Oman: where to stay, eat, drink and visit

On the south-easternmost corner of the Arabian Peninsula, Patricia Nicol finds the perfect place for a power break
Patricia Nicol6 April 2017

What, in holiday terms, constitutes a power trip? For some, at this time of year, it’s a weekend off-piste. But if what you crave after winter is a boost of vitamin D, a heady shot of exoticism and rest — but also adventure in an arresting landscape — then the historic Sultanate of Oman might be your place in the sun.

Oman is the United Arab Emirates’ quieter, less showy cousin. There are no ski slopes in shopping malls here. Oman has cemented a reputation as an unspoilt, high-end, safe destination that is rich in history, culture and dramatic natural beauty.

Muscat, its low-rise, mountain-backed coastal capital, is a seven-and-a-half hour flight from Heathrow. I travelled overnight, post-work, with Oman Air, alighting wearily into blazing early morning sun, to a sleepy terminal staffed by men clad elegantly in white dishdashas and woven skullcaps or turbans. From there, a driver whisked me to the glamorous Chedi.

The beachside Chedi — built on Eastern architectural principles, its lush gardens watered continually, jade-plumed parakeets swooping between its palm trees — is designed to slow the heartbeat. It has three pools — the most spectacular is a 100-metre infinity wonder. Sumptuous large white divans line these pools. Its vast spa, overlooking the sea — unwind with a Balinese massage — ratches up the relaxation. The suites, with their dark wood, light linen, sunken baths, delicious complimentary nuts and dried fruit, are a tonic for the most trammelled traveller.

The Chedi pool

It’s hard to tear yourself away from The Chedi — and many don’t. But a whistle-stop city tour — ideally in the morning when tourists can enter the main mosque and catch the fish souq — has its rewards. In the giant Sultan Qaboos mosque, gawp at the centrepiece house-sized Swarovski chandelier. At the Bait Al Zubair museum, learn the country’s rich ethnographic history, through its costumes and jewellery displays. In the alleys of the Mutrah Souq, barter for spices such as local frankincense or antique Omani jewellery. A stroll around the harbour, where traditional dhows bob alongside the sultan’s super-cruiser, brings you to Omani restaurant, Bait Al Luban. Here try a celebratory dish, shuwa, of marinated meat slow-roasted in an underground firepit. Wash it down with mint lemon or tamarind juice (the complimentary frankincense water is an acquired taste, think spa swill).

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Alamy Stock Photo

Two hours’ drive through the jagged Al Hajar Mountains, the recently opened Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar resort enjoys a commanding vantage over a breath-robbing, vertiginous landscape of crag, scree, scrub and canyon.

Again, it would be easy to laze here, at the highest-altitude five-star hotel in the Middle East: the clifftop infinity pool is surrounded by hot tubs, there is a lovely hammam spa, while my canyon-view villa, with sundeck and 12-metre infinity pool, was stunning — and spectacularly private. At roughly 15 degrees cooler than Muscat, Al Jabal Al Akhdar (The Green Mountain) has the perfect climate for outdoor activities. On a three villages guided walk, I hiked along a falaj (water channel) irrigating terraces of pomegranates, walnuts and damask roses. Tariq, a local guide, led a fun afternoon of abseiling, cragging and traversing, with a via ferrata steel cableway bolted to the cliffs beneath the resort. Two mornings, I saluted the sun with dawn yoga. All hail a proper power break.

Muscat and Al Jabal Al Akhdar Checklist

1. Toast the sunset at Diana’s Point — visited by the princess in 1986 — or salute dawn there in a yoga class.

2. Eat Oman’s cross-influenced cuisine, which marries grilled meat dishes such as shuwa with delicately spiced curries.

3. Shop for spices, antique jewellery and stunning textiles in Muscat’s Mutrah Souq — or the historic Nizwa Fort town.

4. Hike through the fossilised rockscapes of Al Jabal Al Akhdar seeking wadis, caves, wildlife and admiring falaj irrigation.

Elegant Resorts offers a four-night package to The Chedi and Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar with flights and transfers from £1,970pp (01244 897515; elegantresorts.co.uk)

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