Our first stop in Oman was at Alila Hinu Bay, where we spent four(ish) nights. Alila Hinu Bay only opened in 2021, and I haven’t seen too many reviews of it yet, so I was curious to check it out. Let me say upfront that I loved this property, though did get a bit bored…
Continue reading: Review: Alila Hinu Bay, Oman
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Great review as always, but man I'd be upset if I traveled that far to be that bored and eating SE Asian food. Also, how in the world does a property like this make any money? I don't get it.
See you in the much more accessible Cabo, or Alilas in California, or SE Asia.
Great review and Oman is very high on my list, so I'd probably add this as a stop for a few days thanks to this blog. I have to agree with the other comments though - this place must be hemorrhaging cash. Can't imagine it continues to operate that long into the future at this rate.
Interesting how Alila has developed into what it is today. It seems like they're making "Seasalt" as their signature restaurant, à la St Regis and its King Cole Bar, or with Aman and its Arva and Nama restaurants.
Seasalt started as the restaurant at Bali's Alila Manggis (near Amankila, and formerly known as The Serai). Alila Seminyak (also in Bali) later opened in 2016 and got its own Seasalt restaurant.
Thanks for sharing your review. We passed on staying at this ALILA last October despite being in love with the Jebel Akhbar property a couple of days piror - for the sole reason of its (very remote) location. And your report/pictures show that we took the right decision by staying in Salalah where the beaches are prettier and there is more to do. Did you visit the ruins of the old havor close by? Thought it was an interesting site
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sumhuram+archaeological+gallery/ @17.0398731,54.4635904,13z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x3dd3a601df0ea553:0xeee8aa921ed9a6fe!2sMirbat,+Oman!3b1!8m2!3d16.9930697!4d54.7027669!3m4!1s0x0:0x4008324237cc3c68!8m2!3d17.0405126!4d54.4372089
Food looks good but frankly the property looks bland and boring. Just recently stayed at the Al Maha in Dubai which looks and felt 10x more alive and awesome than this, with plenty of proper vegetation in the resort, animals around everywhere and a more deserty desert with high dunes further out
Thanks for the review, Oman is my favourite ME destination and will certainly put this resort on the list. I found it amusing following your blog on travelling as a gay couple that in your bedroom you had his and hers trilby hats.
Out of the way, hard to get to.
Bleak landscape.
Little to do.
Nice pool and good but monotonous food.
Doesn’t sound like a formula for success.
Maybe if I found myself in Oman (which I would like to do). But can't see a special trip for it. Though the price you paid for that room would easily be double or triple in fancier locations.
Long trip from NY but agree 100%. Just there for 3 nights. Driving daytime from airport, be very careful of camels on the highway!!! Staff is FANTASTIC!!! There could not have been more than 20 guests when we were there which was just fine by us. I would recommend the lagoon view (which includes lagoon and the mountains and maybe the sea) than the more pricey "sea view" (which is far from the sea and has the walkway to the bay in front). Generous Globalist upgrade. Pool villa identical to deluxe buy deluxe view maybe better and more private. The bay beach was clean and delightfully private but they need a phone to call for service (or help). Didn't see the dolphins. Maybe after Kahreef season it will be a little more lush. Alcoholic drinks are pricey just like rest of Gulf countries. Really out of the way and suspect a tie in with the other Oman Alila will be needed.
Much of the architecture looks very similar to Alila Uluwatu and, at least for me, would probably be the primary selling point of this hotel. Some of design elements are terrific and I suspect food is very good given it is an Alila property. Otherwise, not feeling it. If I want the similar aesthetic, Uluwatu is 1000x more interesting both in terms of setting and access to other things to do. If I was living in Saudi and needed some time away, this might work. As a destination if coming from anywhere outside ME, hard pass. Appreciate TPG2 flushing his money so I won't be tempted to do the same.
Check your math. 1.00 OMR is USD 2.60. Ben is right. The "O" of OMR can look like a zero making 6 look like 60.
Beautiful. Out of the way. Not a lot to do. This kind of sounds to me like the Maldives. If you're not really in to snorkeling or diving, I don't see how this is any different. At least you don't have to pay for a $500 domestic flight, and you can go visit local towns if you so desire. Your review makes me want to go, but yeah, probably for 2 nights.
Out of the way.
Overpriced.
Overpriced food that looks pretty lame
Not all that luxurious, facilities look 4* at best.
Bleak landscape bordering on ugly.
Yeah shocker that there are no guests....
@Ben, two questions:
1. Salalah is know to have a relatively mild microclimate, with temparatures lower than elsewhere on the Arabian peninsula, in particular in summer. Of course, you visited in Winter, but did they tell you anything about the climate at Hinu Bay? Is it as mild as Salalah?
2. Based on your report about your flight DOH-SLL, you arrived well after midnight. Did you stay in Salalah or head directly to Hinu Bay?
Ben--you had posted about trying to decide how to handle your early arrival, what option did you end up going with? Also typo in "desert and see" 🙂
Your observations mirror ours from a December visit. We also purchased outright and got the globalist upgrade to deluxe villa. About 5-10% full over Xmas. The place is mostly boring, walkways lead to dead ends and construction zones, the beach is alright but far, and the staff is still learning its way. Take for instance our tea time where the “tea sommelier” gave us a tea tasting and said the teas were all Julius Meinl teas but were actually Dammam teas. The villa was the best part and I thought the resort should have done a lot more to offer frankincense type experiences. Made us wonder if we should’ve stayed at the Anantara closer in to Salalah.
I'm surprised there's no mention of the ridiculous amounts of noise caused by the pool's drainage system.
It cuts off briefly and it's divinely peaceful and then cranks up again and sounds like there's a plane hovering overhead. Very unrelaxing.
We're also in 111. Not a patch on Alila Uluwatu so far, but perhaps that's the "being taken over by a big brand" effect.
If you're in the area, you must visit Marneef Cave and Mughsail beach on the other side of Salalah, about an hour and half drive from Mirbat. Beautiful turquoise waters and incredible mountain-meets-sea landscape.
It’s not, that’ll be Bitcoin. Also, Kuwaiti Dinars are “nominally stronger” than Omani Rials
After reading the report again, question number 2 is answered. But I still wonder about question 1.
Camels at night in the desert are very difficult to see and when they come in through the windscreen you basically get mushed. In the UAE there are camel fences along most 4 lane highways but once off the beaten path you are on your own.
In the fall of '04 we drove to Salalah from Abu Dhabi and stayed at the Hilton which I highly recommend. Not the same class but extremely comfortable. Driving was 1100 km of high hot desert and when arriving in Salalah the road drops to the coast and the temperature drops massively as the humidity rises. A veritable oasis in the desert.
Salalah is a favourite destination in the summer for UAE residents to escape the heat if they don't go to the UK or Europe.
Ben. Wow what a thorough review. Is it just me or does the place look like something off a Bond film where the henchmen live before the finale.
As a current update for 2025 I can report that the property is odd at best. Compared to Alila Jabal, it is a poor compliment to its wonderful mountain sister property. Only the rooms are well done.
Service is very hit and miss. The Singapore chef is long gone from here and the food is meh at best. And activities, compared to Jabal, are sparse and uninteresting.
The reality is that I have no idea what this hotel is trying to be or to offer. While the surrounding area is beautiful, of course there are better positioned properties like Anantara
which make more sense if that’s your goal. It’s not a beach property, it’s not offering much in the way of activities. And it’s oddly positioned in one of the least attractive areas that is otherwise surrounded by absolute stunning beauty in either direction north or south.
The biggest takeaway though is that the landscaping is absolutely dismal. That is it’s nonexistent. Unless some random trash in the desert is what you enjoy looking at. I asked one of the managers and he said “we wanted landscaping but the hotel was completed during Covid and we had no one to do. We are trying to come up with a plan.” Umm, Covid was five years ago. They have not so much as put in a bush or tree anywhere. I saw better views and equal landscaping at gas stations on the drive down the coast from Muscat.