Shangri La Muscat | ExpatWoman.com
 

Shangri La Muscat

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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 18:42

Are there three hotels there? Which is the nicest? :) thanks.

Also, how long does it take to drive from here please?

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 15:16
I've stayed there and I thought the prices for the hotel was fine, but the buffet food was underwhelming and quite expensive. We ate out quite a bit, which is fine if you don't mind the drive into town. It's in a lovely location on the bay and you'll feel like you're a million miles from Dubai. It took about 4-5 hours to drive. Somehow I managed to get the hotel to accept all of my entertainer vouchers so we had more than one night free. I think maybe they were confused about how the vouchers worked or maybe because we had 2 separate rooms-not sure.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 September 2014 - 21:07
Yep it's definitely closer to 5-6 hours to the hotel. There is a voucher in the Entertainer Travel book (the big one not the supplement) to get one night free and a percentage off the remaining nights - well worth it.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 September 2014 - 20:58
Wrong information regarding drive time Dubai to Shangri La. Realistic without delays 5-6 hours. I live in Oman and when I leave Dubai in Downtown area to Azaiba Muscat on a good run 4.15 hours. Shangri La another hour if traffic is not horrendous.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 17 September 2014 - 04:14
Wow, thanks sooo much for all the info :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 20:57
The drive normally takes us about 4hours from Dubai to the hotel. If you have children Al Waha is the one you want to stay in as like Catawba mentioned has the Kids Water Area and Lazy River and a nice pool layout for parents to watch their kids etc. Al Bandar, the middle hotel is slightly more expensive less kids stuff but I'm assuming a little nicer than Waha. I personally don't think its overpriced especially if you went during an off-peak time. Very nice stay, nice selection of restaurants and beautiful view out onto the sea.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 20:40
Yes there will be kiddies - ranged from 5 to 10. thanks :) Ok then....3 hotels: Al Husn is at one far end and the 'couples' hotel. Generally I think you can stay there with kids but no one below 16 can use the pool or beach so pretty much they discourage kids even if technically they can stay. Of course kids can use the facilities at the other hotels but this place is huge so wouldn't be convenient. So I'd give it a miss if I were there with kids at all (even older). We've been twice and stayed at the two other hotels. There is no doubt that a stay here is not inexpensive but I think that is different than being overpriced as mentioned below. It is a 5 star resort and accordingly not cheap. But it is comparable (as opposed to overpriced) to other 5 star resorts in my opinion. And you get a lot for what you pay for as opposed to many places we've been in UAE/Oman. If you have very young children I'd probably stay at Al Waha which is at the opposite end of the resort from the 'couples' Al Husn. The first time we went we had small children, aged 1 and 3. Al Waha was great for us. This is where the kids club is and most of the activities hosted by the club (like archery, football etc). There is one giant pool. They have since added a small 'waterpark' that kids can play in with flowers raining water etc. When you have kids you have to supervise all the time the convenience to the main kids' facilities at Al Waha is good. If you like a cocktail at sundown....they have happy hour every evening with two for one drinks at the bar/restaurant by the pool and when we had small kids it was great to have an early drink while the kids had dinner by the pool with live music they could dance to and then all retire to the room to put the kids to bed and have adult room service. If you stay here try and get a ground floor. Otherwise the downside with small kids is you can be on upper floors and walk forever to get out. Al Bundar is the hotel in the middle of the two other hotels and where we stayed this past April on our second visit. If I had kids aged 5-10, this is where I would stay. We had kids aged 3, 7 and 9. The 3 year old is always with us so didn't matter where we stayed from that point of view. But for 7 and 9 year olds it offered the perfect measure of security and independence. Al Husn has more pool area and the pools are more varied with more nooks and crannies so as an adult you can find more space, even with kids. Also more loungers given more space. It is connected to Al Waha by the lazy river so we felt very safe telling our 7 and 9 year old they could take the lazy river on their own to kids' scheduled activities at the kids club as long as they checked in at specific times and they loved this independence. The bulk of the restaurants/shops are at this hotel but a 5 minute walk to either of the other hotels. It is very long and spread out; the key is to ask for ground floor as you have a little patio and can access pools etc directly rather than having to walk ages through the hotel. And again with older kids, they know where your room is on the ground floor if you put something out to recognise on the patio and can have a run around and come back to the room at designated times without having to wander through a massive hotel. As stated above, this is not an inexpensive resort but it compares with prices at other 4-5 star resorts in Dubai. It is a lovely secluded location with very good facilities and staff. Both times we have gone we have had a great holiday and said 'we should come more often.' We took my sister-in-law this past April and they were so impressed they were ready to fly back on their own from the UK for another holiday a few months later. I'm afraid I can't remember how long the drive is.....on our way there we went via Al Ain and Jebel Shams. This is definitely the longer way to go and parts of the road are absolutely horrendously dangerous (think much worse than Dubai). Going via Hatta is faster and better as two lanes the whole way so not so much dangerous passing. I don't know about going [u'>into[/u'> Oman but [u'>exiting [/u'>at Hatta there is a newer passport office and it was much faster (as opposed to the previous absolute chaos). I would just plan not to go through at peak times. I know this is completely useless as I can't remember the exact time but the last time we travelled from Shangri La to Dubai was about an hour less than we expected. It is a boring drive with lots of speed cameras in Oman but it is not a bad 4-5 hour drive if you don't go in rush hour. Sorry I can't remember exactly. If I can answer anything else, happy to do so. edited by Catawba KSE on 16/09/2014 <em>edited by Catawba KSE on 16/09/2014</em>
2584
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 19:04
Yes there will be kiddies - ranged from 5 to 10. thanks :)
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 19:03
Kids or no kids? And if yes, what ages?
2584
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 19:01
Thanks Miss S Overpriced in terms of room prices or F&B? Also - are there 3 hotels in one resort? Which one has the best views etc? Thanks :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 18:59
Hi TB. I was in Shangri La 3 years ago and I thought it was totally over priced. It is very nice and relaxing, lovely restaurants which have buffets so you get a wide range choice. The restaurant we were in had great child entertainment, magicians coming round, henna and lots more. Like I said, we really enjoyed it however it is very over priced. Have a blast
 
 

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