost near AED 50 billion, arranging them into the shape of a world map. The 2008-2009 financial crisis stalled almost everything that wasn’t already underway, and for more than a decade the islands were better known as a cautionary tale than an address.
That’s changed markedly in the past few years. Kleindienst Group’s Heart of Europe has delivered its floating “Seahorse” villas alongside a growing cluster of resort hotels; Amali Island, developed by the Sajwani family, sold out 24 beachfront mansions largely to international buyers; and Anantara has opened a resort on the archipelago. Even so, industry estimates put total build-out at only 10 to 15 percent of the islands as of early 2026, which is precisely the pitch AVENEW is making to buyers. Rasha Hassan, AVENEW’s managing partner, called the location “a real estate opportunity that is genuinely rare,” pointing to the archipelago’s capped supply as a long-term advantage rather than a liability.
A Ritz-Carlton Address, But Not the First in Dubai
The Ritz-Carlton Residences brand isn’t new to Dubai. It’s just never had an island. The Ritz-Carlton name, rebuilt into its modern form in 1983 and folded into Marriott’s portfolio in the 1990s, already anchors residential addresses in the emirate:
| Ritz-Carlton address | Setting |
| DIFC | Urban high-rise in the financial district |
| Business Bay | Canal-front tower near Downtown |
| Dubai Creek (Keturah, with MAG) | Waterfront wellness resort; mansions priced from roughly AED 177 million, targeting Q4 2027 completion |
| The World Islands (Hawaii cluster, with AVENEW) | Private island retreat; sales open 2027 |
What sets the new project apart is geography rather than brand: instead of an urban tower or a canal-front building, this is a private-island setting, closer in spirit to Ritz-Carlton’s resort residences elsewhere in the world than to its existing Dubai addresses. It’s also worth being precise about what the brand license actually covers: The Ritz-Carlton Residences at The World Islands will not be owned, developed, or sold by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company itself. That role sits with AVENEW and its Prime Properties Holding entity, operating under a trademark license from Marriott.
AVENEW’s Fast Climb Into Branded Residences
AVENEW Development was founded in Dubai in 2024 and co-founded by Rasha Hassan. In just two years, the company has built out a residential portfolio that includes Lia, Silena, Shoaq, Rena and Avenew 888, alongside the One District commercial project and Cheval Residences on Dubai Islands.
Branded residences are a newer chapter. AVENEW’s first Marriott partnership, The St. Regis Residences at Dubai Islands, was only announced in December 2025. Landing a second Marriott-affiliated brand less than eight months later (this time Ritz-Carlton, and this time on a very different kind of site) signals a developer moving quickly to build out a branded-residences portfolio while Dubai’s appetite for these addresses is close to its peak.
The Bigger Picture: Dubai’s Branded-Residences Boom
AVENEW’s timing lines up with a broader shift in Dubai’s luxury market. Branded residences, homes developed alongside a recognized hotel, fashion or lifestyle name, have moved from a niche offering to what many developers now treat as a default strategy at the top end of the market. Knight Frank’s most recent Residence Report tracked more than 1,000 live and pipeline branded residential schemes across 83 countries, with Dubai and Miami leading global supply.
That momentum shows up in the transaction data too: Dubai’s residential market recorded roughly $146.5 billion (AED 538.1 billion) in transaction value in 2025, up close to 27 percent year-over-year, according to a market analysis by Metropolitan Premium Properties. Brokers describe today’s luxury buyers as increasingly selective about developer track record and brand fit, exactly the case AVENEW and Marriott are making with a name as established as Ritz-Carlton.
What’s Still Unconfirmed
To be clear about what’s known and what isn’t: AVENEW and Marriott have confirmed the location, the general unit mix, and a 2027 sales launch. Pricing, exact unit counts, floor plans, amenities and a construction timeline haven’t been released. Expect those details closer to launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly will The Ritz-Carlton Residences, The World Islands be located?
Within the Hawaii Islands cluster of The World Islands, an archipelago about four kilometers off Dubai’s Jumeirah coastline.
When can buyers purchase a unit?
Sales are scheduled to open in 2027. AVENEW hasn’t released pricing or a reservation process yet.
Is this AVENEW Development’s first Ritz-Carlton project?
Yes. It’s AVENEW’s first Ritz-Carlton partnership and its second branded-residences collaboration with Marriott overall, following The St. Regis Residences at Dubai Islands.
Does The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company own or sell the residences?
No. Marriott licenses the Ritz-Carlton trademark to AVENEW’s development entities; the hotel company itself isn’t the owner, developer or seller.
Are there other Ritz-Carlton-branded residences in Dubai?
Yes. Existing Ritz-Carlton Residences operate or are under construction in DIFC, Business Bay and Dubai Creek. The World Islands project is the brand’s first private-island address in the emirate.
The Bottom Line
For AVENEW, this is a bet that a once-troubled megaproject has turned a corner, and that being early on a fixed-supply island is worth more than being early in an already-crowded skyline. For Ritz-Carlton and Marriott, it’s a chance to extend a familiar Dubai name into a genuinely different setting. Whether it pays off depends on details still to come, but with sales more than a year out, AVENEW has time to make its case.
