Mandarin Oriental, Muscat

Beautiful warm hotel! The room is out of this world, fitness and gym teacher (yoga and boot camp) state of the art and the staff couldn’t be nicer. Special shoutout to Sheryl, Humphrey, Mina and all the pool staff. We had a great stay thanks to you!!! The pool is the perfect temperature :)

Amazing stay! Staff were very friendly and made us feel welcome from the moment we arrived. View from our room was stunning, and the room was comfortable, and beautifully designed. Hopefully we can get interleading family rooms next time!

I went for a drink in the evening in their bar. It was a cozy ambiance and lovely atmosphere. Dimmed lights, calming music and a nice pool view. I tried one rosemary mocktail, it was delicious and soothing. Nice, calm spot for a chat and drinks.

The hotel is new, nice and clean, however it's hard to compare it to the standards of Mandarin Oriental in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Upon our arrival (around 3pm), no one was there to welcome us, help with the luggage, or park the car. We had to ask around to make sure we were at the right place. What I appreciate positively is overall cleanliness. But what I must rate negatively is the food. It falls far below the standards of MO hotels. It’s generally poor, with a small selection, sometimes below-average quality or improperly prepared. Breakfast: limited options, not much fruit, cheese, or pastries. Pancakes, waffles, crepes were very hard and dry, not tasty… When you order something, you have to wait a long time or remind them about your order several times. Two days in a row they apologized, that the avocado for avocado toast we ordered wasn’t fresh etc… The staff there is polite, but half of the time unorganized, which is completely obvious. The menu selection by the pool was so limited that by the third day, there was really nothing left to choose from. The problem is that the menu in the main restaurant, the lobby, in-room dining and even by the pool is almost identical, which is something I have never experienced in hotels of this category. What surprised us very negatively was that hotel is absolutely not kids-friendly. There is no kids club, no kids activities (with the exception of a couple of badminton rackets and a jenga game). The kids' menu was completely unavailable on the first day and in the following days, it offered 6 meals and 3 of them (basic dishes like chicken soup, mac & cheese, or pizza) were not available at all during our stay (despite the hotel having an Italian restaurant near the pool). The chicken nuggets and fries were always so greasy that I would consider McDonald's a healthier alternative. Considering the above, we only had dinner at the hotel restaurant once during our stay (there is only one a la carte restaurant) and afterward, we visited the restaurants at St. Regis ( Coya,Novikov, Zorba…) The hotel does not have its own beach. In general, there are many things that need improvement to ensure guests don’t leave disappointed. The fact that our final account had to be corrected twice because 250 euros were overcharged speaks for itself.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Mandarin Oriental - our main aim being total relaxation. Our room was a great size, had a generous sized balcony and was serviced twice daily. As the hotel is still in soft opening phase, we found the pool area to be quiet during our entire 6 night stay which we really liked. We dined at the Italian restaurant and found the food and service to be excellent. We also used the spa and had a massage treatment which was also very good. The bar has a good atmosphere and we enjoyed some pre-dinner drinks on a couple of evenings - note that the drinks are expensive but this to be expected in the Middle East generally. The hotel overlooks the beach and we enjoyed some fantastic sunsets and walks along the beach each afternoon. We hired a car during our stay and were able to make use of the free parking and valet service. Overall I would not hesitate to recommend the Mandarin Oriental as it really delivered against what we were looking for from this trip. We did find the service a little inconsistent at times (mostly during breakfast) and I'm sure this will be ironed out over time.

We had exceptional service in Rawya during our stay I would like to personally thank all Rawya team and Otman restaurant Supervisor Specially For looking after us with providing the best service Ever gcc As well as we enjoyed all the outlets