The best accommodations Oman

An exceptional hotel requires an exceptional site, or the opposite: a wide bay encircled by mountains, so exclusive that it can only be reached by sea, by piste, or by air, by paraglider! Eco-friendly and designed to blend in with its natural surroundings, the hotel is a hamlet of sublime villas in raw materials with private pools. Inside, furniture, stone and linen play on a rustic-chic style of rare elegance. Everything is in tune: the Six Senses spa, the experiences, the beach, the restaurants, including the spectacular perched Sense of the Edge.

The Sur Plaza is the best hotel in the region, without question. That doesn't excuse it for being a little sad, with its facade of small rectangular windows and H-shape that can't find a way to have rooms with a pool view, except over the restaurant's wind tunnels. While you're at it, avoid the keys on the expressway side of the 92 rooms, which are comfortable and have everything a 3-star hotel needs for a good night's sleep (air-conditioning, TV, mini bar, bathroom). Also: 2 restaurants, including one on the poolside terrace, gym.

At the entrance to Nizwa and 3 kilometers from the historic center, this is the quintessential provincial hotel, with its historic staff, vast glossy floors, spacious rooms and apartments, recently renovated and therefore very good value for money. An outdoor swimming pool in a vast courtyard is a great place to cool off, and there's also a small gym and a great restaurant frequented by locals and tourists alike - buffet and à la carte dishes of the highest quality. Ask for a room in the new, quieter wing at the rear of the building.

This is Dhofar's most exclusive resort, white and sober throughout, and the only one to offer, in addition to refined suites, accommodation in luxury villas with private pools. Straddling the ocean (sublime beach), wild lagoons and the archeological site of Al Baleed, the site is an exception. Top-level services: exceptional spa, sumptuous restaurants (especially Mekong), huge swimming pool, children's and teenagers' club, nautical hut, range of experiences and activities...

Comfort and conveniences to global standards for this establishment of international standing. Bonus 1 : 60 panoramic balconies with sea view (choose the rooms on the first floor so as not to be face to face with the synthetic lawn). Bonus 2: the position overlooking the waters of the gulf, very pleasant at the end of the day from the café or terraces. On site: restaurant, pub with liquor license, gymnasium, games room, children's playground and paddling pool, nice café (the Finyon) where you can have a pastry or a snack on your way back from an excursion.

As its name suggests, the hotel offers real apartments with a lounge area, an equipped kitchen and more or less numerous bedrooms. It is the ideal solution when you are with your family or in a group. The floor is marble, the rooms are well arranged and decorated with a certain care. The hotel is located in the centre but away from the hubbub (a small street perpendicular to the shopping area). No restaurant on site.

Set in the middle of a wasteland near the airport, this small sandy-coloured hotel doesn't look like much, but the welcome is quite warm and the price reasonable. A swimming pool without deckchairs sits in the interior patio around which the rooms are distributed, giving onto the outside. The choice is offered between several categories includingFamily rooms and apartments for 4, all well equipped (TV, telephone, air conditioning, fridge...). On site: restaurant of international cuisine with terrace and BBQ, children's playground.

This refurbished hotel has an ideal location, close to the embassies and especially the beach. it has 86 well-appointed and comfortable rooms and several leisure facilities: Swimming pool, hammam, sauna, fitness centre. There is no on-site bar and no alcohol served in the hotel.

We come here because of the convenient location just a stone's throw from the airport, leaving aside the immediate surroundings. This Centara is equipped with the latest facilities: fitness centre, rooftop swimming pool and spa, which is of course of the highest quality since it is Thai. The rooms, with their soft tones, surf on an international style without false notes. No alcohol, but the establishment has several restaurants including a Thai, a Turkish table and a BBQ area by the panoramic swimming pool.

It's a big building planted on the beach between the Crowne Plaza and the neighboring villas. No charm on the outside, but it has the advantage of being fairly recent, and its 60 spacious rooms offer a good level of comfort, with TV, air conditioning, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and room service. If you're here, choose a sea-view unit with balcony to wake up to the waves. Coffee shop indoors and restaurant with pleasant beachside terrace. For a dip in the pool, head for the hotel next door, which belongs to the same owner.

Camped in the middle of nothing, on the beach all the same, it is the most beautiful establishment of the region, with 213 rooms with balcony sea view. The shape of the building, in a U-shape open on the beach, protects the terrace and the large outdoor pool while giving a little more privacy to the place. Inside, the rooms are spacious and the decoration is classic but modern, in sand and brown tones with a few arabic touches. On site: two restaurants including a marine table, a pub with billiards, a gym and several meeting rooms.

It is the only youth hostel in the sector, clean and well maintained. It is located a little away from Salalah, about minutes drive from the city centre and the airport, on the road to Thumrayt. It has 32 suites (with private bathroom and kitchenette) and 16 fairly spacious rooms, all with telephone, TV with satellite channels, fridge and air conditioning. On site, restaurant with buffets and à la carte dishes.

Set in 12 hectares of gardens and orchards, it's an extensive complex with 109 spacious suites, numerous sports facilities (tennis, gym, playground...), a restaurant, 2 bars, boutiques and a spa opening onto a rather strange "zen & fun" sanctuary with water park and gigantic swimming pool. Somewhere between a balneo center and a mini-park, Al Nadha is a slightly kitsch stopover, an atypical place to relax that's hard to define (see the site), or at least a practical base for exploring the forts and wadis of the hinterland.

This large, horizontal, vacation village-style complex features around 50 villas just 2 steps from the sea, divided into single and double rooms, suites and apartments. Facilities include tennis courts, swimming pool, gym, sauna, wellness center, café, restaurant and, of course, a long, beautiful beach. The all-white accommodations are built in Arabic style, and some have three bedrooms, kitchen, living room and terrace - ideal for families. Not very charming, but comfortable (TV, mini bar, air conditioning).

As the Triganos used to say, the site comes first! Well, this Beach deserves its name since it is located on the sand, near the wadi Sallan, daring the lawn, the pool, the tennis court and a pretty white fortress face. At night, with your back to the sea, you will take a charming picture of this building with turrets. In spite of a globalized decoration, the establishment gives off a little something of holiday. So you can enjoy the beach and the leisure facilities. For those looking for space, chalets are available. Also a restaurant and a bar.

Comfortably set back from the busy road between Muscat and the Emirates, with a name referring to the wadi that runs towards the sea, the establishment, in its white modesty, displays its 78 pleasantly modernised rooms around a pretty swimming pool, without the architect having thought of offering them a wide, plunging view of this life-saving pool. When making a reservation, prefer a key to the right side of the complex. Owned by an Omani group rich in ideas in terms of hospitality, the old Al Wadi remains dashing. On site: restaurant and Sports Bar with musical atmosphere.