Guest reviews Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa

by Rochalovesruby York, United Kingdom

Over rated and underwhelming....

After spending a couple of weeks in Jordan touring around we were so looking forward to this stay as our final stop before heading home. We were looking forward to a luxurious week but in summary this hotel is dated, tired and not particularly clean. Our room had a lovely sea view but could have been cleaned better. The glass top to the writing desk was always smeared. Nuts that had been left outside on the patio table had taken 2 days to be removed. Yes, we could have done it ourselves but when you’re paying top dollar for what should be a 5 star hotel then why should we.... The breakfast spread was very disappointing. We had been thoroughly spoilt in the other hotels that we had stayed in with a fabulous array of produce. Service was slow waiting for what seemed like an age for tea & coffee to appear. Orders being taken for ‘cooked’ breakfasts from the menu were very slow. One morning we waited 20 minutes, chased our order and both dishes came out without the usual silver domes and yes, the food was cold so both plates were sent back. We had afternoon tea once. We chose to eat at the beach restaurant late afternoons where in fairness the food was good. We also opted out from having the canapés and drinks early evening. We experienced this twice and couldn’t bear it. It was as though there was a mass exodus to get down as soon as they started serving! On both occasions we arrived in the last 15 minutes of service......and we waited and waited to be served. We have been fortunate enough to have stayed in some of the best hotels in the world and this wasn’t one of them.

by BeverleyH60 Essex, United Kingdom

Excellent hotel even at times difficult times

This was a one off holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday. The staff were extremely welcoming as we arrived. Our room was ready & waiting for us even though it was only 9am. The room was perfect, with everything you could want for, plus very clean. We were there for 1 week the staff were courteous and helpful. There was afternoon tea every day if you wanted it, our favourite part of the day was the drinks in the courtyard before dinner, it's a lovely setting, with more than ample drinks served to you. The service at the pools or the beach was excellent, someone was there to put towels on your sunbeds, then cold boxes brought over, with ice cold bottles of water, a lemon and mint drink and an orange drink, plus a cool spray. We were there as the Coronavirus hit, on our last day we were told we would have to leave the beach and go to our rooms, afternoon tea would be brought round to everyone, plus the evening drinks, which they did in a very polite & cheerful way. Everyone had to have room service for their evening meals, again the service couldn't be faulted, not too much of a pain having your dinner delivered, then all set up for you on your balcony over looking the sea. Our time was up, we left for home the following morning, so it didn't really make too much difference to us. I would like to express my thanks and best wishes to the staff for making it such a wonderful holiday especially at such difficult times and hope they will soon be back to normal service. Take care

by johndpensioner Letchworth, United Kingdom

An excellent hotel in every way

My wife and I spent 9 days at Al Husn in late Feb/early Mar and we enjoyed it immensely. Our room overlooked the Gulf of Oman and the mountains from a generous balcony. The room was very clean, everything was well maintained and worked perfectly. The bathroom/dressing room had seperate toilet and shower cubicles as well as a bath and the toiletries were all supplied by L'Occitane. The mini bar had plenty of soft drinks water and beer as well as Pringles, assorted nuts and chocolates, all of which were free. Other reviews have mentioned the prohibitive cost of the spirits and if you wish to drink G & Ts in your room I would suggest picking up a bottle of duty free on the way out. All the corridors and public rooms were very clean and attractive. We opted for half board which I think was a wise move. This provided us with a free dinner in the buffet restaurant including two drinks. Apart from the two 'sister hotels' there were no other restaurants nearby and you would need a taxi to get to any others (I believe). There were a number of other restaurants to choose from but they were all quite expensive. We did use the buffet restaurant for dinner one evening which we enjoyed but it was not to the same standard as the other Al Husn restaurants. If one chose to dine in the better restaurants an allowance of roughly £50 pp was deducted from the cost. We ate in the Capri Court, the Sultana and the Shahrazad restaurants each evening and the food alone always exceeded our £100 allowance. However the quality of the food, presentation and service were always excellent. A bottle of still water worked out to be about £7 inc taxes and service and could not be included in the allowance The breakfast were always well laid out and the cooked dishes were served. Eggs Bendict and the smoothies were particular favourites of mine although I do find turkey bacon and chicken sausages difficult to like. Once again the service was faultless. After our large breakfast we did not feel the need for lunch and saved our appetite for the beautifully presented afternoon tea. Before dinner most of the guests sat in the courtyard where complementary drinks and canapes were served whilst listening to a live duet. The service was as always excellent and my wife was regularly declining a top up of her Prosecco. The canapes were freshly prepared in the courtyard and the waiters took the trouble to explain the fillings. Most evening a member of the hotel staff would circulate to check that gusts were enjoying their holiday. The pool in Al Husn was a pleasant temperature and the view from the infinity pool was beautiful. As the hotel is adults only the atmosphere in and around the pool was relaxed. The staff at the pool were quick to set up loungers with towels and unbrellas and to bring cool boxes with complimentary water etc. There was never a shortage. We spent half a day in Muscat and visited the Souk, the Opera House, the Mosque and the fish market. Having visited souks, opera houses and fish markets in other cities and the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi I would not recommend this trip. We also had a day excursion into the mountains which was quite long and tiring but it enabled us to see another side of Oman and experience the great views high up in the mountains and some of the less developed villages. In summary we really enjoyed our stay at Al Husn and would totally recommend it. However if you drink in the bars and have wine with your meals you might find that the final bill is quite high. Don't forget that govenment taxes and service chages are added to all prices.

by Eisabeth M Interlaken, Switzerland

Compliment to the perfekt service

You feel welcome from the first minute. All staff ist great. The room is nice furnished and you find all you need. The view is wonderful and we woke up with the sun rise. We liked the offered happy hour Server in the loggia together with life music.

by Yvettethesea

Expensive luxury

This is the most upmarket of the 3 hotels at the Bar Al Jissah resort. Being adult-only, it is astonishingly quiet - guests and staff alike speak in low tones, and I only saw one instance of a cross word in the week we were there! We had a wonderfully relaxing time, and late February proved to be the perfect weather for us - hot enough to sit in the shade at the pool or beach, but not so hot as to be suffocating. The beautiful location makes this a popular wedding venue - there was an Indian wedding at the neighbouring Al Bandar while we were there, which went on for several days and shut off one of the restaurants. It was also pretty noisy, but we were largely unaffected in the Al Husn. You should be warned that food and drink here are frighteningly expensive. The two of us ate 2.5 lunches (we shared one) with tea to drink, 12 dinner main courses, 6 starters, 6 glasses of wine and water for 2 at each meal, plus one cocktail each one evening at happy hour, and it came to £670! However, there is much that is included in the room price. The in-room minibar includes soft drinks and beer (no spirits - open a bottle of gin and it will set you back £50); water is freely available; when you arrive at beach or pool you will be provided with a cool box containing water, a spritzing face spray, and 2 soft drinks - (the soft drinks were particularly horrible - up your game here, Al Husn) - all of which will be refilled as necessary. Breakfast is from 6:30 till 11:00, and includes both buffet and made to order items. Milk is pasteurized, and available in skimmed, semi and full fat. Afternoon tea is from 3:45pm to 4:45pm, and includes 2 little open rolls each, a little scone each, and 2 little cakes each, all beautifully prepared. Pre-dinner drinks and canapés are from 6-7pm in the courtyard, and accompanied by live music. Be warned that if you go half-board, this means either a meal in the buffet (in the Al Bandar), or 25 OMR (I think) contribution to your meals elsewhere. Do the calculations to see if it's better value to simply pay as you go. We weren't impressed with the buffet, because the food was cold (is it so hard to provide hot plates?), though the range was extensive. However, it certainly didn't match up to the buffet we enjoyed at the Jardines de Nivaria in Tenerife. Also vegans and vegetarians will have little choice across the resort - all the menus were meat and dairy heavy. Lunch portions in the restaurants were quite large, and certainly more than we wanted to eat, so we belatedly realised it would save waste if we shared a lunch. Most days we didn't need lunch, and afternoon tea kept us going till dinner. Make the most of the pre-dinner drinks as wine with dinner starts at about £15 a glass. I balked at paying £7 for a glass bottle of Evian flown in unnecessarily from France - some restaurants in resort automatically give you the local water (which is cheaper, in plastic and doesn't have such a heavy carbon-footprint), but elsewhere do ask if you want the local stuff. Personally, I can't taste the difference. We didn't leave the hotel much, not being the adventurous sorts who would enjoy hiking in the mountains or going into the desert. We visited the souk one evening by ourselves and bought a couple of pashminas, and afterwards had a very good dinner in the Al Luban restaurant (overlooking the fishmarket). The view was interesting rather than scenic! A couple of days later, we did the standard tour for 50 OMR (about £100) - mosque, opera, fishmarket, and palace, skipping the souk we had already seen. Our taxi driver for this was licensed as a general guide - his tour guiding skills and knowledge seemed fairly superficial, but were good enough. Note that if you do the tour with Zahara, you don't specifically get a guide - note the very careful wording in the advertising. If you are looking for detailed guiding, then research it first. We were looking for a luxury sun-and-sea experience with a flight time from the UK of under 9 hours. The Al Husn certainly fitted the bill, and we would thoroughly recommend.