Shangri-La Al Husn, Muscat — Hotel in Muscat Governorate

I have wanted to stay at this hotel for a while, and our Anniversary seemed a good excuse. I emailed the hotel in advance to ask some questions about room locations and differences (I am very particular!), and was lucky enough to be put in touch with Anne Aspillera, who is the Assistant Front Office Manager. She could not have been more helpful with all my questions, after I had poured over photos of the room locations and views, so I felt very reassured that the guest service was going to be good. We booked the hotel car transfer as it wasn’t that more than a taxi, and were happy to receive a WhatsApp from the driver first thing in the morning, before we had even left Abu Dhabi, which was also a reassuring start. We live in the Middle East, and so we knew it was Eid, but to my horror on arrival we were advised that the whole weekend was going to be dry. I was extremely upset about this as I felt we should have been advised in advance (BA Holidays who we booked the room through, sent us several emails advising of various restaurants openings and closings, but no information about this, which I think is pretty important to a Westerner, and especially one there celebrating an Anniversary!). And I had had various communications with the hotel. On arrival, the room had the exact lovely sea and beach view that I was expecting, on the floor I had asked for, and we were delighted with the space, and the amenities. We had brought decent wine at Muscat Duty Free (after some great advice from Anne), thank goodness, in view of the lack of alcohol service. I was also upset about not being informed because we would have changed our dates if we had known even one day in advance. We wanted to enjoy the evening canapés and cocktails….one of the reasons we had booked, we wanted to have a nice bottle of wine with our meal in the evenings, a glass of wine with lunch etc etc. I emailed Anne and explained that whilst I realised I was moaning about first world problems, I was extremely disappointed not to have been advised in advance, that we would have changed our dates etc etc. I didn’t expect anything to come of it, as it’s clearly not the hotels fault that there is a religious holiday, but almost instantly we were upgraded to an even more spacious room with panoramic sea views, where we then happily spent our time drinking daily our lovely duty free wine after our dinners. |I can honestly say that what stands out about this hotel is the staff, they are friendly polite, and cannot do enough for you. I work in premium hospitality for an airline, and I can honestly say that the service we received on a daily basis from Anne was absolutely outstanding. I presume her role to be overseeing the Reception team, but she booked dinners for us, a snorkelling trip (swam with turtles, what a magical afternoon), helped me with a delivery I had ordered, booked a taxi for a nearby hotel, and checked in with me on WhatsApp daily to make sure we were having a nice time. Absolutely she went beyond her role to help us have a great experience. After we checked out, Anne and the Reception staff were standing outside in the heat waving us off as if we were long lost family. There is no doubt that in comparison to the newer modern hotels, parts of this hotel are dated, but everything is spacious, clean, and luxurious, in a stunning location. The pool and the beach were both lovely……and sooooo nice not to hear single child screaming in either area:-). But I believe the reason this hotel maintains its high scores is down to an exceptional team, and I have stayed in a lot of hotels around the world. Cannot wait...

The location and serene surroundings of this hotel are its main advantages. The beach is beautiful, and some of the staff are notably more dedicated than others.

Overall, the hotel feels dated and lacks any “wow” factor (except for its beautiful beach and location).

The service and standards of professionalism are not five-star or on par with other Shangri-La resorts around the world. I visited both spas at the resort and left without making a booking at either. They felt unwelcoming, and the staff seemed disinterested and uninviting.

The food overall is just okay. The Indian restaurant was good, but the lunch restaurant by the beach was of poor quality. One of the dishes we ordered was inedible, and we informed the team that it tasted off/poor in quality. They did not remove it from the bill but instead gave two complimentary scoops of ice cream (a nice gesture, but for a five-star resort, this is not the standard).

Breakfast service is a bit chaotic, and the staff seem overwhelmed. A guest service manager was going around obtaining feedback, but it felt more like he was completing a chore rather than being genuinely interested.

Afternoon tea was another letdown, with staff lacking five-star training. The gentleman who seated us seemed hostile—there was no welcome, no introduction to the service, and no service flair. It felt like another chore.

The gym is okay—small and also falls under the “dated” category.

The beach is beautiful, and the pool is nice.

During checkout, no invoice was offered or emailed, and I wasn’t asked for feedback. While the receptionist was somewhat nice, he seemed primarily concerned about the bill. This reflects a recurring theme at the hotel, which appears to stem from a management focused on money rather than guest experience.

Almost a week after returning home, I received a phone call from the hotel saying they had made a mistake and forgotten to charge me for room service. I’m unsure how this happened, but they said their employee made a “mistake.” They hounded me with emails and texts about this trivial amount and sent me “Final Reminder” emails, as if I were a debt collector’s target.

The issue here isn’t the amount—I’m happy to pay for what I consumed—but rather how the hotel handled their own mistake. Especially for a five-star hotel, you’d expect them to learn from it and use it as a training opportunity for staff. Instead, it’s poor management to chase a guest a week later and send “Final Reminder” emails. When they called, I told them to send me a payment link and that I would pay it when I had the chance. However, it seemed like, because I didn’t pay right after hanging up, they pursued me like a loan shark.

Overall, the hotel is in a beautiful location and provides a nice getaway, but there are major inconsistencies with the staff. Some are friendly and welcoming, while others are poorly trained and hostile. This is not a culinary experience—if you’re a foodie, look elsewhere.

I would not return here due to how the hotel made me feel overall, and I believe it is poorly managed. It’s not...

We rarely do reviews on this platform, but we really wanted to shate a special experience.

We recently (for the 4th time in this hotel) spent two weeks from Christmas until after the New Year at the Shangri-La Al Husn .The hotel, which is Adults Only, is located 45 minutes from Muscat airport (limo transfer available), nicely designed, very well kept and extremely clean. Staff is friendly and tries to fulfill all your wishes. There is one infinity pool with a great view out onto the see, and there is a beach to which one can either walk (3 min.) or be carried by golf carts. The beach is sandy, with a view onto an impressive cliff. Sunbeds etc. are always available in substantial number, towels etc. provided by personnel whenever you come to the pool or the beach. There are two main restaurants, one with very good international cuisine and one with an Indian chef. The Indian restaurant was an outstanding experience, with amazing food that was not too spicy for European tastes and an incredible service team. An absolute must! During the day, there is a beach bar and a pool bar with the usual food (burgers, salads etc) at high quality. Although Oman is an arab country, alcoholic beverages are available, albeit at a higher price one may be used to from Europe or the US. Every evening before dinnertime there is musical entertainment and free drinks and snacks in the central courtyard of the hotel with a nice atmosphere when the sun sets. As we had been to Muscat several times at previous visits, this year we took an excursion to Nizwa, a historic town, which was well organized via the hotel with a local agency. We found this trip outside the capital very interesting and enjoyable. In total, the Al Husn offers a relaxed, friendly and quiet atmosphere.

We were impressed with the current hotel director, Nick Flynn for his approachable way and his hands on attitude, and solution oriented hospitality and customer focus and by his staff with a special shoutout to

Cylia from Guest Relations, for making every effort for us during this time to have a wonderful vacation and experience

Prisca from the restaurant reception desk, her genuine care and outstanding hospitality was a great pleasure we could experience every morning and evening

In Aangan (Indian Restaunt by Rohit Ghai) we truly enjoyed the outstanding service and recommendations by Pratik and we have to say that the whole team under Patag at this restaurant is amazing and sets a special standard

Our daily time at the pool was a great experience, thanks a lot to the special care of Narayan, Said and Anwar

Our room was perfectly taken care of by Don.

One additional observation we wanted to share is that across the hotel the restroom cleanliness is impressive, the people taking care of this matter deserve a...