03 | May | 2013 | Andy in Oman

The family and I were recently invited to Wadi Shab Resort (between Quriyat and Sur in Tiwi) by the manager, Suman. Just the week before, one of my friends’s mentioned that she stayed there with her friend and enjoyed it so we didn’t hesitate to accept the gracious offer to check out the place in exchange for an honest review. The manager wants to get the word out that the resort is now open for business, or a “soft opening” as they like to call it here in the Sultanate. He thought it would be nice to advertise the resort and what it has to offer here on this blog. There are 34 guest rooms available at the resort: 17 standard rooms, 14 deluxe rooms and 3 luxury suite rooms. All the rooms have a direct view of the sea; one of the best beach locations on the whole Eastern coast. We really enjoyed the small pool at the resort. With such a great beach location, we were surprised that they even had a pool. Definitely a bonus! With fantastic views of the Sea of Oman and the majestic Hajar Mountains in the back, you couldn’t ask for a better location. We have been saying for years whenever we visit the East Coast that they need a hotel between Quriyat and Sur and we’re glad that there is finally such a place! It’s just a short walk down to the beach. The gorgeous beach at Wadi Shab Resort. As much as I loved the beach at Wadi Shab Resort, I wish I had brought my reef boots as it was hard on the feet at some points. The beach along Wadi Shab Resort must be about 5 kilometers long. Give yourself an hour or more to go exploring the coast towards Tiwi as there are some fabulous cliffs and rock formations. (I will be posting about this in a separate post when I get the chance.) This is the view from our room in the early afternoon. And this is the view from our room just after sunrise. We were very satisfied with the room. The bed we slept in was unbelievably comfortable and the rooms had all the amenities one would expect from a 4 or 5 star resort in Muscat. Room amenities include: Flat Screen LED tv with many satellite channels (the other room had another flat screened tv as well), fridge (2 in luxury), telephone, hair dryer, safe box, electric kettle and complimentary tea/coffee, alarm clock, iron on request, baby cot on request and free wifi access in rooms and public areas. There are actually 2 rooms that come with the luxury suite including a large sitting room with pull-out sofa-bed. The minifridge items are not overly priced like other hotels/resorts in the Sultanate. Example prices include chocolate bars for 300 baizas, softdrinks for 300 and mineral water is complimentary. We were also surprised at how low the room services were. (I had a burger and fries for 1.5 OR as a quick example.) No complaints about the bathrooms. I like the large walk-in showers. It was nice to see that the luxury suite came with 2 bathrooms. Yes, they do have a restaurant at Wadi Shab Resort. It’s quite simple but it does the trick! That’s the restaurant in the pic above with the backdrop of the Hajar Mountains. The indoor seating is the box-like orange section while the boat looking section is outdoor seating. It’s pretty clever to have their restaurant shaped like a boat and it looks quite charming lit up at night: They have a nightly buffet if/when there are enough guests staying at the resort. We don’t know what it would cost for the dinner buffet as we only learned when trying to pay the bill that the manager arranged for our bill to be taken care of. Sweet! There is also the option of Beach Barbecue (BBQ) if you ask the resort in advance. This is the restaurant inside during the breakfast buffet. Reserving the room is easy on their website and meal options are quite cheap (just learned)and can also be selected online (or later at the hotel) including breakfast buffet (4 OR/person), lunch (5 OR), dinner (6 OR), half board (10 OR), or full board (150 OR). The breakfast was great and we enjoyed a lovely scene of fishermen at work with their nets early in the morning: Another beautiful morning view from the restaurant This is the sight you’ll see as you approach Tiwi and the turn-off for Wadi Shab Resort. We were concerned that we might have problems locating the resort but there are clear green signs in several locations letting you know you’re going in the right direction and also informing you as to how many kilometers to the resort. This is what the resort looks like along the Quriyat-Sur coastal highway. It took us 2 hours to reach the hotel from our home in Muscat – 30 minutes till we reached the Bouscher-Amerat mountain road and another hour and a half along the Muscat-Sur highway (no need to drive through Quriyat!!!). Once you make the turnoff and drive back in the direction of Muscat, you should be able to see the resort in the distance like in this pic: You might want to read another review from another blogger who was there around the same time as us. The blog is “Omanly” (“ideas to improve the tourism of Oman”) and they shared their thoughts on Wadi Shab Resort here. A big thanks to Suman (pictured here with Ahmed who works the frontdesk) and the entire staff at Wadi Shab Resort for giving us the royal treatment during our unforgettable stay! Be sure to check out Wadi Shab Resort’s website at www.wadishabresort.com . Tel: +968-2475-7667, Fax: +968-2475-7668, email: wadishab@travelcity-oman.com