The welcome
The hotel sits at the end of a promontory of reclaimed land and stands alone on the water at the western edge of Khasab. The newbuild property has been sensitively developed, incorporating local design styles, and the entrance is smart and low-key, with a small landscaped car park in front of the reception. Inside, there are plenty of staff (mostly Omani and Indian) to welcome us.
The neighbourhood
Khasab is a town with a population of 18,000, and this is the smartest of the three hotels here. It’s in a good location, close to a new Lulu Hypermarket, and Khasab Castle is just over the road. The port, from where you can take a dhow cruise to the surrounding fjords, is a five-minute drive. It takes me four hours to get there from Dubai; from Abu Dhabi, it’s more than five hours.
The scene
The hotel has 105 rooms but seems smaller, with a boutique-hotel-style ambience. It feels clean and safe. The hub is the restaurant, Al Mawra, and a small infinity pool, which overlooks one of two canals used by fishing and speed boats. The hotel is populated by European holidaymakers on tours of Oman, Omanis, Emiratis and GCC expats. Most guests are staying for short trips. The hotel is family-friendly, with a separate children’s swimming pool, and alcohol-free, which makes for a pleasantly subdued atmosphere in the evenings. There is a bar at Atana’s other property, Atana Khasab, which used to be the Golden Tulip Khasab and is a five-minute drive away (the hotel provides a shuttle service).
The room
The first room I occupy is a first-floor duplex apartment on the right-hand side of the hotel, but I was bothered by the noise from speedboats outside; for peace, I switch to a room on the left-hand side of the hotel on the ground floor, which is blissfully quiet. Rooms have excellent blackout blinds, heavenly beds and outdoor space. The apartments have kitchen facilities.
The service
Gracious, genuine, polite and obliging, though some new staff at dinner were a bit slow.
The food
Al Mawra has a great all-day-dining menu. I love the prawn Goan curry (7 Omani rials [Dh67]), made with fresh local prawns and plenty of rich sauce, and the fisherman’s platter (18 rials [Dh172]), a pile of freshly cooked jumbo prawns, calamari, lobster and hammour. The Omani milkshake (2.5 rials [Dh24]), made with dates, yogurt and honey, is delicious. Breakfast was a standard buffet, but items can also be ordered from the menu for an extra charge. A 17 per cent tax and service charge is added to food bills.
Loved
The sense of luxury in a remote location, the rooms and the restaurant. The banana and olive trees dotting the property are calming greenery amid a stark landscape. And the strong, open and free Wi-Fi.
Hated
The speedboat noise in the first room was irritating, especially after dark. As with many hotels, the rooms feature smoke alarms above the beds. These have small blinking lights and detect motion, which means a brighter glow if you move around.
The verdict
This is the best place to stay in Khasab and stands up as a place for a weekend break, even without the area’s considerable natural attractions.
The bottom line
Double rooms at the Atana Musandam (www.atanahotels.com; 00968 2673 0888) cost from 54 rials (Dh515) per night, including taxes.
rbehan@thenational.ae
