Review: Alila Jabal Akhdar, Oman

"Every dinner started with fresh focaccia with labneh and money"

Probably good thing they give out money, as the menu looks $$$

5 OMR for a salad. Nah.

Thanks for the review! I assume the room was considered a suite because of the outdoor section? The room itself (inside) doesn't look like a suite.

Also, who would you say is the clientele of the property? Weekenders from Muscat? Vacationers from gulf states? Europeans?

@ Alan -- Exactly, it was considered a suite because of the outdoor space, as the interior was more or less a standard room.

As far as the clientele goes, it was mostly Europeans, with lots of Germans, Brits, and Russians. There weren't many Americans, and there weren't many locals either, but that might have been because we stayed over weekdays. It's my understanding that the hotel does also usually get lots of visitors from the region.

Wow, the natural area looks amazing. We are visiting the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort in April. I’ll be curious how it compares to Alila.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay! We stayed there about a month before you (same exact room) and had an amazing time. Our takeaways were similar to yours, although I’m surprised to hear you didn’t meet the management. The hotel GM introduced himself during our check-in and we ran into him again two more times during our trip. He was exceptionally friendly. We did the Via Ferrara excursion and would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind heights. The course is right on property, you literally just hop the fence, strap in, and start going down the cliff! Also, while I certainly understand the appeal and convenience of hotel-arranged transport, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it here. We had a private tour guide who picked us up from the Ritz outside Muscat at 8am, drove us around all day giving us tours of the Grand Mosque, multiple villages/farms/ruins, provided an amazing lunch, and dropped us off at Alila around 7pm, and the rate was only 45 OMR more than just the hotel’s transport!

@ Jake -- Where was the GM from, out of curiosity? Maybe he wasn't on property when we visited...

@ Jimmy’s Travel Report -- Hope you enjoy your stay, and would be curious to hear how it compares!

It's Amangiri, only less exclusive (and probably less expensive).

Great review! This property has been high on my list for a few years. You mentioned that you needed a four wheel drive and there was a police checkpoint. Im curious...are you implying that if you DO NOT have AWD that you're not allowed to visit the property? If so, I wonder how many people are turned away in, say, a week or month.

Can somebody explain the appeal of Oman? I recognize pictures rarely do a location justice and to some extent perception of natural beauty is bound to include subjective elements but I don’t really see either of these hotel locations as more interesting or beautiful than dozens of high end resorts near red sea or on less traveled greek islands. Interaction with local people seems limited. Limited number of other travelers. Food is forgettable. Zero opportunities for truly memorable meals in these isolated spaces. For similar number of points or cash I can stay at a very good greek island resort during the summer and also amazing sunrise and sunsets in a similar aesthetic. And a good restaurant. And fun. Is it that there not many places for people in Europe to find warm weather in winter? Entire trip feels a little forced and sort of Hyatt corporate boondoggle-ly but that’s not really my point. Why Oman?

I stayed at the Anantara nearby a few years ago during Christmas. I had no regrets. We had an amazing time there. It seems like there is more to do there than Alila (e.g. tennis courts, several Jacuzzis, bigger Spa)
Tips :
1. you don't need a tour guide to explore the abandoned village, you can just walk down by yourself 🙂
2. we rented a 4 wheel car with a driver, cheaper than the car service from the hotel and there are quite a few places to stop on the way (you just click on "add driver" when booking the car, super easy and cheap)
3. The wine selection was weak, so best to bring your own French wine.

I believe he’s Australian.

definitely less expensive. I mean Alila was actually established to become a mini, less expensive Aman in the first place.

Is breakfast only comped for globalists or included for all guests including those redeeming points

EXCELLENT Review Ben! After the last couple weeks of posts I want to visit Oman now definitely with my Husband! One suggestion though: Adding a map to your trip reviews would be helpful, interesting, and help us all understand where everything is in relation to airports/the route taken/side excursions. I bet even a OMAAT specific graphic could be interesting as well! Adding different color lines for various airlines taken, zooming in on the continent/country/area of the country your in, and roads to hotel/points of interest. Just a suggestion! I wanted to know where each Alila you stayed at was and the local airports so I kept having to open up another window and Google and spending time off of your site to research that. Anyways, thanks for all that you do!

I actually prefer places that are "off the beaten path", for example going to Grand Teton or Bozeman versus Jackson Hole, or the Southern coast of Phuket vs the tourist hellscape that is the western side/Phuket City. Also it's kind of an "exotic locale", maybe like what Morocco was 15 years ago. I think that the food not being as "local" was a point Ben brought up himself and just maybe is a product of the pandemic/supply chain crisis or room for improvement by the properties (both hotel had some staffing shortages). Also we don't see everything that Lucky & Ford do on these trips. They said they took several side excursions and stuff, I'm sure there was plenty of culture and new experiences on their trip. Just my opinion/watching from the outside.

I would assume not many, as anyone getting the hotel shuttle or securing a ride there is already aware. For those renting a vehicle, the agency has to inquire where their vehicle is going and for how long. Anyone that's a tourist who is turned away, because of bad planning, would just delay their arrival. Turn around an hour, get a different truck, and come back and try again.

Thank you! Your trip reports are always the best and have been helpful to get through the last couple of years.

One correction - labneh and money: did you mean honey 🙂

Yes, if you do not have a 4WD vehicle, the police will not let you through. This definitely happens, and if that occurs, the hotel can come get you for a hefty fee.

Great review of the property! I will try to make it here some time in the future.

Can you wonder off on your own outside the property or do you have to get a tour guide?

@Miamiorbust - I want to Oman several years ago. To me the appeal was not the 5 star hotels by the beach or the food (although I do like that too).
I drove to/from the UAE (female, by myself on the "other" side of the road). I love to drive around through small local towns etc. and as a result I had loads of interactions with locals.

Oman is definitely not for everyone, but for me I loved it.

All rooms and suites come with breakfast. Stunning presentation and delicious. We are here now.

Jake, could you give me the contact of the tour guide you hired?

Oman is simply a beautiful country. Hire a guide to take you out to the desert and for hikes in the wadis. It's also distinct from its neighbors culturally, in that most Omanis work, are gracious and hospitable, and eager to show you around. If you go to Salalah during the summer - rainy season - it's a special treat as well. Hotels can be nice and five star, etc, but what really draws you to Oman and make it special are the landscapes, the people, and the mix. It's very interesting and a great place to go if you want something different.

Breakfast is included with any rate and was VERY good... at least it was when I stayed there last October

They offer free (!!!!) activites like Yoga and star-gazing and some botanical walks on the premises. Hiking (and a via ferrata climb for that matter) tours cost extra - it's not impossible to do the hikes on your own but you'd need a proper map and some basic sense of how to walk around in unsecured terrain.

Oman is a great place to visit. There is wayyyyyy more to do than to visit hotels and beaches. It should not be on a bucket list in the top 20 but comes pretty quickly afterwards. The people are VERY friendly and approachable, it's super easy to navigate around on your own and the country has a cool mix of nature (Wadis! Canyons!) and history (lots of old forts).

Stayed there a couple of years ago and loved it, as well. We rented a car and drove ourselves from Muscat and it was easy, definitely do-able.

We also unfortunately had the same issue (two years ago!) with the service, particularly in the evening getting drinks served. We would have to go find a waiter and explain what we wanted and then maybe it would show up 30 mins later. We still loved our experience there and I would highly recommend it to others, but yeah, there is some room for improvement.

"For those renting a vehicle, the agency has to inquire where their vehicle is going and for how long."

I'm not sure that's correct. I rented a vehicle from the Muscat Airport simply to travel around Muscat for two days and was never asked where I was going. It was similar to renting a vehicle in the states...we walked around the car for inspection and I was on my way. But given that people are being turned away, is driving two hours (back to Muscat) the only option for trading in your car? Ouch!

Thank you for the information.

Thanks all for responses. Makes sense and as someone that was in Morocco 20 years ago and also recently the comparison resonated with me. Can piece together how many aspects of culture may be more like North Africa than some of gulf states based on relative absence of oil wealth. Guess everyone is different but the approach each of you took would be far more appealing to me than the premise of these reviews, which seemed kinda like high-priced glamping. Perhaps that's a little unfair but was the thought that kept running through my mind while reading.

GM is Karl Marshall, Australian and former GM at Hyatt Regency Johannesburg. When the hotel was feautured in BBC's Amazing Hotels series then the previous GM, Darren Darwin, was there and who seemed to have higher standards.

I stayed there a few years ago. I thought we’d rented a good enough car in Abu Dhabi but at the checkpoint we were told in no uncertain terms it wouldn’t make it up the hill. The hotel sent a car down for us.

Anyone have any 3rd party vendor that provides transportation in terms of picking up from the airport and dropping off in Muscat City?

I know Lucky quoted 90 OMR for one way transfer but seems like the rate has gone up tremendously since then.

@Jake Can you provide the name of the tour company?

Thank you for your comprehensive and interesting review. I enjoyed reading it very much, as I will be staying at the Alila (plan to) in January. I would like to ask you if you have any knowledge or ideas about room views. We are not part of a Hyatt program and will be booking through a travel agency. Our agency has recommended a mountain view room, and I would like to double check that this would be a lovely view for two nights. It wouldn't make sense for us to book something larger, as our stay is quite short and we plan to be (like you) out hiking and seeing the sights by day. I look forward to hearing any opinions you may have, wish you happy travels 🙂

Having recently stayed there (I will post here a more detailed review, as I think things have changed since Ben was there), I believe I can comment.

We had a "mountain view" room, which we liked very much. From our terrace, we had an unobstructed view of a valley and mountain across it. Very peaceful and beautiful! However, our room was a bit further away from the pool/restaurant area, so there was a little more walking back and forth. I didn't mind it but others might.

Keep in mind than almost every room will have a view of a mountain in some direction! What I think you don't want is one of the rooms overlooking the pool area. Closer to the restaurant (and, obviously, the pool), but much less peaceful, with shrieking children. I would recommend specifically requesting something that doesn't face the pool directly, but everything else is pretty fantastic and you're likely not to spend too much time in the room given all the things to do and see. Don't miss the stargazing...we saw the moons of Jupiter, which were super cool!

I just completed a stay here last week (coincidentally also in room 38) and I must say that a lot of the issues mentioned in this post have been resolved. The hotel has ample staff, improved service at restaurants (in terms of English speaking skills and timeliness of service), and the staff were able to remember my room number after the first day. One of the best stays I've ever done and cannot recommend it enough.

However July is a hot month (even in the mountains, around 30-35 degrees C in the day) and I would recommend visiting in the spring or fall as winter sometimes gets very cold here.

Ehat else is there to do here other than hiking and the hotel activities ?

It seems to be very dependent on the day. For example, our first day we had to argue with the door man to let us in to check in and there were no waiters at the restaurant, so people would sit for 45 minutes and only get their orders taken when they complained. The staff do all seem genuinely friendly and try to be helpful but seems like they need more organization and support.