Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort

Perched on the clifftop, this hotels has beautiful views into the gorge, of the local villages, of the mountains and the lights of Nizwa twinkling far in the distance. Spectacular. The view from the pool bar is truly special as the sun goes down. We were a bit surprised the hotel is on the edge of a local town (not that you see it once you're in the hotel) but we thought it would be in the middle of nowhere. An observation rather than a criticism. Service was exceptional throughout the hotel, as you expect with Anantara, very helpful front desk and manager. Feels friendly, authentic, nothing too much trouble, a real standout. We stayed in a standard room, very nice and then a cliffside villa with private pool for 2 nights - very special, highly recommend. We hired a car (4WD - which you need to gain access to the mountain pass) to drive here from Muscat and it is an easy drive, along a very good, spectacular road once you turn off the highway. We visited Nizwa, an easy 45 minute drive and also the grand canyon on a day trip. Driving in Oman is easy and we just used Waze to get about. We did the via ferrata cliff walk when we were here, which I thought might be a bit tame, but is a proper adrenalin trip. Pitched just right, physically exerting, not too easy..and exciting! Great support and instruction from hotel colleagues to keep you safe. have to go back and do the abseil. We also walked (by ourselves) to some of the old local villages from the hotel which is well worth doing and my wife used the spa, which she said was really good. It gets cooler at night here so bring a light jumper. No real criticisms: the main pool is a bit small for such a large hotel and it can get a bit chilly sitting poolside once you've had a swim. The lack of restaurant choice was our only real criticism, we expected more for a hotel of this standard and one is a buffet, which is OK, but nothing great. I think we would have got bored of eating choices if we'd stayed for much longer (we went for 4 nights). A very rich gulf resident is building a palace on the opposite cliff to the hotel, it does kind of spoil the epic view, depending which way you look. Unbelievable they got planning permission, but money talks I guess. Overall, these are minor gripes and I would highly recommend this hotel, it's a special place and an experience that will live in the memory a long time.

We stayed in late July and loved it so much that we came back in early August for a few days. What a beautiful location. One of the best hotels that we???ve ever stayed in and a lot of it has to do with the staff. Thank you to George Farouk who made us feel at home and made sure that everything was perfect, Ibrahim Salem who made the most delicious dinners, Awatef Awa and Vicky Lobin and Mehdi for being perfect hosts. Dyan and Imran also took great care of us and made us tea when we were feeling ill. Shekhar took very good care of our room and surprised us every day with an amazing towel sculpture. Great stay and hope to come back soon!!