Here's my 2 sen after visiting the experience gallery and having a very informative and detailed briefing by their sales team. As a bit of background, I'm comparing against Semi-D projects that are available along the GCE corridor as this fit's into my personal requirements.

Pro's
1. Connectivity to PLUS highway is really good as it is right at the toll plaza with the easiest connection to the city.
2. Since my elderly parents would live with me and have their medical appointments at Sungai Buloh hospital, Gamuda Gardens has the best access to and from the hospital
3. The environment within the project is very nice and relaxing, particularly the lakes and gardens.
4. Strata development so neighbours cant make weird or ugly extensions and modifications to the homes
5. Facade of the homes are quite nice with multiple facade to choose from
6. Personally I feel that the management fee of RM320 for Semi-D units is not too bad
7. Gated and guarded. Plus the houses come with fence-less concept
8. Cul-de-sac streets which should mean light traffic
9. Pet friendly park/development and they also have a dog park/gym area!!

Con's
1. Their Semi-D's are not really Semi-D as they are actually cluster (back part of the house is joined as well as one side). This results in a number of disadvantages:-
(a) 2 internal bedrooms not to have exterior facing windows but instead face internal courtyards.
(b) 2 bathrooms don't have external windows so very poor ventilation - developer should really include exhaust vents as part of the product
2. Some obvious parts where can see that cost has been cut where they should not have done so:-
(a) Bathrooms do not come with hot water piping and you have to use instant water heater unless renovate the whole bathroom - this is not suitable for Semi-D homes
(b) Garden only come with spot turfing - not acceptable for the price of the product
3. Lack of shops - need to travel, although the good highway connectivity should help this
4. I don't really have confidence on the office/commercial development - why would companies want to move to so far away, especially if more companies move into WFH in the future.
5. What will happen to the water park, luge park, pet park, etc when the whole development completes? To run this operations need a lot of cost and I dont think the area has or will have enough population to sustain. I have a fear that the developer or operator will just close these businesses down due to losses.
6. I only found this out because I specifically asked, but the common park area is NOT strata but will be returned to the Majlis once the development completes. I dont have confidence that the Majlis is able to maintain these areas into the future.
7. Price - The price is quite high and even after 1+ year from launch, still have (my estimate) at least 50% unsold for the (cluster) Semi-D. What makes it weirder is that each unit has a different price (almost like a condo) although the difference is not significant. But price is really on the higher side for the location and considering that these are cluster homes and not proper semi-D's.

On the fence
1. Semi-D built-up is only 24' wide. This might be a con for most people but personally to me is ok. I have kept as item to consider as it would likely be a negative item for future resale.
2. Lack of schools - very important for families with kids. I don't have kids so this is not important for me. Again may be important for future resale
3. Leasehold - personally not an issue to me, but just added for completeness

Major turn-off's
When compared with other developers, I am not sure why Gamuda is not clear with a few things which are always mentioned in brochures
(a) house number is not mentioned. instead only states the "lot" number. But when deliver, there will actually be a house number. For people that care about feng-shui and numbers, please make sure you check this.
(b) no idea what is street name/number as well - forgot to ask this
© house facing direction is not mentioned - I had to specifically ask where is north as I am quite sure I dont want west facing/sided homes as it would be too hot. This item is very important for me.

Also, I feel that their current HOC campaign seems dishonest - they launched at RM1.2 million and now under HOC is is still RM1.2million after discount - seem weird

I don't completely agree with the statement that Gamuda Gardens would face social issues in the future as these issues are going to be everywhere and not only limited to that area.

In my personal view, parks are meant to be public areas and they should be enjoyed by all and not only by a select group such as residents within the development. I am all for encouraging the public to make use of the facilities that are available as well as to build a community spirit with neighbours within the development as well as neighbours in the surrounding area. This is of course with the caveat that everyone (yes, including residents within the community) are responsible and do their best to take care of the environment and facilities provided.

Personally, due the complexity of maintaining the uniquely designed park and lake features, I would have a preference that the maintenance of these facilities is managed by the residents of Gamuda Garden. If this means increasing the monthly maintenance fees for this additional landscaping and maintenance costs, I am all for it as it would have a direct link to the value of my property.

However, under the current arrangement where the park is returned to Majlis and with me having no confidence on how well Majlis will maintain it in the future is somewhat a negative point, especially since the price of the property is on the higher side. I don't think Gamuda sales team statement to say that it is a 15 year development is sufficient as well since most buyers may be taking a 30+ year loan.

I suppose at this time purchasing this area would be a little bit of a gamble on whether Gamuda is able to make a successful development and that they have learned from their mistakes from previous developments (e.g. Bandar Botanic). Personally, at this time I am leaning towards Elmina as it is a much more integrated development and the larger size should lead to a good mix of residential, commercial and recreational zones.

Yup, agree with your point.

I was looking at either Semi-D or Bungalow though, so strata restrictions is a bit undesirable.

However, if looking at link homes, then definitely agree, strata would be good to avoid some people making truly extensive renovations to the facade. The only negative I can think for link homes is that if owner wants to extend the back portion of the house (e.g. the back rooms) may get rejected (although JMB can perhaps set a reasonable limit for such extensions since doesn't affect front facade).