Kempinski Hotel Muscat

The hotel and area are pretty new. Oman is promoting people to walk so there there are a few nice places to take an evening stroll. There are quite a few restaurants in the hotel which service the surrounding community and guests. That's not to say they get overly packed. The hotel is clean, spacious, staff are super friendly and gym facilities great to work off all that omani food. The hotel is located on an amazingly groomed stretch of beach. The hotel is a little further our from Mascat main city centre but actually we didn't mind it at all.

First, the hotel was gorgeous and everyone was very friendly. You have direct access to the beach and several restaurants. The food is ok, nothing to gush about, but a nice variety. Most disappointing was the lack of hot water in my shower. I spoke to the front desk after the first morning and they were to send someone; not sure what happened. Maybe more disappointing than 2 days of cold showers was the lack of offering anything beyond a sorry and a smile. I certainly don't need a refund but at least an attempt to right the situation is warranted when paying for a 5 star hotel.

Reception let the hotel down . 1 hour waiting for our room and then a further 30 mins to get the luggage to our room. We tried to get luggage collected as we left but no one picked up the phone .

The Kempinski is located just outside the airport in the gated community of Al Mouj. It’s not the ‘real’ Muscat if that’s what you’re looking for, but it is an opulent, marina based location with a suite of excellent restaurants, 2 pools, spacious rooms and located near to more shops and restaurants. We had an amazing stay here- your stay will start with an introduction to the grandest foyer you’ll ever encounter. The room was enormous and overlooked the pool with a balcony. We were thrilled with our stay, and enjoyed hanging around the Al Mouj area. For those that want to be closer to the souqs and attractions, you’d need to look at something closer to Muttrah and Muscat proper.

Good hotel just lacking a few finishing touches for a 5 star hotel. There was no refreshments in reception/lobby, you could only use spa if you were having a treatment and toiletries were not great. But staff were brilliant and complimentary water and ice lollies by the pool were nice touches. Very expensive like most of the Middle East / Far East.