oman free hotel program, lounge questions, what to do on layover?
my understanding was that pre-covid, oman business class passengers with a < 24 hour layover could opt for a free stay at an onsite hotel or choose an offsite hotel which the airline would pick up, or if > 24 hour as a stopover, that they would pick up the first night at a hotel.
i have a flight IST-MCT-BKK with the first leg in biz and second in first, however i was told they are not currently offering paid hotel rooms by the US service number. maybe i'll get lucky and this program will resume - my flight is not until september.
the flight arrives at 17:50 and does not fly out until 08:50 the next morning.
1. my understanding is the first class/business lounge has an extra area for first class with a la carte dining, and includes a free 15 minute massage. apparently there are sleeping quarters in it and business, but the business ones are nicer.
2. my understanding is there is also an arrival lounge - anything special here/is it worth seeing or doing anything in? if i exit security and go to this lounge when i first arrive, will they actually let me back in through security to go to the transit first class lounge right away? or only within 4 hours of my departure?
3. i'm assuming either lounge will have, very tasty, and much nicer food than i'd stumble on fending for myself actually entering muscat - so let's say i land, eat, and get through immigration and am able to leave the airport by 19:30, although that certainly could be later. what is there to do, aside from transit to a hotel i arrange myself and sleep in? this seems fairly late to do much at all.
4. this was an award trip i booked via aeroplan. if i find the same flight availability a couple days later, would i be able to call oman and push it a few days to get a free stopover and explore the city? or would i need to do this with aeroplan; could they even do it? the actual route is IST-MCT-BKK and i would speculate their system would not consider this a free stopover and want to book and charge for 2 separate one ways as IST-MCT and MCT-BKK.
thanks for any thoughts and advice!