This morning we went for a visit of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Breathtaking! The dimensions and the details are awe-inspiring. 20.000 worshippers, acre upon acre of cool, white marble reflecting the harsh sun and an exquisite Persian carpet in the main hall that took 27 months to hand weave.
Next stop Al Bustan Palace:
Stepping inside this Ritz-Carlton hotel is like being wrapped in a blanket of incandescent, shimmering gold dust. It is at once luxurious and comforting as the chandeliers glisten and the piano softly serenades guests, while Mustafa, the coffee man who has worked there for over 30 years, welcomes you with some dates and Omani coffee. His craft spans spice stalls and centuries to immerse guests in new experiences and the local way of life.
What I will take back is the warm welcome of the doormen, who sorted out our little issue with the taxidriver and the warm welcome by Mr. Rahil Khan. He showed us around the hotel and told us that he has worked in Riyadh and Dubai and many other places in the world. When he left the Ritz-Carlton for another hotel group, he missed the RC feeling so much, that he returned to the Ritz-Carlton family. He took out his little RC bible with the 12 service values, since they are all proud to be Ritz-Carlton. The motto is:’We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen’…
We visited the heavenly sixth senses Spa where princess Camilla stayed on her private Beach.
In March and in April they have an Indian wedding coming up, so the whole hotel with the 250 rooms are all reserved.
Thank you Mr. Khan, I will never forget the delicious Ritz-Carlton chocolate cake (since the scale will remind me 😉)
Last but not least: the Shangri-La:
After a drive into the mountains, in the middle of nowhere submerges the Shangri-La resort, like a fata morgana in the desert. The energetic Mrs. Fatima welcomes us and decided to show us around by golf cart. The resort is enormous with its 3 hotels, Al Husn, Al Wawa and Al Bandar. It took her 3 hours to take us around and still we did not see everything. Fatima is lebanese, born in Brazil, a truly fascinating lady… I will take with me the ‘lazy river’ at the Al Waha family hotel. The adventure zone is a true paradise for kids. There is just too much to mention.Check out their website on http://www.shangri-La.com/muscat/BarrAlJissah. They even had a gallery with classical cars! Most special to me though was the ‘Shangri-La’s’ Turtle Care Programme. There is a dedicated ‘turtle ranger’,Mohammed,to teach the guests about the hatchlings and to protect the nests from any threats. He has assisted over a 50.000 hatchlings from just over 1000 nests, and all the guests are invited to watch the sea turtles make their way to the ocean.
Since 2006, the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah resort and Spa has welcomed over 2.781.365 guests to the resort, and is looking forward to developing tourism in Oman.
We stayed and enjoyed the beach for an hour and then it was time to say goodbye to Oman.