This hotel is simply lovely. It's a short drive from Muscat Airport and the City itself. A car comes to collect you and from the moment you step into the hotel, it is absolute luxury and calm. The people in Muscat (and all the hotel staff) are lovely and incredibly polite. Take a taxi to the old souk and to the Sultan's palace. The taxi will wait for you/come back for you, and it gives you a flavour of what real Muscat is like. There are over 100 rooms here, but it never feels crowded. The two infinity pools are beautiful. There are large sofa beds around the edge of the pool under beautiful canopies (if you fancy some shade). Waiters come around regularly with water and you can order drinks and food if you want to eat on the beach/from your sun lounger. Alternatively, you can go and eat at one of the many fantastic restaurants... The food here is exquisite. Breakfast is almost ornamental in how beautifully presented (and tasty) everything is. There are three kitchen areas where you can see all the ingrediants and chefs at work, including making their own patisseries. Lunch and dinner is just as special, with a wide range of asian, oriental, idian and continental choices. In the evening, sit out by one of the fires and have a glass of sauvingnon blanc with some of their home made nibbles (the olives are incredible and the cheese sticks, etc. just gorgeous). Truly bliss. We stayed in a deluxe room. There are Bulgari bath products, complimentary drinks and nibbles (dried apricots, roasted almonds, cashews), and a lovely walk in shower. The only drawback of this hotel is that the beach is not great, and the sea not very enticing when you have pools to compete with it. The sand is quite gritty and brown and the sea a bit muggy. Nevertheless, I'm usually a beach and sea person, but didn't mind because I still sat on the beach (on very comfortable loungers) and the pool is alongside the beach, only 50 yeards from the sea.

Loved just about everything about this hotel. Pools were beautiful. Only really noticed being on the flight path on the Thursday - on other days we only heard one or two planes and it really didn't detract from the beautiful surroundings. Staff were all polite, courteous and helpful. When we left for the airport we must have been wished a good flight by about 5 different staff members! Seen better beaches, but also seen worse, and because the pools were so nice it didn't really matter. Spa was cool and relaxing and the staff there were very welcoming. Only slight gripe would be the restaurants/pool bars. The food was fantastic but the prices were steep, especially for drinks, and there was nowhere in the hotel to get a snack - pool bars serve a full-blown lunch and the hotel shop only has chocolate bars for food. The beach restaurant is closed during the summer months, so you really are a bit stuck with rich, expensive food in the main restaurant in the evenings unless you go out - having said this, there are plenty of places to go within a short and inexpensive taxi ride - like the Mumtaz Mahal indian restaurant. Stayed in Chedi Deluxe room. TV was small and not flat-screen, but we didn't go to Muscat to watch TV, so can't really complain. Could have done with a few more clothes hangers in the wardrobes. Overall, loved it and would return (with own clothes hangers!).

Sorry but I did submit a review at the time but somehow never got on site! This hotel is fabulous and I cannot understand anyone who does not rate it so. The staff are superb,the general ambience is great and the food is the best.The Chedi pool and day beds are lovely,perhaps the only 'let down' is the beach/vista - otherwise it is 10/10 - and the best place in the world that I have stayed!!!