“Shangri la”

It was an amazing experience in Shangri La. The waiters were very friendly. A special shout out to two waiters Mr. Praharsh and Mr. Harsha. They were extremely helpful and friendly. The resort itself was amazing. The pool and the lazy river was amazing and the beach was beautiful. It is a place w... more

It was an amazing experience in Shangri La. The waiters were very friendly. A special shout out to two waiters Mr. Praharsh and Mr. Harsha. They were extremely helpful and friendly. The resort itself was amazing. The pool and the lazy river was amazing and the beach was beautiful. It is a place where you have to go in Muscat

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“From the moment we stepped into the grand Lobby, we were embraced in a world of elegance and wramth from the Staff. The”

My room was each day beautifully decorated from Ryan and celjun. Dinnng experience was spectacular. The highlight was the Frankincense garden, Tour with Mr khalid and Luban Shop. We will recommend this unfortunately stay to all Joana & Thomas

“A very good resort - especially for families. Clean, wonderful staff and lots of dining options.”

We are just coming to the end of almost two very enjoyable weeks at the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah (Al Waha). We were joined for one week by our son and his wife and their 3 ½ year old son and 10 month old daughter. Overall, we have nothing but praise for the resort, which is clean, well maintai... more

We are just coming to the end of almost two very enjoyable weeks at the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah (Al Waha). We were joined for one week by our son and his wife and their 3 ½ year old son and 10 month old daughter. Overall, we have nothing but praise for the resort, which is clean, well maintained, and caters for all ages. The hotel even provided a pushchair, high chair, bottle steriliser, crib and everything else needed for our small grand-daughter. Staff throughout the hotel – from Reception through to those who maintain the beautiful gardens, are friendly, polite, helpful and obliging, and professional. Housekeeping in particular deserve special mention – they spend a good deal of time in the rooms ensuring they are spotless and well supplied with clean towels etc. We have also been blessed with Gayan in our housekeeping crew who each day ‘sculpted’ a new towel model and these included magnificent Turtle, Crab, Scorpion, Elephant and Rabbit. All of which we would find when we returned to the room after their visit. We kept our friends amused on a daily basis when we sent photos home of each new creation ! Gayan is an especially talented member of the housekeeping staff. The pools and Lazy River are clean and well maintained – and fun ! The life Guards at the pool and on the spotless beach are obvious, but they discretely patrol the beach, so that tourists can feel safe on the beach and in the water. (Oman is from a tourist perspective, very safe in all other regards). Food at the Breakfast Buffet is excellent quality, and plentiful, both in choice and quantity. The staff go out of their way to find tables for diners, even at the peak dining time. They work hard too, in tidying and keeping the dining and food areas clean etc. Similarly the restaurants are also excellent. It took us a few days to realise that the meal portion size was more than enough for us not to need to order side dishes, but when we did, these were also plentiful – one side dish will easily and sensibly feed two, or perhaps even three people. Fish Restaurant, - excellent ! Good Service too - professional, friendly, and very helpful. The same is true of Capri Court – the Italian Restaurant and of the Asian restaurant next door. The lunch food served at the small dining areas around the pool, - again very good. We had room service on a few nights – too tired to eat out, and again, service and food was excellent - especially good value for Room Service. The resort caters extremely well for families with young children. Not just with the various pool water activities, but there is great deal going on in and around the hotel. A very large Easter Bunny arrived during breakfast – much to the everyone’s delight and there was an Easter Egg Hunt around the hotel grounds (adults and children taking part!) on Easter Sunday. We had a beautiful Chocolate caramel easter egg delivered to our room too ! Beware – Oman is not a cheap holiday location. If you come as a family and eat out every night at the restaurants, then don’t expect to pay UK Family Pub Prices. But bearing in mind this is The Shangri La Luxury chain of hotels, and you are in an expensive country, the prices are actually reasonable enough. Would we come here again ? Yes – happily. The last time we stayed at the Al Bustan and while that was an excellent holiday too, we have also enjoyed this resort. BUT – a Note for the Hotel Management. Not criticisms as such, but where small improvements could enhance a guest’s stay. 1. The evening international buffet. We ate here once. It is reasonable value, but the choices were limited and poorly presented. The hot food was barely tepid and in some cases it was cold. We chose not to eat here a second time. The difference in price between this buffet and a nice meal in one of the other restaurants is so small, it makes much better sense to eat in the restaurant. 2. The small chairs in the outside areas of each room. These are so VERY uncomfortable. It would have been nice on occasion to just sit outside our room with a drink or cup of tea – especially early morning. But the design – the seat being curved in such a way it forms more of a large hump, is truly awful ! You might want to consider changing these ! 3. Internet is generally pretty good – but only if you are in the room or the hotel building. The moment you move any real distance from these areas – even just to the pool area, internet connection all becomes a bit flaky or non-existent.

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“Great hotel, potential to be better”

Overall a great stay at the Al Waha part of the resort. The hotel site is stunning, between the mountains and the beach. Facilities are good, and the staff are very nice and helpful all around the hotel. In general you always find space at the beach or the pool despite Germans putting their towe... more

Overall a great stay at the Al Waha part of the resort. The hotel site is stunning, between the mountains and the beach. Facilities are good, and the staff are very nice and helpful all around the hotel. In general you always find space at the beach or the pool despite Germans putting their towels in the morning everywhere ... Food in the hotel was average, not exceptional but not bad either. We found the buffet was better just after it opened, closer to the end there was less choice available. The location of the hotel is not immediately close to the centre. It takes about 25min to get to the Mall of Oman or to Mutraq Souk. The hotel offers two shuttle services, one in the morning to Oman centre and one in the evening to the souk. Make sure you book them in the morning as they can get fully booked. Taxis are quite expensive, £15 for a 15min journey in average. Minus points for the prices for food - we found it very expensive for what you were offered. £5 for a coke, snack at the pool bar is around £15 for a chicken shawarma, and dinner buffet is around £37 pp after discount (£48 otherwise...). Price in Oman were much cheaper if you go to eat in a restaurant at the Souq for example (less than £10 for 2). If you are not too fussed about food and prices, would highly recommend the hotel.

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