In the 80's in Time Magazine Al Bustan Palace published beautiful ad and since then I wanted to visit this place. During my recent first visit to Oman I knew that I must stay at Al Bustan Palace. This place is everything I Imagined long time ago in the 80's. It is a real Palace built for kings and princes of the Gulf states. Arabic themed buffet dinner was of the highest quality with amazing variety (tagine, shuwa, maqluba, shawerma, . . .). Frankincense scent in the lobby, fires in the garden during the evening, beautiful colors on the mountains during sunset and sunrise . . . We kindly received room upgrade and late check out. One of the few truly magical places in our world (like La Mamounia in Marrakech)

Arabic music / oriental lounge music in certain public places at the Palace. Or oud player in the restaurant during themed Arabic evenings

My stay was flawless and excellent in every detail, including the pool, breakfast, room, amenities, spa, staff, and service. We enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing New Year getaway.

Nothing

The setting and grounds give you an indication of the splendour of this hotel before you enter the lobby. It's all pristine. The lobby itself is just mind-blowing, both in terms of scale and decor. The place has the feel of a palace which is how it's known amongst the locals. The pool is wonderful but the service around it is even better. I particularly enjoyed the personal ice boxes with bottles of water. The pool staff were hugely attentive and little extras like ice creams in the afternoon that are kindly handed out - it all makes the experience that bit better. The food was delicious for every meal. You pay 5-star prices but that's acceptable when the quality matches which it did.

The beach is not pleasant. There were tonnes of waste masonry strewn across the sand and it was not safe to walk along without seas shoes on. The sea was entirely pleasant but the journey to it was not! By a country mile, my biggest gripe was the room keys which were good for 1 use, maybe, occasionally. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to get to your room and not be able to get in - every day. This is even more problematic when it's a female locked out, in a swimsuit, who then has to go to reception in an inappropriate dress state for a Muslim country to get the key re-programmed. SORT THIS OUT ASAP!

The hotel building justifies the word "palace" in the name - it is breathtaking. The hotel was built a while ago, the interior does not look particularly modern, however all spaces are beautifully decorated, all are impeccably clean and the rooms themselves are very cosy and in great shape. Excellent quality of breakfast, generally dining experience was very good (although one of the key restaurants, China Mood, was closed for renovation). Special thanks to Ali Al Wahibi and to Raju Sonar at Al Khiran restaurant, who went extra mile to make us feel welcome; I have to say however that all staff were very friendly and helpful. Sporting facilities at the hotel are very good and the pools are a joy. The Spa deserves a separate mention - it is housed in a separate building of traditional middle eastern design, is very well organized and offers a great variety of treatments.

My choice of room rate did not include meals, not even breakfast. That was my own decision, however in this particular case it was perhaps a wrong decision not to include meals in the rate - the quality and choice of meals were excellent, but they were quite expensive to pay for on the spot. My advice to all who choose to stay in this excellent hotel and to rely on hotel meals (which, as I said, you would not regret) is to opt for the room rate which includes breakfast and perhaps also dinner.

Al Bustan is an amazing palace-style hotel. The service and staff are impeccable. The grounds are manicured and feature three large pools. There is a large private beach with plenty of parasols and sunbeds. The hotel caters mostly for European guests, but there are also many locals who come to restaurants after sunset to celebrate Ramadan. Non-Muslim guests need to be aware that during Ramadan Omani hotels are not allowed to serve any alcohol in outer spaces. When coming here expect peace and quiet and no partying of any sorts.

Deluxe rooms are quite small and a bit dark in design. This may not be to everyone's taste. A much better value for money are pool-side junior suits which cost a small extra to upgrade from deluxe. Another important downside is that, like pretty much everywhere in the Middle East, guests cannot use messengers to make calls when connected to WiFi. E.g. Whatsapp calls are technically blocked by the network. Whatsapp messages do get through. In order to make a messenger call one needs to disconnect WiFi and get onto mobile data roaming. Last, the sea is not clear and the water has lots of green vegetation. Very few guests swim in the sea and many use the pool instead.

Pool near the room

bestial attitude towards the client : 1) Booking was placed 4 months before the trip. They cancelled 3 of 10 days 2 weeks before the trip because the few uknown groups arrived. I've been forced to move to another hotel. 2) I've been forced to cancel the second part of staying due to double price of the real value of the room. I've cancelled the booking with booking.com and struggled 1 hour to get my money back. Terrible!

The palace itself is beautiful and very impressive, especially the lobby which is wonderful. It is worth the visit by itself. The staff is very professional and welcoming. Thanks so much to all of them (including staff from Khazir shop). The room was amazing (lagoon access), very confortable, with luxurious material and furnishing. We loved the Dyptique products in the bathroom ! The terrace with private access to the lagoon is a big plus, I would definitly recommend. It felt amazing being able to enjoy the lagoon from our room. The infinty pool is great too. Finally, regarding the restaurant, it was delicious, we had a indian/asian buffet for dinner, it was wonderful, so tasteful and with so much choice. Same for the breakfast. We would love coming back, it was one of the most beautiful palace we've experienced in our life !

Everything was great. The only disappointment was the beach that was not as beautiful as expected (lot of rocks and algae)

We especially liked the Beach as there is a lot of Fish in the water (great for snorkling). The outside area is very beautiful. Food is amazing! And last but not least: the staff is super helpful and very kind!

We did were not very happy with our room for two reasons: it was next to the exit of a very noisy ventilation System which you heard all the time if balkony door was open (we prefer to sleep with open door, sitting on the balkony was not relaxing due to the Noise ). Also, there was always a strange smell when entering the room (another reason why we had to keep the balkony door open) .

The calmness, the gardens, the staff, the breakfast, the rooms and beds, the lobby.

The elevator didn't work and took them more than 3 days to fix it. There was only one elevator working for the whole hotel. The shops could have been better also the pools could have been better!? Housekeeping should be more hygienic and cleaner. There should be more electric plugs in the room. Also, the shower was a disappointment. Water pressure was low and some things need maintenance. The lighting of the room should be more studied! The lobby should have service!

Breakfast buffet was fantastic, dinners were excellent. The grounds were clean, well designed and nicely maintained. Service people were friendly and helpful. The lobby was spectacular and an amazing place to relax, read, and absorb the vibe.