Abu Dhabi branded residences: Waldorf Astoria on Yas and Hilton Residences at Al Raha, both due in 2028

Abu Dhabi still has a fraction of Dubai’s branded residential stock, so each new launch stands out. In the past eighteen months Hilton has entered the capital’s housing market with two flags at once — Waldorf Astoria on Yas Island and Hilton on the Al Raha waterfront. The two schemes face each other across the channel, complete in the same quarter and show neatly how one hotel group sells two price tiers.

Waldorf Astoria Residences Yas: sold in a day

Aldar launched the project in May 2025 and on 26 May announced that all 133 homes had sold on launch day, for AED 850m. They are one- to three-bedroom apartments by the waterfront and the Yas Links golf course, with entry prices of around AED 3.8m. UAE nationals, Britons and Chinese buyers led, and expatriates and overseas buyers together took 76% of sales. Completion is planned for Q4 2028.

Yas Island will be a different place by then. In May 2025 Disney and Miral announced a Disney theme park on the island, joining Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World and SeaWorld, while Aldar builds out Yas Point, its last coastal cluster there. For an owner that means year-round visitor traffic and a clear case for short lets.

Hilton Residences Al Raha: 176 homes on the water

In early 2026 Emirates Developments launched Hilton Residences Abu Dhabi Al Raha, the emirate’s first standalone Hilton-branded residential building, with no hotel attached. It has 176 residences over ten residential floors, all with sea views: one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments, three-bedroom townhouses and five-bedroom penthouses. Prices start at about AED 2.5m and completion is scheduled for Q4 2028. Under the sales terms, owners hold Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they own.

One group, two products

	Waldorf Astoria Residences Yas	Hilton Residences Al Raha
Developer	Aldar	Emirates Developments
Homes	133	176
Entry	from ~AED 3.8m	from ~AED 2.5m
Setting	Yas Island, golf and marina	Al Raha Beach, front line
Completion	Q4 2028	Q4 2028

Two things matter to a buyer. First, management: Hilton Residences Al Raha is a residential building run by a management company to brand standards, and the same questions apply to Waldorf Astoria — the length of the brand agreement, the service charge and the rules on letting. Second, resale: Waldorf Astoria sold out, so the only way in now is an assignment at a premium to the launch price, and that premium should be checked against registered transactions rather than listings.

For Hilton-branded homes in Dubai, see Hilton Residences Dubai Maritime City, and for the capital’s biggest developer, our Aldar profile.

What else is being built on the island, and why Aldar calls Yas Point its last coastal cluster — read Yas Point: AED 6bn on Yas Island.