Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel

In the 80's in Time Magazine Al Bustan Palace published beautiful ad and since then I wanted to visit this place. During my recent first visit to Oman I knew that I must stay at Al Bustan Palace. This place is everything I Imagined long time ago in the 80's. It is a real Palace built for kings and princes of the Gulf states. Arabic themed buffet dinner was of the highest quality with amazing variety (tagine, shuwa, maqluba, shawerma, . . .). Frankincense scent in the lobby, fires in the garden during the evening, beautiful colors on the mountains during sunset and sunrise . . . We kindly received room upgrade and late check out. One of the few truly magical places in our world (like La Mamounia in Marrakech)

The setting and grounds give you an indication of the splendour of this hotel before you enter the lobby. It's all pristine. The lobby itself is just mind-blowing, both in terms of scale and decor. The place has the feel of a palace which is how it's known amongst the locals. The pool is wonderful but the service around it is even better. I particularly enjoyed the personal ice boxes with bottles of water. The pool staff were hugely attentive and little extras like ice creams in the afternoon that are kindly handed out - it all makes the experience that bit better. The food was delicious for every meal. You pay 5-star prices but that's acceptable when the quality matches which it did.

Al Bustan is an amazing palace-style hotel. The service and staff are impeccable. The grounds are manicured and feature three large pools. There is a large private beach with plenty of parasols and sunbeds. The hotel caters mostly for European guests, but there are also many locals who come to restaurants after sunset to celebrate Ramadan. Non-Muslim guests need to be aware that during Ramadan Omani hotels are not allowed to serve any alcohol in outer spaces. When coming here expect peace and quiet and no partying of any sorts.

The palace itself is beautiful and very impressive, especially the lobby which is wonderful. It is worth the visit by itself. The staff is very professional and welcoming. Thanks so much to all of them (including staff from Khazir shop). The room was amazing (lagoon access), very confortable, with luxurious material and furnishing. We loved the Dyptique products in the bathroom ! The terrace with private access to the lagoon is a big plus, I would definitly recommend. It felt amazing being able to enjoy the lagoon from our room. The infinty pool is great too. Finally, regarding the restaurant, it was delicious, we had a indian/asian buffet for dinner, it was wonderful, so tasteful and with so much choice. Same for the breakfast. We would love coming back, it was one of the most beautiful palace we've experienced in our life !

The calmness, the gardens, the staff, the breakfast, the rooms and beds, the lobby.