THE LAND OF SINBAD THE SAILOR

HOTEL: IHG Crown Plaza Hotel – Muscat

 

Booked 2 weeks here on IHG pointbreaks @ 5000 points per night  ( or $35)

Normal rates for standard rooms were OR 99 / R2700.

Decent private dedicated check in area for IHG platinum members.

Unfortunately I could not get a sea view upgrade maybe due to my long stay here but I was given a deluxe room upgrade, which was a bit bigger than standard rooms they also gave offered 2 free beds at no additional charge as well as the standard fruit selection.

Muscat is a great developing city with heaps of potential.

Its on its way following suit of Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Huge airports are under construction. The city is neat, clean and filled with natural beauty unlike any other middle east cities. The economy is strong the exchange rate is 10x that of Saudi and UAE. (27x to our once mighty SA Rand. Shame.) You could keep one note in your pocket and you set for the week here.

CP Muscat provided us with Elite Club Lounge access for being IHG Platinum members. Croissants and pastries for breakfast with a change of fruit selection, all day snacks included cashews, nuts and waffles. Unlimited soft drinks / cappuccino / coffee/ tea were also available 24hours. Food is super expensive in hotels and fairly priced in malls. What a blessing Club level access is. For about R700 per person you could indulge in seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights here. All the crayfish, giant prawns, crabs and fish you can eat.

Car rental is fair (R380 for auto sedan with aircon and unlimited mileage.)  Fuel is cheap (OR 1.5 / R40 got me more than half a tank !) CP has a car rental agency within the hotel. Taxis are steep. OR10 from airport (R270) one way.

The Hotel also offers twice a day shuttle service to the malls and souks (for free).

Lets get started on the pics

Neat light poles adorn every main road and highway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shuttle outside of the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IHG PLATINUM check in counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty neat room. Partial sea view at the back city view of room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R300 for a pizza

excl taxes…

 

The Elite Club Lounge on the top floor

Heated Pool. Small waves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dessert selection at supper buffet

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach at low tide

AL-Said. Yacht no.3 on world list. North of R3,000,000,000 (BILLION).  Owned by Sultan Qaboos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mattrah souk. Bargains and bargaining galore

NEXT STOP:

Shangri-La

Al Barr Al Jissah Resort

Shangri-La ran this 3rd birthday comp during last quarter of 2013. All you had to do was sign up (If you’re on TRAVELOYALTY’S  mailing list you would have completed it as well) and each week you play a quick online questionnaire. Your reward was a set number of points which was duplicated if you punched a code in their online app. so 4weeks yielded double the points ( needed for a free night) Now duplicate this with your spouse, brother, sister, kid, grand uncle in-law and suddenly you’ve got a multiple free stay lined up.

 

 

This Resort has 3 hotels. Al Waha, Al Bandar and Al Husn. All jointly located at the same beach venue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The road into the Jissah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Entrances

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AL WAHA standard room on pool level

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some nifty lazy rivers, standard not  as world class as Atlantis, Lost City, Wild Wadi or Caribbean

The scenery

AL Bandar standard room

 

HOTEL:

INTERCONTINENTAL  MUSCAT

5* hotel built during 1970’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exclusive Platinum check in area was private with a lounge located within the lobby

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bathroom really show’s the hotels age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above: Lift in lobby and the pool at beach behind

Elite club’s eats and treats are free for PLATINUM members of IHG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat

 

 

 

 

 

 

The local airline Oman Air had some serious specials to fly down south to Salalah.

 

So did Hilton have a sale at a category 1 resort. = 5000 points for a free night.

Its always great to plan a trip within a trip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 NEXT TRIP:

SALALAH, OMAN