khabah

Since this thread hasn't seen any activity since last September, I figured I'd share some info from my three-night stay in July 2020. This being the age of COVID-19 and with the airports closed, I decided to have a staycation and wanted to try the Grand Hyatt again following an alright stay in August 2017.

• I'm an Explorist, and booked a Privé rate.
• Upon arrival in the late afternoon, I thought that the hotel was closed given the dimmed lights of the entrance and the "closed" signs on the doors - but alas, given the hotel's diminished occupancy and lack of activity, this was not the case.
• While the lobby is still very much Disneyland-meets-Arabia as it has been since 1998, the reception desk now has plexiglas panels as a sign of the times. Check-in was quick, I was thanked for my status, given a letter detailing my Privé benefits and issued keys to my room. The welcome gift delivered to my room was a large pump-bottle of hand sanitizer and disposable masks. Ah 2020, you are a gem.
• Between the hotel being empty, being an Explorist and staying on a Privé rate, the hotel upgraded me to a Grand Suite [in stark comparison to a lot of the reviews I've read on the Marriott board, where elites aren't being upgraded while hotels continue to sell rooms they'd others qualify for upgrades into]. A lovely welcome amenity of big box of stuffed dates was in the room. With a full living room, separate bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms, the suite had plenty of space, was immaculately clean and was in good condition. That being said, it's DATED - the hotel opened in 1998, hasn't been renovated since and is well overdue for a total revamp.
• The Grand Club, restaurants, Club Olympus, pool and beach access were all closed due to COVID-19. The hotel was exceptionally creepy at night - entire wings were shut down and with the faded décor, lights turned off and hallway doors unlocked, you could go nuts recreating your own moments á la The Shining.
• All food is delivered via in-room dining and consumed in-room. With breakfast included through Privé, we were told we could order whatever we wanted to off the breakfast menu. Food was always delivered at the requested time, hot and freshly made, and the kitchen was happy to make little adjustments here and there.
• While interactions were minimal, staff were very friendly, and were eager to chat and keep themselves motivated. You can tell they're clamoring for more normal climes and for catering to guests again.

All in all, this was a good stay. That being said, with Muscat's hotel game stepping up and even the parking garage-like InterContinental finishing its renovation this summer, Hyatt really needs to press the owners to make the necessary investments to turn the Grand Hyatt into less of an antiquated amusement park and more into a contemporary property consistent with the brand.

khabah

SanDiego1K

I plan to stay here later this year. The website says this regarding food outlets:

The Hotel has now re-opened its swimming pool, health club facilities and restaurants* in line with Government Guidelines & Regulations. *Restaurants operating: Mokha Café, Sirj Tea Lounge, Marjan (Pool Service) and Habana.

Do any of those restaurants serve good Arabic food? Has the Regency Club reopened? Where is breakfast served for gloalists?

It sounds as though the hotel is unchanged since my stay 10 years ago. That's unfortunate. It shows the power of the Globalist status that I am returning.

khabah

That last paragraph is especially poignant: we’re it not for the value of Globalist, I wouldn’t keep coming here. You’ll see how it hasn’t changed - the smell of age permeates throughout the hotel, and it genuinely surprises me how well it’s holding up given how old it is.

The Club space is still still closed, so they offer Globalists and Club Room guests breakfast in the main restaurant, you can pick up waters from the restaurant throughout the day and then they offer a menu of small dishes and various drinks from 6 to 8 PM. The menu consists of things like bruschetta, hummus, arancini and cheese, is exactly the same day in and day out and there is absolutely no variation.

To be honest, I haven’t eaten at the restaurants so I can’t tell you what is open and what isn’t. If you’re looking for good Arabic food, I’d suggest walking on the promenade to the new Water-Front mall development - there is a slew of restaurants there serving all sorts of things from Turkish ice cream to other GCC foods.

khabah

SanDiego1K

Are you familiar with Bar-b-Que Tonight? I see it on the map between the hotel and the Water-Front. It's Pakistani food and has good Yelp reviews. It seems to be takeout only at the moment,.

mecabq

BBQ tonight is a great chain in the UAE and, according to friends, in Pakistan, for what it is -- a wide variety of Pakistani kebabs, a few veg side dishes and salads, and some non-ethnic cuisine like fried shrimp and fish. I haven't eaten at the Oman (or Pakistan) outlets, and it's presumably a different franchisee in Oman so any comparison might be moot. I would much prefer the buffet to takeout. So my review is worthless I suppose.

GUWonder

I’ve not eaten at Bar.B.Q Tonight but outside of there I heard more Bengali than Urdu. Perhaps something to do with relative embassy proximities and lunchtime. But who isn’t looking for a good gulab jamun.

The hotel’s rooms and more are in good need of a substantial refresh/renovation, but the property’s location and Globalist benefits — or even just the lounge if using a Club Access award — have worked well for me. But that was 2019 and earlier.

At least pre-pandemic, it was the club lounge where I had breakfasts. Without the lounge being open and back to its former offerings throughout the day, I am not sure I would return to the property at this point otherwise.

SanDiego1K

I reached out to the hotel about the executive lounge and received this information.

I am happy to confirm our Grand Club on the 4th floor of our main building is open, however we are offering full breakfast for Club guests in our Mokha Café in the Hotel lobby with the lounge open from 10AM till 10PM with evening drinks and canapes from 5PM till 7PM daily.

This sounds like the best of all situations. I prefer breakfast in a hotel restaurant and then it is nice to have access to the lounge and evening appetizers.

Visconti

Agreed! The breakfast is in the restaurant with the $40 buffet, right? In my view, when it comes to free breakfast in the US, this would be one of the better ones.

khabah

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

SanDiego1K

@khabah, I really appreciate your knowledge of all the leading hotels in Muscat and your ability to compare their offerings. Thank you.

Re Covid testing to return to the US, I am very impressed with the service that the hotel is providing.

in regards to your PCR test, we will arrange for this to be done in your guest room by our nurse the morning before your check out, it takes five minutes and the result with travel document will be delivered to you by 6PM the same day, the cost for each test is 35 OMR as per local MOH regulations.

khabah

My pleasure to help, as always.

FYI - PCR test pricing is supposed to be capped at 15 OMR by the government as per an update in June 2021 [it was 35 in 2020], but the government-run drive-thru testing site at the airport costs 19 OMR, with the results downloadable online. It costs less [11-15 OMR] at other private clinics, but the caveat is that you have to physically return to collect the results. If you prefer the price of convenience of an in-room test, then by all means, but just sharing options should you wish to capitalize on them. I'm personally appalled the hotel would charge more than double the mandated price, but alas, this is Oman.

khabah

frenchft

well, good you all happy with the lounge to be open... but everything else is really bad in this property. It's dated, electricity and AC are just a nightmare and they can't fix it, the pool area comes without service, the pool bar is a depressive and dirty place, the bars / nightclub used to be great places... 10 years ago, now they are juste old and dated places, etc etc. This hotel needs renovation and it's urgent now. They are so many great options in town now that GH is out of the game. Only reason to stay there is that they are sometimes super cheap below 40 OMR (but for a reason).

They are selling all inclusive package to tour operators and they offer the lounge access to all inclusive guests, it says it all. Be ready for short pants / flip flops / Barefoot etc. Food selection is "ok" and booze selection is just "ok" (but anyway the selection is poor now in the whole country when it comes to alcool).

khabah

frenchft hits on some valuable points that the hotel's age is definitely its weakest point, especially in the face of the competition: the InterContinental finished its room renovations last year, the W opened in 2019, the Sheraton renovated and so on. This does result in idiosyncrasies like a highly inconvenient lack of electricity outlets in rooms, and the pool is indeed falling apart [look under the bridges if you're in the lazy river - those exposed cables [i]have to be a hazard]... but it does have its legions of followers and the price is right, even if it is for a reason. I wish that Hyatt would take over the Crowne Plaza Muscat and brand that a Hyatt Regency to ditch this place, or work hard to push the owners to renovate but until then...

You bring up a good point re the club lounge - I did notice it unusually full of older French tourists, and was curious as to whether they all booked club rooms or not; makes sense with all-inclusive fares and tour companies/the hotel looking to cash in. I also had an annoying instance where the lounge attendant, an Indian lady who was nice to me the first day or two I was there, decided to single me out and ask me to leave due to my wearing [long] shorts and referencing the dress code of no shorts being allowed. Mind you, I spent the first few days of my stay watching countless other [read: white] guests in forbidden gear such as flip-flops, shorts and sandals and she never said a word to them, and the one day I walked in I got called out.

Oman raised its sin tax several times since COVID so alcohol is expensive, period. I recommend everyone who cares about good plonk to pick up their own before coming here, as the duty free on arrival in MCT is absolutely dismal and you'll be relegated to paying 40+ USD for a bottle of Barefoot or Yellowtail through a hotel here if you don't have your own.

khabah

frenchft

I agree with you on most points. This hotel used to be a reference / iconic property in the city but now it's more and old tired lady than anything else. Even the outlets (sport bar / safari / Steakhouse) used to be the best place in the city... now it's falling appart. For the dress code they always had one and it's written everywhere, I understood they been "flexible" with the all inclusive / tour guests but wanted to make the dress code back. For me it's good they do it because having an evening drink next to people in sport short / beach style / barefoot is not something I appreciate.

I understood they plan renovation and applied to become a PH, I don't have informations but it's what I heard here and there. Would be the right move with the opening of the W and the Mandarin Oriental next door.

This hotel has everything to be back in the game and become one the best hotel in the city but man... it will be some very serious renovations. At less than 40OMR is still a good deal, more : I would not and much prefer even the Sheraton (bar is great there and the new pool area is really nice compared to what it used to be).

For the price of alcool and sin tax we all agree and regret it as it's not good at all for tourism when any place selling alcool is charging 15USD for a beer. It's the most expensive country for alcool in the whole GCC and I think the psychological limit has been crossed. Especially than now the selection is very poor and nothing is really available outside of Heineken and Amstel...

khabah

I was told by a member of staff that the hotel had drawn up some renovation plans in 2019 with plans to kick off in 2020, but obviously COVID derailed those plans. This is the first I've heard about a rebranding up to a Park Hyatt, which I find impossible unless they tear this hotel down to the studs. The bones of the building are solid, the rooms are spacious and there's a lot they can do if they utilize the spaces properly, but I don't see it happening.

I met a few members of the family that own the hotel, and between my experiences and the same anecdotes you hear from a number of different sources, it's a story you've heard in many other situations: the patriarch was business-savvy and smart, and he's the one who built the hotel and invested in it to make it one of the best in the city. He eventually got older, sick and passed away, and the sons and daughters who inherited the business are too busy living in their luxury villas across the city, spending time outside Oman, arguing over who gets what in the business and not taking decisions to develop the property.

Based on one of the conversations I'd had with a general manager in one of the Hyatt-branded properties in the region who'd stayed at GH MCT and spoke to the GM here about the hotel being "old and sad", he said the GH GM got very defensive about the hotel's status and hunkered down on the fact that they're well-established and respected and that speaks for itself. If that's the attitude at the top...

It'll obviously take a LOT of time, work and effort to transform this hotel from chintzy and outdated to modern and up-to-date, and frankly I don't see it happening in any way short of a total gut renovation. I would like to see Hyatt step in and push the owners to renovate, or investigate rebranding another hotel in the city under one of their brands [the IC is a legacy property that could easily be a very good HR, but the IC brand has too much sentimentality in the local market; the CP in Qurum renovated their lobby and pool area, but the rooms are untouched and this could be another candidate for renovation into a better, more premium brand that takes advantage of the property's superb location and facilities... especially now that there's a second CP at the OCEC].

khabah