My Spa Experience at The Chedi

  During our recent stay at The Chedi, my wife convinced me to give the Spa a try.  I’m glad I listened as it was a great experience.  2 years ago I posted about the opening of the Spa at Chedi (click here to check it out) but this was my first time to experience it for myself.  The pic above is just in front of the reception area.  They sell all kinds of products including soaps, massage oils, lotions and even Chedi bathrobes (16 OR). We picked up a nice bottle of massage oil containing frankincense and rose for 11 OR.  I called up and made an appointment for the “Authentic Balinese Treatment” at a cost of 40 OR.

Of course you don’t need to be a guest at the hotel to book a massage or treatment at the Spa.  Just be sure to show up 10 mins in advance as it’s just good spa etiquette!

  In a small comfortable waiting area, your therapist will come and ask you how you want your massage (strong, medium or soft) and will then ask you to choose your massage oil from a number of selections.

  And then down the hallway to one of the many treatment rooms

  The first part of the massage occurs in this “preparation room”.  The room is too large to fit in one pic, but there is a large cabinet where you place all your clothes (while the therapist is on the other side of the door waiting for your knock to signal you’re ready) and lock up your belongings to give you an added sense of security.  Once you’re ready and your bathrobe is on, the therapist will start with a very relaxing foot cleaning and scrubbing in the small basin pictured here.  They even give you a nice drink full of antioxidants which is similar to the “Chedi detox” available on the menu at the long pool.  A surprisingly pleasant part of the experience and a great way to start!

  This is the actual treatment room.  The therapist gave me the option of turning on the heated massage table or leaving it off.  Although it was a very hot day, by the time I got to the treatment room I was cooled off so I decided to go for the heated table.  I’m glad I did because I think it added to the whole experience. The 60 minutes flew right by and it was fantastic! She managed to work out every kink and I felt like a new man.  And because the Chedi employs professionals you don’t have to worry about a therapist asking if you want anything more when you’re done…

  Feel free to hang out in the Spa Lounge after your treatment.

They have a great view of the ocean crashing on the beach in the front window and the long pool in front of the lounge chairs to the right.

The Spa is a great place to relax and unwind during the killer heat of summer in Oman!  Highly recommended!

Golden Tulip Seeb

Sometimes our family likes to check into local hotels for a “weekend getaway” or on National holidays to relax and unwind.  Mommy deserves any pampering she can get as looking after 2 little ones at home is no easy task! 😉  Golden Tulip Seeb was one of our latest weekend getaways.  The only other time we had been here was during a buffet dinner 2 years ago which was satisfactory, but nothing extraordinary.

Our deluxe room was quite comfortable. Overall, a very pleasant weekend was spent here!

Our simple but nice patio

Our room was right behind the “EMOCLEW” sign.  Must mean something in Arabic. 😉

The patio served as a pleasant spot to enjoy room service. The Browns sure do appreciate good room service! 🙂

Of course it’s always nice to have coffee and tea making facilities.  You would expect this from any 4 or 5 star hotel, right?  In all our hotel and resort stays, Duqm “Floating Hotel” Veronica was the only hotel that didn’t have anything whatsoever (and yet the most expensive of them all!).

My wife was so looking forward to a Thai massage…but when she called for an appointment, they informed her that the only masseuse was on a 2-month vacation in Thailand.  They didn’t feel it was necessary to get a replacement during her vacation?! Bizarre!

The whole family had a great time, especially at the pool…

Daddy was the only one who enjoyed the main pool.  The rest of the family splashed around the kiddies pool:

All that swimming around sure can work up an appetite! Good thing they got poolside service! 😉

The dinner buffet at Le Jardin has changed very little in 2 years. Not bad, but nothing to write home to Mom about either.  Some of the hotel packages they offer (occasionally) may include dinner which was included with our room rate.  I’m pretty sure the room rate always includes breakfast buffet which we really enjoyed both mornings.

This dish, Um Ali, is something I distinctly remember from our dinner 2 years ago and also our recent visit.  Um Ali is a Middle-Eastern Arabic dish (many websites say that it’s Egyptian) that is a delicious bread pudding.  It may not look like much, but this is one fine dish, folks! Mm! Getting hungry just thinking about it!

The Muscat Airport (formerly known as Seeb International Airport) has a lot of construction going on.  The new airport being constructed is supposed to be completed by April of 2014 but I’m not sure if that’s realistic with quite a few delays in the past year including striking workers.  When completed, it’s supposed to be able to handle 12 million passengers a year!

I wonder if that is the tower that is set to be the tallest building in Oman once the airport is complete.  An air-traffic tower is set to be almost 100 meters high which would make it the tallest occupied building in the Sultanate.

Sunset over Muscat International Airport from our room while at the Golden Tulip.  Why all this talk about the airport?  For anyone who might not be familiar with Muscat and Oman, it’s common knowledge for most living here that Golden Tulip Seeb is the closest hotel to the airport.  I believe that is why they never have to worry too much about guests filling their rooms!  Well after experiencing the Golden Tulip for ourselves, we’ve learned that it may not be the only reason.  The staff were great (especially with our kids) and the service was quite good. For expats in Oman, you may want to keep your eye open for special promos at Golden Tulip Seeb every now and then…like the one currently on through the Bank Muscat Shopping Festival until Dec. 31st where rooms are only 55 OR/night including tax and buffet breakfast (+20% off food at Le Jardin restaurant).  www.goldentulipseeb.com  (Tel:+968-2451-4444)

Exclusive Tour of The Chedi Spa, Muscat, Oman

On Oct. 25th (less than 2 weeks ago), there was a cocktail reception to celebrate the debut of The Spa at The Chedi, Muscat.  I was invited but unfortunately I was unable to attend.  I managed to get an exclusive tour a few days later and I thought I’d share some pics and info from that tour.

The highlight of The Spa is this recently opened pool, The Long Pool, which at 103 meters long is the longest pool in the Sultanate.

Behind the Long Pool, notice the private Chedi beach (370 metres).

The gym inside the Spa is incredibly spacious (400 square-meters!).  30 Technogym machines, a Pilates corner, power plates, free weights and a Kinesis wall.  Membership to The Spa costs 1900 rials!  That includes: 2 personal training sessions (RO 50 value), 6 60-minute Balinese massages (RO 210 value), 1-night stay in a Chedi Club Suite with B&B (if available when reservation made) (RO 490 value!), free gym laundry year-round (? value), 30% discount at all GHM hotels worldwide, 20% off at the Spa (products and rituals).  So it was explained to me that you actually get 750 rials back and it works out to only 3 RO/day.  That’s obviously too rich for my blood, but when you consider that you get access to the entire Chedi resort (not just the Spa) and their private beach, it’s not too pricey for those who value their relaxation, health and privacy. (The manager, Mr. York Brandes, explained to me that they are capping membership at only 50 members even though there’s plenty of space for a few hundred for the sake of exclusivity, privacy and space.  Exclusive membership. Fair enough.)

These Kinesis gym machines are supposed to be top of the line. (This gentleman, when asked, didn’t mind getting his pic taken for the blog! 🙂 )

Ghaliya, one of the employees at the Spa, at the reception counter.

There are a total of 13 treatment rooms at the SPA.  The Spa is spread out over 800 square-meters.

This is one of the couples treatment rooms.  They specialize in Balinese therapies, but also offer aromatherapy, Ayurveda, and herbalism “rituals”.  They have a spa suite on the ground floor exclusively for the physically challenged. 

My favorite room at the Chedi SPA: the relaxation room

The Chedi is a 21-acre, 5-star beach resort that is a real treat to leisurely stroll around.

The well-mantained hedges, green lawns, ordered pools of water with plenty of flowing fountains give this place a real sense of serenity.

Although the Long Pool is exclusively for Spa members, there are 2 other pools available for public use at the Chedi.  This lovely infinity pool is called The Chedi Pool and is for adults-only.  Don’t get the wrong idea with it being “an adults only pool”; some people simply like to relax without any screaming kids around.  My guess is that most of the people lounging there actually have kids and just want a break, haha!

Just in case you might get the idea that the Chedi or Chedi guests are “anti-kids”, this here pictured above is the family-friendly Serai Pool.  It’s open daily from 12pm-10:30pm.  They even have a kitchen that serves meals, cocktails and mocktails and more.  It’s near this pool that they serve their lovely breakfast buffet at the restaurant called “The Restaurant” which my honey and I enjoyed quite some time ago.

Well, it was nice to be back at the Chedi.  Thanks, Shaza, for the lovely tour!

If you’re interested in staying at the Chedi Muscat, the number’s (+968)2452-4400.  Email: chedimuscat@ghmhotels.com Check in time:2pm Check out:noon