SanDiego1K beat me to the punch - I had my family in town for a few days at the end of October and early November and put them up at the GH, and they had recently shifted operations back into the Grand Club. I had several stays over the spring and summer at the hotel, and they offered club benefits at the Mokha Café with a set made-to-order menu of hot and cold appetizers, one red/white/sparkling wine, base spirits and mixers. It was fine, but they never changed the menu in the months I stayed.

During my experiences at the Grand Club, I saw that the food and drink offerings were significantly scaled up, with a rotating food menu of extensive cold appetizers and cheeses as well as two hot dishes [one was always vegetarian-friendly - yay!], and the drinks offerings were upscaled with two reds, two whites, a Prosecco, and better spirits. Guests help themselves to all food and drink in the lounge.

Breakfast was decent, but repetitive - only one or two dishes would change at the buffet, with the rest staying the same. You get your usual five-star assortment of things like cold cuts, mezzes, hot dishes, egg station, pastries and the like, and they're all of good quality. Service can, however, be spotty and aloof more often than you'd like.

I will say that having the dedicated lounge open in the evenings and breakfast in the restaurant without argument or negotiation is the best of all possible scenarios, and it makes this hotel a compelling choice - even if it's stuck in time and a blast from the past. If you're looking for a club experience in the city, it boils down to the GH, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza Muscat and Muscat OCEC, the Chedi, Kempinski and Sheraton - and three of those [CP OCEC, Kempinski and Sheraton] are in isolated locations, while the rest don't offer elite benefits the way the GH does.

khabah