Oman should be on every well-assorted bucket list, and if you haven’t been there yet, the two Anantara sister resorts Al Baleed Salalah Resort and Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort are two good reasons to book your flight to the Arabian Peninsula as soon as possible.
Although Oman cannot offer flying carpets, it can offer so much hospitality, thrills and adventure that there is enough material for a story of its very own from the Arabian Nights. This begins far to the north, in the Green Mountains at almost 3,000 meters above sea level, where the mountain peaks almost kiss the clouds. This is where the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort is located, giving you plenty of reasons to jump out onto the terrace in the morning. The view of the hills and valleys takes your breath away even before you reach the mezze-studded breakfast table, which turns into gasping for breath as you climb the resort’s own path. If you are looking for adventure, hike cross-country and past deserted villages, cactus-populated slopes and roads dotted with pomegranate trees. Always on board: Omani coffee, spiked with cardamom and rose water, and dates, whose sweetness makes the tongue do loops. In the evening, the resort overlooks the mountains, whose sand-colored peaks are bathed in light and bathed in more shades of pink than lovers on cloud nine can experience.
From Muscat to Salalah to the Al Baleed Salalah Resort
Seen enough? Hardly, but we continue south towards the coast, where the Anantara sister resort Al Baleed Salalah is located in Salalah, not far from the Yemeni border. It is clear that Aladdin would take his beloved to this place, where pool and sea merge like sand and sky, before night falls over the hotel and over this place where all worries are washed away by the roaring ocean. While camels leisurely make their rounds in packs on the streets and in the nearby wadis, you can stroll through the spacious grounds, enjoying the nature, the geckos, the greenery and the lagoon, which makes you feel as if you are on the banks of the Mekong. The restaurant of the same name enchants the palate with Asian delicacies, while the Sakalan buffet is dedicated to a different cuisine every evening. Salalah offers more than just beaches and kitschy sunsets, and you will soon find yourself surrounded by green oases, on the precipice of raging waterfalls or on cliffs that offer a view of crystal-clear water and the odd splashing turtle. Dolphins leaping between the waves burn themselves into your memory, as do conversations with people who carry particularly big hearts under their robes and veils, accompanied by the thick, heavy scent of incense that lulls you to sleep like an exciting bedtime story.
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort
A two-hour scenic drive from Oman’s capital Muscat, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort is located high up and surrounded by mountains and hills. You can sleep in one of 82 rooms with spectacular views of the canyon or in one of 33 villas with or without a private pool. From the resort’s own platform, where Princess Di also enjoyed the view, you can see the towering mountain range, which gives you butterflies in your stomach, especially at sunrise and sunset. If nature and the weather are playing their own game, you can pass the time in the hammam instead of the pool, where the hands of the staff knead every last bit of stress and tension from your shoulders. In the morning, dine with a view of the grounds and help yourself to Omani and international delicacies at the buffet, while in the evening, three restaurants provide variety on the menu.
Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara
Here the sandy beach, there the lagoon and in between the Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara, whose pool forms the center of the complex, which combines Arabian flair, minimalist design, green gardens, exotic plants and palm trees. 126 rooms and villas with and without a pool offer guests a home away from home that is hard to leave once they have to return home. Luxurious cabanas and sun loungers await you on the 250-meter-wide private beach, where you could spend days with your feet in the fine sand. In addition to the three restaurants with Southeast Asian, Mediterranean and daily changing menus and the friendly staff, the absolute highlight is the spa, whose treatments, for example with frankincense typical of Oman, ensure a special sense of well-being. Its origins and history can also be discovered in the neighboring museum, which can now be reached by a short boat trip on its own lagoon.
You can read more about Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara here, and more about Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort here.
The Anantara Group also has two great resorts in the Maldives. Here we show you why it’s worth making a detour.
Photos: © Anantara, Tassja Dâmaso
