The Chedi Muscat, Oman

Who else finds it hard to relax? I know I do. The Chedi Muscat is one of the few places where I have been able to lose myself completely. The luxury hotel in the Omani capital seems to exude some kind of inner peace which makes you forget about the outside world and lie back, look at the palm trees, listen to the sea lapping at the shore and sip iced water laced with lemon and mint.

I’m not sure why exactly. It could be the Asian style minimalist white buildings with splashes of black. The simple almost austere interior decor with Omani touches. I feel relaxed just looking at these pictures.


I’m pretty sure it also has something to do with the immaculately planted rows of palm trees which line the way to the pool and beach.

The neatly trimmed box hedges lining white polished pathways and plentiful water features keeping you zen. 

And with only 120 rooms, your tranquilly is not disturbed by lots of other residents. It was quite a different experience from the large hotel in Dubai we had just been staying at with its lavish interior design. The space and simplicity of The Chedi somehow helped to declutter my mind.

There are so many boxes it ticks too.

103m infinity pool. Tick.
Two other infinitely pools. Tick
Private beach. Tick.
State of the art gym. Tick.
Large spa. Tick.
Two tennis courts. Tick.
Impressive food with six restaurants to choose from. Tick.

Lets just go back to the incredible 103m infinity pool for a second – cabana beds line the pool with ambient music playing as you take a dip or just gaze out onto the Gulf of Oman. Bliss!

Family friendly?

Perhaps much of the peace and tranquility you have at The Chedi is due to the clientele – there are not many families. Having been to the Chedi before, in November 2011, pre-children, we knew this was the case and I only recall a couple of infants being there. So, returning with our two-year-old daughter was an interesting experiment. We knew it wasn’t hugely set up for children. There isn’t a kids club but I was impressed with the extensive children’s menu, availability of high chairs and on the whole Mrs T was welcomed by most of the staff. I wouldn’t discourage families from going but just be aware that the clientele are mostly adults and many had little interest  in Mrs T.

We did discover a couple of disadvantages going there as a family too. We could only use one of the three pools, ‘the black pool’, as my daughter referred to it. I wasn’t complaining, it is a beautiful pool with plenty of sun beds and lots of shade. There is also a restaurant beside it where we could lunch.

My husband did make the point though that we were paying good money (we had splashed out on a suite) and not getting all of the facilities. I think he could accept one pool being out of bounds but not two although the long infinity pool was very exposed during the day, without parasols, so wouldn’t have been hugely suitable anyway. It didn’t affect our stay too much (other than my husband moaning at me a couple of times)!

A short walk away from the black pool was the 370m sandy beach. It was laid out with plenty of sun beds and beautifully quiet. Mrs T could play to her heart was content and we weren’t worried about her making loads of noise.

There were also lots of stones and shells to discover close to the shore.

The Room

In keeping with the zen feel, our suite was simply decorated with one big feature – a large dome in the centre of the room.

It was positioned over our large, comfortable bed and was a pleasant sight to see when awaking from our slumber.

The bathroom had a large shower, two basins and a huge bath to step down into. It was more like a swimming pool!

Our suite had a roomy living space with sofas, a television and tables where we could sit in the evening when our daughter had gone to bed.

We also had a terrace where we could sunbathe during the day and a table and chairs where we could have a bit of lunch. One night we had dinner brought there while Mrs T slept inside. Perfect!

As we were paying for a suite, we got a number of complimentary add ons. As well as the large room, we had a selection of alcoholic drinks and snacks in our room, access to the club lounge which served afternoon tea and complimentary evening drinks and appetisers from 6-8pm. We utilised this facility a fair bit!

Food

The Chedi has six restaurants and the food was excellent. The main restaurant serves international cuisine and on Friday afternoons you can fill your boots with a champagne brunch (highly recommend). An extensive breakfast covering most cuisines is also served there. In the cooler months, there is an outside Arabian courtyard to eat and smoke shisha. The Japanese food by the infinity pool is perfect for chilling out and lazing on the cabana beds by candlelight. But our favourite was the beach restaurant serving the most delicious seafood.

Extra Info

We went in mid May and it was quite hot and humid. Muscat is an interesting, smallish city to explore – if you can drag yourself away from the hotel – we also took a trip to the impressive Grand Mosque.

The Chedi is part of the GHM luxury hotel group which also includes the Andermatt in Switzerland and Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam (where we were supposed to stay before my husband got ill). The General Manager at The Chedi Muscat, Morton Johnson, is a very friendly, chatty Northern Irish lad who made us feel very welcome.

The hotel is around 15 minutes from Muscat airport. Oman is around a 40 minute flight from Dubai and 7 hours from Heathrow, London. We have previously flown direct from Heathrow with Oman Air and were very pleased with the airline.

Verdict

I have no doubt that we will return to The Chedi one day – whether we take Mrs T or not, I don’t know. What I do know is the sense of tranquilly I felt while there is hard to beat and I would recommend it to anybody looking for a relaxed break in the sun (especially during winter months in the UK). I am certainly keen to check out some of the groups’ other six hotels. 

You may also like to read

Review: The One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai
5 Pros and Cons of Visiting Dubai
10 Reasons My daughter Loves Travel

How about pinning for inspiration?