Fanar Hotel and Residences — Hotel in Dhofar Governorate

Hello guys! Our holiday here at Fanar is ending and I want to leave my review. We are a family of 4, from Romania and came here with Dertour. The flight here was 5h35m and we had catering on boar. When we landed, the Fanar’s staff was waiting for us, labeling our luggage according to our room number. At the hotel, we were greeted with a welcoming drink and got the key to our room right away. We got a key, not a card, because we opted for a 2-bedroom apartment, normally you get a card. I want to adress all the points separately.

ROOM: -as already said, we had a 2 bedroom apartment in the Caracal building. We have a selection of chocolate and a basket full of fruits. The rooms were very spacious and clean. We had slippers, bath robes, ironing board, even lotion, conditioner and shower gel in the bathroom. there is also a hairdryer. The only minus we observed is the water not draining properly in both showers, but we didn’t adress reception as we weren’t really bothered by it. Room was cleaned every day immaculately.

FOOD: -was absolutely delicious. I highly recommed booking some dinner at Breakers and Aubergine. Personally, we tried Breakers in the Omani-themed night and Mexican-Themed. Both were amazing, soo many food options served directly to your table. Amazing waiters, great service. The main restaurants: Al Souk and Sindbad were always a pleasure. Sindbad has korean and japanese dinners, which we adored. The cabans on the beach serve delicious snacks and there is a bar on Queen Shiba Beach which serves smoothies, iced coffee and so on (btw the guy working there is a total gem). If you get closer to the ocean beach, there are cabanas serving sweets, like cotton candy. At the pool bar you can drink whatever you want, but weren’t sure about it as the menu says only items written in pink are part of the all-inclusive programme. Maybe it is a misunderstanding, but feel free to order whatever drink you like.

SERVICES -the resorts’ services are wonderful. You just dial 0 on the telephone and a tuk-tuk will come to pick you up. You just need to wait a few minutes as the resort is enourmous. We feel sorry for the 2 situations when we didn’t wait, we thought they forgot about us and we apologise for the inconvenience. Our luggage was very well taken care of and delivered directly to our room.

INTERNET: -here I have some complains, as the Wi-Fi kept disconnecting on the beach and near the pool, but we had great wifi in our room and every restaurant. I think there is plenty of room for improvement.

There is also important to note that the resort is gigantic, our apartment was situated in the marina and there was a good 15-minutes walk to the nearest beach, but the scenery is worth it. It is important to know that Salalah is quite an expensive destination and you should expected higher prices for tours outside the resort and even souvenirs. Also, don’t be fooled if you want to buy the Amouage fragrance. The original ones can be found only in the airport!!! Also, we recommend you all to come mid-season. We were here since april 27th and the heat is INTENSE and we got a pretty severe sun burn on the second day. The end of season is not really the best period if you want to explore the city or the desert.

However, our vacation was just lovely and didn’t really encountere anything to make us think otherwise. It is a top resort with top services and professional stuff. We were always greeted with a smile and even contacted by HR to ensure that our holiday is perfect.

P.S: there is a cat with 2 kittens near the Al Souk restaurant which I hope is taken care of. 🙈

Highly...

I have booked this hotel as a solo traveller for a special occasion. My main criteria was 1) hot weather and beautiful beach/scenery 2) luxurious surroundings 3) culture 4) 5star service. Al Fanar ticked all of my boxes and beyond. This was a truly amazing holiday! From the moment I arrived I was blown away. Rooms and grounds of the hotel are super clean. Beautiful grounds and even the hotel is massive it doesnt feel overcrowded. Massive and I mean massive selection of the places to eat and incredibly delicious food choices so even if you are there for a week or more you get to try different cuisines cooked by chefs from their own counties. You will have a choice from a busy buzzing places to eat or a more quieter restaurants, even at the most romantic beautiful locations on the beach! Please try the seafood bbq event if you are staying there on Saturday night as its a must try! Eating delicious fresh and perfectly cooked meal whilst watching a sunset is one of a kind! The beach has a white sand and water is amazingly warm and clean. Selection of 3 different beaches would suits anyones vibe - whether you wanted a quiet little place to read a book or sunbathe not far from the main buzz by the hotel people watching. Bar is at every beach so you are never short of the refreshments. I can go on about how beautiful and amazing this place for ever however these are the main things that stood out for me:

1. Staff. Every single person that works there absolutely cares about this place. It is evident by the way they take care of the place and care about their guests. From wonderful men that look after the gardens and maintain the grounds to chefs and the rest of the staff in the kitchen. You will get smiles and greetings from everyone. Every single one of them try and make your stay welcomed and pleasant. They go far and beyond. My room was spotless and housekeeping staff always were welcoming and made sure I had everything I needed. Lovely gentlemen on the beach were always happy to assist with the towels and the sun-lounges. It was incredible to watch them do more than was probably required by them when they cleaned outside showering facilities just because they wanted it to look good for the guests although it was obvious that it wasn’t their job. Waiters are just amazing. They work in a fast paced environment in a very hot weather and humidity yet they maintained their positivity and smiles and were always happy to assist. Sooo welcoming. Animation team had such an amazing buzz that you will just want to join in! They have a variety of the great activities throughout the day so it is never boring if you had enough of the wonderful beach. I took a dolphin watching trip and it was the best experience ever!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you at the Al Fanar and I am sorry I havent got all of the names however a special thank yous from me are to Darkul, she went far and beyond to make my stay soo special that I will never forget it!!I am forever grateful. Khaled (reception) , you are a knight in shining armour! Adel, Mahmoud, Zahed, Nikhil, Subham, Anshul and Hemant - thank you kindly for your hospitality and making my stay truly incredible and making me feel so special and for making me smile. I just cant thank you all enough. All of you at the Al Fanar - you...

We stayed at Fanar Hotel for 7 nights and overall had a great experience, except for the accommodation itself.

One of the highlights was definitely the service. The staff truly go above and beyond. From the moment we checked in, we had a lady reach out to ensure everything was going well. The cleaning staff did an incredible job keeping our apartment clean and making sure we always had fresh water. The golf cart drivers were kind and accommodating, making it easy to get around, and the restaurant staff were always responsive and professional. We also want to thank the reception staff, who were incredibly accommodating and patient throughout our stay, always willing to help with any requests.

The food is really good, we thought the best breakfast is at Sindbad Restaurant, definitely worth trying. The weekly Saturday seafood dinner at the beach (15 OMR per person) is a must, an incredible experience with delicious food. For a special evening, we recommend the Omani cuisine night on Wednesdays at the Breakers restaurant, where there are live performances by local dancing ladies.

The beaches are very beautiful, as a Fanar guest, you get access to the beaches at both Rotana and The Club hotels. Our favorite was The Club hotel’s beach, which was relatively empty, had great waves, and was well-maintained with lifeguards on duty.

The spa in the main building is excellent. I had three full-body massages, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

Unfortunately, the biggest drawback of the hotel is the accommodation. There is a huge disparity between the hotel rooms in the main building or newer buildings (like Stork or Heron) and what is sold as apartments.

These apartments are not up to the standard of the rest of the hotel, they are an honest 3-star experience, not 5-star. Depending on the location, they are a 5 to 10-minute walk from the main hotel, which is already inconvenient. However, the real issue is their age and lack of renovation.

The furniture and design are extremely basic, more comparable to a basic hotel than a luxury resort. Bathrooms are noticeably aged, the shower drain was moldy, the ceiling had visible mold and dirt, and the entire room smelled of mold and cigarette smoke. The whole room felt worn-down, with everything from the fixtures to the decor screaming 3 stars, not 5.

To be clear, the cleaning staff did an amazing job, and the issue was not cleanliness, but the fact that these apartments are simply too old to be properly maintained. No amount of cleaning can make up for outdated furniture, worn-out bathrooms, and a lingering musty smell.

If you're looking for a true 5-star experience, it seems that The Club is the best hotel out of the four in the complex. It’s newer (built just two years ago) and clearly of higher quality but it is also significantly more expensive.

Generally the hotel is a 5-star experience in terms of service, food, and amenities but not in terms of accommodation, at least when staying in an apartment. If you are booking here, be very mindful of the room category you choose. I highly recommend opting for a room in the main building or one of the newer sections, but I would not recommend booking an apartment if you are expecting the same level of comfort as the rest...