Oman

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to jet off to Oman for a long weekend for the Travel Counsellors Gold Conference and experience what the country had to offer in addition to looking at a variety of hotels.

Oman is located along the Gulf of Oman with over 1000 miles of coastline on the Indian Ocean, the Sultanate of Oman combines the best of luxury beach resorts with a rich culture heritage dating back over 5000 years. Oman also has a diverse topography with mountains and fjords, sand dunes and salt flats as well as lush green hills and desert. You won’t find sky scrapers and huge office blocks, buildings are generally no more than 4 storey’s high and white with beautiful arches and a very Arabic look.

On 4th June we travelled from Heathrow to Muscat (the capital) with Oman Air which was a flight time of 7hrs. The service onboard was fantastic, likewise the food and the seat pitch in economy was 34’’ with seat back TV’s with a wide choice of films and entertainment. Oman Air currently have new planes on order and will be extending their network to fly to Colombo and Male which will be great to have a twin centre holiday with Sri Lanka or the Maldives.

We stayed at the Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental which was a 50mins transfer from the airport. This iconic property has been reborn as a superlative resort, ‘Jewel of the Sultanate.‘ My first impressions were ‘wow.’ In the reception area there is an exquisite centre-piece chandelier and crystal fountain. Check in was very efficient and we were lucky enough to check into our rooms early, which after a 7hr overnight flight was much needed.

The hotel rooms were very luxurious with every kind of home comfort, slippers, dressing gowns, mini bar and the most comfortable bed and pillows I have experienced in a hotel! The hotel itself it situated on 200 acres of landscaped grounds with four lagoon pools and water features. It is in a beautiful isolated location with mountains as a backdrop on a kilometer long private sandy beach. There is a stunning infinity pool stretching under an avenue of palms through the spacious lawns. Never a problem to obtain a sunbed; they are placed on the beach, around the pool area and throughout the grounds. The food and service was impeccable. This hotel is best for a touch of luxury for both families and couples due to the vast amount of facilities. I also visited three other hotels during my time there; the Chedi hotel, the Grand Hyatt hotel and the Shangri-La so ask me for more information about these and which will best suit your needs.

Oman has more to offer than just beaches. A long weekend doesn’t give you much time to explore but we did fit in a city tour incorporating the museum, Grand Palace and the spectacular Grand Mosque. The Omani culture is very much Islamic and we got to see many beautiful mosques with their ornate golden domes throughout the city.

Visitors to this country are expected to show respect to local customs, and we ensured that we covered shoulders and knees whenever we travelled out of the hotel. Consideration should also be taken when taking photographs and ask permission if taking any of the local people.

Also I went on a Dolphin watching Safari, a bit of an early start at 7am but it was well worth the early rise. We did actually get to see a few dolphins and even some turtles which Oman is renowned for as some 20,000 of them come ashore each year to breed. This trip was also combined with sailing along the cost to a secluded cove where we snorkeled and a large brunch was awaiting us. A terrific morning out and got to see a lot of Omans beautiful coastline as well.

There are numerous activities that can be arranged in Oman ranging from trips to see the countryside including Wadis, forts and mountain villages as well as more extreme sports such as sand vipers, dune bashing and off road motorbiking. Diving is also very popular in Oman as there is an impressive coral reef and several ship wrecks.

The weather whilst we were in Oman was very hot but a dry heat it got up to 47 degrees some days. The hottest time to travel here is between May and September which is when temperatures can become stifling. They say the best time to visit is between Mid October – Mid March.

Overall I would definitely go back to Oman for a short break, some guaranteed sunshine and luxury.