Living at Crystal Residence

Crystal Residence is in the part of Phase 1 where things are: Tree Top Hospital is in the vicinity, the beach and Central Park are a short walk, and the schools and the ferry are minutes away. It is the address the concierge suggests to a family arriving in Hulhumalé who wants to be near everything without living on a main road.

Light and air

The towers were designed for cross-ventilation, and the corner units show it: dual-aspect glazing, three balconies in the seventh-floor corner homes, sunrise on one side and sunset on the other. Tenants run the air-conditioning less than they expect to.

Inside

Open kitchens with built-in appliances, laundry rooms, en-suite bedrooms in the three-bedroom plans, wrap-around balconies in the corners. The furnished units Binga has let came with marble-look porcelain floors and sofa-beds for the guests who inevitably visit.

The building

The pool and the gym for the mornings; the managed lobby with controlled lift access; motorbike parking as standard and a car bay on a monthly lease; a heavy-duty backup generator, which in Hulhumalé is the difference between an outage and an inconvenience. Waste goes through a hygienic system rather than a corridor.

Who lives here

Local families who pay in rufiyaa and expatriate professionals who pay in dollars, side by side. It is one of the few buildings where both bands are active, and it is why Crystal is Binga's most-let address.