The Chedi in Muscat - A perfect hotel (Hotels in Oman)

Member Name: depurple2

Product:	Hotels in Oman
Date:	29/09/06 (406 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Private beach, great restaurant, gym, lovely gardens, friendly staff

Disadvantages: Quite expensive

I went with my partner to Oman for a 5 night break in November. We booked through lastminute.com and stayed at The Chedi in Muscat. It was about £600 including flights and transfers (although the transfer from the airport to the hotel didn't turn up and we had to get a taxi).

We arrived at the hotel, and the first think I thought was "Wow!". After driving up a rather plain drive hidden behind a rather plain wall, we came round the corner and see a smart white building. We checked in at reception (all the staff spoke good English), and went into the foyer. It is enormous, with a high tent-like roof, a group of seats in the middle and little tables and chairs around the outside. It is quite spectacular, not least because of it's size.

Our room was on the second floor, so we took the lift. The room was quite plain, but everything in it was very smart. It had a large bed, a sofa, and desk and chair and a mini-bar and TV hidden in cupboards. The bathroom wasn't a traditional bathroom, but there was a large area with sinks and wardrobes, and then a separate shower and toilet. We didn't have a bath. Provided in the room were: shampoo, shower gel, sewing kit, shoe shine mit, nail file, shower cap, bathrobes and slippers. There were also scales, a safe and a hairdryer. The room had a sea view and air conditioning.

The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. There are walkways made of white flagstones that go all round the hotel, and many shallow pools with columns and plants everywhere. They light fire pits and candles in these in the evening, which is amazing. There is also a lawn with palm trees, and some sand dunes with grasses planted in them.

The hotel has its own private beach, a few hundred metres long. It is sandy, but one end of it has a few pebbles. It is OK to walk on barefoot though. The sea is warm and non-tidal, so is good for swimming. There are also sun loungers on the beach and towels are provided, and there are canoes you can borrow.

There are 2 swimming pools, each with a bar. One pool is by the main hotel building. It is quite large, with sun shades stretching over it. There are sun loungers all round it, including some double ones, which have their own shades.

The other swimming pool is next to the sea, and is an infinity pool so it is almost like swimming in the sea. Children aren't allowed at this pool. Again, there are lots of sunbeds available. The sunbeds seem to outnumber the guests at The Chedi, so you never have to get up early to get one.

There is also a small but well equipped gym, with a selection of cardiovascular and weight machines. It also has the added advantage of an attendant waiting with a chilled towel for you after you get off the running machine!

We only went to the cafe at the pool by the hotel, so I can't comment on the one by the sea. The cafe we went to had a good selection of drinks and snacks - there were lots of non-alcoholic cocktails and things like bruschetta. You can get alcoholic drinks, but only at certain times of day - they stop serving mid afternoon.

The gift shop in the hotel is not that great - most of it is expensive so if you are looking for little things to take back for your friends you would be better looking somewhere else. It has jewellery, statues, crockery and clothes. Having said that, we did get 2 nice glass plates there which miraculously survived the journey back. The did wrap them well though. The restaurant does sell little gift boxes of chocolate, and you can pick what goes into them from the display.

For us, the thing that really made the trip was the hotel restaurant. We have never been on a holiday and eaten all our meals in the same place before, but after the first night, we really didn't want to go anywhere else. You need to book though, and there are 2 sittings - one at 7pm and one at 9.30pm.

The restaurant has 4 kitchens, each serving a different type of food - Asian, Indian, Italian and Arabic. There is also a dessert kitchen. The kitchens are scattered around the huge restaurant, and have glass walls so you can watch your meal being cooked. You can eat inside or on the terrace outside, and there is a pianist each night. The food is brilliant, and it is all cooked freshly from scratch, so they can cater to any requests. And boy did I (as a fussy vegetarian) test them! Stir fry with no mushrooms - no problem. Curry with no aubergine - certainly. Sushi with no fish - of course. The prices were much cheaper than London though - about £50 for a meal for 2 with drinks.

Breakfast is also served in the restaurant, and there is a huge selection to choose from - just about everything you can imagine and a few more things besides. Pastries, cereal, toast, fruit, full English breakfast, omelettes - everything was there.

If you are looking for a hotel break, I would definitely recommend The Chedi.

Summary: If you stay here, don't expect to see much of Oman - you won't want to leave the hotel!