[MUSCAT, OMAN] — When I told people I was going to Oman, they first nod, then shake their head. “Wait, Oman? Where’s Oman?” I felt that too when I first saw pictures of the incredible hotels in my previous post on an amazing hotel on the edge of a Omani canyon or of this beach resort you can paraglide into or sleeping in a tent camp in the desert. But Muscat, was a great surprise to me, as well. I was just planning to be in/out of the city in a short time, so really didn’t expect to see much. But once there, I realized that I hadn’t planned well — I had booked the trip just ten days prior. _________________________________________________ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Oman ranks right up
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e[MUSCAT, OMAN] — Here’s my review of The Chedi Muscat, one of the best design hotels in the world and the best luxury hotel in Muscat. ____________________________________ Thursday afternoons in Muscat are busy traffic days. Like in most Muslim countries, where the “weekend” consists of Friday and Saturday, Thursday is everybody’s Friday afternoon and they’re itching to get home to their families. I’d arrived after a long but luxurious 13 hour Emirates flight from JFK to Dubai — that after taking a midnight redeye from Denver to JFK and a five hour layover — then, another five hour layover, then a quick forty minute flight into the sparkling clean, gleaming white city of Muscat. I was beat. I’d only booked this trip two weeks
[MUSANDAM PENINSULA, OMAN] — Here’s my review of Six Senses Zighy Bay adventure hotel on the coast of Oman. One of the best luxury hotels in Oman. A stunning beach resort that you can paraglide into Check-In. ____________________________ When you land in crazy Dubai, the Six Senses driver is there to great you. A kind Indian man from Kerala (as seemingly every helpful service person in this region is), dressed in a nice black suit and tie. As you weave your way through Dubai’s twenty lane highways, the skyscrapers disappear, the highway gets successively narrower, the gigantic 200 foot-long real estate billboards become faded and empty. Sand dunes start to appear. Camels start to pop up, randomly, in the dunes on the side of the road.
[AL HAJAR, OMAN] — Here’s a fun overview of the absolutely most amazing Alila Jabal Akhdar, the best adventure hotel in Oman. Perched on a the steep edge of a canyon in the remote Al Hajar Mountains in Oman. Looking right out over the Wadi Ghul, “Oman’s Grand Canyon” — the second deepest canyon in the world. Alila Jabal Akhdar is one of the best luxury hotels in Oman. Prepared to be blown away. ________________________________ When I first saw a photo of this hotel when it opened several years ago I just stopped in my tracks — well, stopped turning the page — and went “Woohhhh, where the hell is this???” Oman. Oman? Where’s Oman? “I gotta go there. And stay riiiiiiight here.” And that’s how
[WAHIBA SANDS, OMAN] — Here’s a fun overview of staying in a private tent camp in the desert in Oman. The best private tent camp in the Wahiba Sand desert Oman. ____________________________ We’d been driving all day when we pulled into the scruffy desert town of Bidiyah. My guide Zubir pulled off to the left side of the road and rolled to a stop in a small gas station, a cloud of dust chasing us to a stop. Two dark Indian men had been waiting for us, squatting against a wall. They knew we were in a hurry, so when he rolled in, they were quick to tackle each tire, twisting off the caps to the air valves and immediately started letting air out of
[OMAN] — Such a fascinating place, Oman, with the nicest people I’ve run into, across the board. I spent two weeks crisscrossing northern Oman and these are the best things I things to do in Oman. The best places to go and cool things to do. ______________________________ Omanis are known for their gentle souls, peacemaking and equal support of friend and foe. People are so nice that even when I arrived at Passport Control, I walked up to the stern looking passport-checker dude. “From where are you?” “The States” “Really?? We don’t get many Americans here. What is your purpose? Where are you going? And for how long is your visit?” “For tourism. Two weeks, all over. Muscat. Mountains. Beach.” Smiling broadly “Ahhhhh, I hope you