Oman Recommendations

Old Aug 31, 2018, 10:36 am
  #16  
 
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Does someome have recent experience of Oman lux hotels ?
I am looking for a beach holiday, travelling as a couple with a 3 y/o.

Chosing between Al Bustan, Chedi and Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah

Looks like Shangri-la is the best for chidren, but looks cheap (and prices seems to confirm)
Chedi looks decent, but I read that beach is crap. And probably not that family-friendly.
So at the moment I'm leaning towads Al Bustan

Makes sense or am I missing something ? I'm after the best hotel for us, price not that relevant.

Thanks & regards,

El Puerco Volante
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Old Aug 31, 2018, 12:49 pm
  #17  
 
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Would always pick Chedi, not much (real) choice in Oman.
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Old Aug 31, 2018, 2:05 pm
  #18  
 
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Just got back from Anantara Jabal Akhdar for Eid and it was stellar.

Minor service hiccups the first day but the service recovery was great and it was smooth sailing until we left.

Would recommend a pool villa given the main pool is small, we did the canyon pool villa and it was top notch. Hard product is very good given its new and the spa was wonderful as well (contrasted with our spa experience at Qasr al Sarab which is just as remote and that spa was underwhelming). Temperature was low 80s in August which is refreshing for a GCC escape given everywhere else is scorching. Feel feee to ask me any questions.
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Old Aug 31, 2018, 2:14 pm
  #19  
 
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The beach at the Shangri La is artificial. It is a huge hotel. The beach at the Al Bustan is beautiful and natural. The hotel is nice particularly if you get one of the renovated rooms.
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Old Aug 31, 2018, 8:12 pm
  #20  
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Shame Six Senses screwed everything up big time. Otherwise Zighy Bay would be a great choice for what you need.
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Old Sep 1, 2018, 4:42 am
  #21  
 
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Stayed in SL and Anantara Jabal Akhdar last year. Would not recommend the SL. It's a sprawling complex made up of 3 hotels. Might work if with kids etc as one of the hotels seems to have a theme park. Will do Chedi next time I'm there. Didn't go there initially as feared it was dated and possibly overpriced but likely still best in Muscat.

Anantara Jabal Akhdar however was amazing. Like reigndrop we stayed in a villa with pool. Hard product was top notch with service to match.
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Old Sep 6, 2018, 2:49 am
  #22  
 
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Al Bustan only opens up in October so depends when you are thinking of coming.

However I would also throw in the Kempinski which has opened up at Al Mouj, its a lovely hotel and one you should defo check out and got a great kids club!
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Old Sep 6, 2018, 7:19 am
  #23  
 
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Stayed in Alila, and visited the Anantara for lunch on our way down. At the risk of contradicting earlier posters, the two are not even close, despite comparable rates.

Alila is a proper 5* which blends in with the mountain surroundings in a perfect isolated location, small enough to be peaceful and relaxing. You go there and realise the whole place just works.

Anantara on the other hand is an oversized concrete complex located off a questionable looking village, with the distinct feel of a package tour resort. The lunch was also bad, both in terms of food and service.
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Old Oct 8, 2018, 10:12 am
  #24  
 
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I stayed at Anantara last night as it was considerably cheaper, but next time I will definitely stay at Alila. It was nice, very new, room was comfortable, beautiful but it's right next to an ugly town (very visible), television masts etc. I had hoped for something more natural and remote-feeling. I would certianly not return. (Food was fine in my opinion.)
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Old Oct 9, 2018, 2:28 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by stargold
Stayed in Alila, and visited the Anantara for lunch on our way down. At the risk of contradicting earlier posters, the two are not even close, despite comparable rates.

Alila is a proper 5* which blends in with the mountain surroundings in a perfect isolated location, small enough to be peaceful and relaxing. You go there and realise the whole place just works.

Anantara on the other hand is an oversized concrete complex located off a questionable looking village, with the distinct feel of a package tour resort. The lunch was also bad, both in terms of food and service.
I would absolutely echo this sentiment.

Alila is a tranquil low rise resort, beautifully integrated into an isolated canyon.
The F&B are incredible and the service was Aman level, without question.
The activities were also excellent, ranging from the adrenaline fuelled to moments of deep cultural understanding.
Easily one of my favourite hotel stays ever.

Anantara is a concrete monstrosity right by a main road, on the outskirts of a town that is frequented by day trippers.
I can't talk to the quality of the soft product but one look at the hotel and I knew we'd made the right decision in picking Alila.

Elsewhere I found the Chedi to be extremely disappointing. After the serenity of Alila, getting gouged for mediocre F&B at an overrun resort factory was a real blow. Muscat Opera house was fantastic as is the diving in the area, otherwise I would recommend opting out of Muscat entirely and spending as much time as possible in the mountains.
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Old Oct 27, 2018, 8:57 pm
  #26  
 
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Anyone been to Al Bustan since the renovations? We are going to stay at Anantara in the mountains (I know people here like Alila better, but my wife was big into Anantara as it seemed more kid-friendly (bringing our 2 year old), and my in-laws are coming and we wanted to stay in a 2BR and that is out of our price range at Anantara) and will likely spend 2-3 days at the beach beforehand.

Al Bustan seems like the best option (Al Husn doesn't allow kids), no? We really like beautiful natural settings and the mountains. My in-laws would really like to do something beach-y, and Zighy Bay is too hard to get too/too expensive.

Anyone have any insight into the best room to book? Right now debating between lagoon access and just going for the base room (mountain view) and seeing if we might be able to get upgraded. Anyone know if all of the rooms were updated in the recent renovations?

We'll be coming from the UAE so could potentially try other beach options there, but they don't look as picturesque. The best stuff in Dubai (One and Only and FS) are out of our price range; could do Waldorf Astoria, Oberoi Al Zorah, or Ritz Carlton Ras al Khaimah/Al Hamra, but the first two seem pretty blah (no mountains, etc.) and the latter would really stretch the budget. Also thought about Salalah and the Anantara resort there, but it similarly is a little modern for our taste, I'm a little scared about being so close to Yemen (perhaps unjustifiably), and it would make the travel harder vs. somewhere I could drive to or from in the UAE or somewhere driving distance from Muscat. Any other good beach options I'm missing (that would be OK for a 2 year old)?

Thank you!
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Old Nov 24, 2018, 8:22 am
  #27  
 
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I just spent 8 nights at Al Husn at the Shangri La. I was there 11 years ago and on the plus side the location and private beach are still fantastic with great views. The real difference is that the hotel now seems to have been taken over by German pensioners intent on taking as much as they can from the breakfast buffet (I'm guessing to save money avoiding lunch!?) and reserving prime pool and beach spots at the crack of dawn. This is really not an upmarket crowd any more. Food was OK at best. We also went back to the Chedi for sunset drinks and dinner. The beach there is actually much worse than I remembered - for me the location is totally unappealing. Dinner was horribly overpriced without being in any way impressive. Next time we will try the Alila in the mountains.
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Old Nov 24, 2018, 5:15 pm
  #28  
 
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Sounds awful, Londonjetsetter. I still love Gathys Chedi design but it appears the property peaked a while ago. Along with GHM.
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Old Nov 26, 2018, 2:08 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by stargold
Stayed in Alila, and visited the Anantara for lunch on our way down. At the risk of contradicting earlier posters, the two are not even close, despite comparable rates.

Alila is a proper 5* which blends in with the mountain surroundings in a perfect isolated location, small enough to be peaceful and relaxing. You go there and realise the whole place just works.

Anantara on the other hand is an oversized concrete complex located off a questionable looking village, with the distinct feel of a package tour resort. The lunch was also bad, both in terms of food and service.
I agree with the comments above. We stayed at the Anantara but visited the Alila. If going again we would stay at the Alila as it smaller and more remote.
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Old Dec 5, 2018, 1:50 pm
  #30  
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alila has 2 villas - now from $2K
cant recall if that is a price drop

will be interesting to see how hyatt integrates, alila brand had previously been acquired by a member of the family which owns and controls hyatt

Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Dec 7, 2018 at 5:42 pm
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