Originally Posted by escape4

Introduction I recently stayed at Alila Jabal Akhdar which is one of the most unique resorts I have ever stayed at and can provide an unforgettable experience in ways that other more standard resorts cannot. Alila was not perfect but for me those issues were being dwarfed by the rest. Location First of all the resort is special not only because of its location but because of how you can get there. Rather than rent a car or hire a driver for the 2.5-hour journey up the mountain, I used the services of Al Sharqiya Aviation for the 40-minute helicopter flight from Muscat to Alila. While not directly related to Alila, the service I received from ASA was great from start to finish including the booking and advance preparation for the flight including flexibility with a last minute time change I requested for the departure flight. ASA has a choice of H125 or H145 choppers and even offers door to door service from some hotels in Muscat, for example pick-up directly from Al Bustan Palace (Ritz Carlton) was possible as it has a landing spot there. Alternatively, clients can travel to ASA's hangar for takeoff.

Check In Upon arriving to the resort, Alila staff came to pick us up at the landing spot on Alila's grounds for the short drive to our room. Perhaps guests arriving by helicopter at Alila is less common than I expected (?), but the way the check-in was done was quite different than a standard hotel arrival. Not only we were dropped off immediately to our room, but they did not bother us with paperwork, ID, or credit card requests – they left us in full privacy and assumed we were the guests they were expecting.

Room I booked the entry level room and used a Globalist Suite Award which upgrades to the Jabal Terrace room type. The room was not a proper suite because there was no separate living room, however the bathroom was huge, and the outdoor space even bigger. There was a small terrace in front of the bathroom, and on the other side, a very spacious terrace outside the bedroom with sun lounging chairs and a dining table. If I had one criticism of our room it would be that internet was very weak and at times unusable from the main terrace so it took away part of the enjoyment because it required me to sometimes sit at the smaller terrace with lesser views instead.

Dining Since I booked with points, the stay was not all-inclusive although I had free breakfast as Globalist. The breakfast was quite good in my opinion, entirely a la carte with a decent selection and we especially enjoyed the vegetarian dish of the day which was often a spicy Indian aloo dish. The dinner menu at Rose Lounge was the same as for room service and was less impressive, however unlike previous reports on FT it was not the only dinner menu.