AS with any important hotel, the consideration of the guests’ comfort and needs are the absolute priority of the staff and management. The turtles love it.
Confused? Well, the turtles are not because they, following generations of their ancestors, return regularly to the precise spot on a short sandy Omani beach set between rocky promontories where they hatched. The spot is in the exact center of the Barr Al-Jissah Resort and Spa’s private beach and the resort management takes its unasked for environmental responsibility very seriously.
Green and leatherback turtles are exceedingly rare species, protected by both international and Omani law. To safeguard their time at the resort, the hotel has employed Mohammed Al-Hassani as full time Turtle Ranger who will call you — should you ask — in the small hours to let you know the hatchlings are emerging.
Immediately above the patch that contains the turtle nests is a seafood restaurant where jokes about ‘turtle soup’ are met with a silence deeper than the Marianas Trench. Built 20 meters or so inland, the lights that illuminate the building are directed away from the beach and are extinguished along with the resort lights at night. “When they hatch, turtles head at once for the lightest area on their horizon,” Noah Al-Balushi, communications and public relations manager, explained. “Around the world seashore lights confuse them and they head inland toward them and die.” Not here, however. When the resort opened in February 2006, there were just 80 nests on the beach; a year later there were 180. Ranger Al-Hassani estimates there will be over 200 in 2008. “With an average of 150 eggs per nest, that is a significant contribution to rebuilding the turtle population,” he explained.
It is details such as this, the undoubted luxury of the resort, the impressive but understated quality and the attentive but unobtrusive service from the staff that in a very short time combines to deliver a feeling of wellbeing to visitors. Suffice it to say that the staff knows the difference between service and servility, a subtle but meaningful distinction. One gets the feeling that someone sat down when designing the resort and asked the question: “What do visitors really want?” The answer appears to have been too much for one hotel to accommodate so the Shangrila group built three. Therein lies its secret. The three hotels — Al-Husn, Al-Banda and Al-Waha — nestle between two rocky headlands 25 minutes by car from Muscat. “The original concept envisioned by Mohammed Al-Zubair was to have a destination within a destination,” said General Manager Arbind Shrestha. “It is not just three hotels, but a collection of facilities and attractions that makes a self-contained destination — indeed a complete resort.” He pointed out that Oman has a tremendously rich heritage and history, not least from its trading relationships with the West, India and Africa; “The resort reflects these traditions in many subtle ways,” he said, “and even if you are here for just a few days, you will pick up on them.” The on-site heritage village has been created to support local craftsmen and women as well as to introduce the visitor to some of that tradition.
The exclusive Al-Husn Hotel — the Castle — is built on a low cliff around a central courtyard that leads through a moon-gate to an infinity pool set high above the sea. It is uncompromisingly luxurious without the addiction to gaudy gilt finials and polished granite and marble favored by some hotel chains. It is certainly exclusive and has more of the atmosphere of a private club than a hotel; it boasts its own private beach in an adjoining secluded bay. The hotel is remarkably quiet with staff gliding silently about their business on carpeted floors; it has a library but no business center. “Guests come here to get away from the pressures of business,” said Debrah Pascoe, director of marketing. “However, should they need it, we have a boardroom for private meetings and business services are available. For guests who want six star luxury while on business, the Al-Husn Hotel is very much their hotel.”
In the Al-Husn, the stylish Sultanah restaurant — winner of the Best Fine Dining Restaurant — MENA Awards 2007, is laid out in the style of an ocean liner with stunning views of the sea from the polished teak and stainless steel interior. To enhance the cruise-liner idea, the dining menu varies nightly depending on the ‘port of call.’ Several of the 19 — and, according to Shrestha, soon to be 22 — outlets scattered through the resort offering food from just about any part of the world which has won awards for particular styles of food — in short, a gourmet’s paradise.
The Bait Al-Bahr (House of the Sea), for example, serves truly fresh seafood. The staff is quite happy to decline your order on the grounds that they are not entirely happy with the quality of the fish you selected at the market that day- and then suggest an alternative. Take it; they know their fish. The Al-Banda Hotel, in contrast, has a distinctly purposeful yet still relaxed atmosphere. Opulent but with a different architectural character, it is built bordering a Mediterranean style plaza. The target clientele is the visiting businessman or family, which wants a five star luxury holiday with the business option. A large business center and a full service conference suite capable of accommodating, with the Barr Al-Jissah ballroom, 700 people at a sitting are discretely positioned out of general view, right at the center of the hotel’s business life. But even with 70 percent occupancy and a conference in progress, it was almost invisible to the holiday visitor such is the smoothness of the operation. The Sablah Plaza, facing the seashore over tended green lawns hosts a variety of award winning restaurants from Italian casual through Spanish tapas menus to Lebanese traditional fare. It attracts guests from all three of the hotels and has become the informal meeting point for the resort, especially during the evenings.
Nestling under the rocky hill at the southern end of the bay is the Al-Waha Hotel complex. Again, distinctive in style and with a large pool and water-play area, this is the family holiday hotel. Built round the pool area, the hotel caters for the family out for a quality beach holiday. While maintaining the quality of rooms and catering, the hotel is the center of the lively club and after dark activities; it goes to sleep only late in the night. The placing and design of the hotel allows the liveliest of activity without disturbing the occupants of the Al-Banda or Al-Husn.
To maximize the range of activities for guests, the residents in the Al-Husn can use all the facilities in the three hotels in the resort; those staying in Al-Banda and Al-Waha can use each others. This gives the feel of a rather exclusive village community to anyone staying at the resort. The pearl in the treasure chest of the Shangrila Resort is CHI, The Spa. Unique to the hotel group, this branded spa can be found in many of its hotels and is the same quality and character in each: Ultra-luxurious. The bewildering range of massages and treatments on offer and the calm and peaceful ambience of the spa complex itself brought a deep throated sigh of content that signifies the total satisfaction for the born-again voluptuary.
There are places for the itchy-footed guests to visit within a day’s comfortable travel. The historical fort city of Niswa is about two and a half hours drive away and there is the magical Sinbad coast to explore and the capital Muscat, an example of what cash and care can do to a city with a proud history and strong determination to preserve its character and culture. The Omani roads are extremely good and Oh joy! the place is immaculately clean and positively overflowing with flowers! You will simply not find any litter at all; the plague of blue plastic bags and discarded fast food containers that is sadly endemic to much of Gulf culture has not infested Oman — and nor will it judging by the obvious pride the locals take in preserving their environment. Alongside the resort is a full service dive center where the beginner can qualify and experienced divers explore the delights of the Arabian Sea or simply take a fishing trip.
However, what tends to happen is that the extremely relaxed pace of the resort and the peaceful and secluded setting seduce the visitor into doing — well, not very much really. And it is just wonderful.