The stark landscape initially seems an unlikely venue for fun and relaxation in the fine company of the Arabian Gulf’s most hospitable people. Still, activity and tranquillity have been easily found since the impressive Alila Jabal Akhdar opened its doors in a dramatic setting in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman. Resort guests who make their way up the mountain find a microcosm of Oman awaiting their pleasure. Diverse recreational activities, serene tranquillity, delicious food, and friendly people inhabit this special place in a dramatic cliffside setting above a deep gorge.
Private pool villa at Alila Jabal Akhdar.
Alila Jabal Akhdar, a member of Design Hotels, offers discreet accommodation in neutral earth colours, immediately evoking the surrounding scenery, which at first looks desolate and forbidding only because we who live in a world of constant assault on the senses are not accustomed to the subtleties noticed upon more patient observation of our environment. Alila is an ideal place for quiet reflection, stargazing, and similar pursuits that are difficult to enjoy in a city, but the real draw is the cool climate that belies its Gulf location. While the coastline swelters in the northern hemisphere’s summer months, visitors to the mountains revel in the freshness of the air. In winter, the chill is an exotic draw in a region where heat and avoidance thereof dictate daily life.
Most rooms at Alila are junior suites with sitting areas next to the glass doors to make the most of the views; six loft suites and two villas offer more spacious family options. Visitors who like large bathrooms will be happy at Alila, where they are almost the same size as the rooms, located in sets of four and occupying buildings constructed with stone hand-hewn from the material excavated on site. The resort centres on its main building, where all the facilities are found, including a library, a gym, indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, and a Juniper restaurant.
Stylish accommodation at Alila Jabal Akhdar.
The common traits shared by Australia and the Sultanate of Oman soon became known at Alila, where the company seemed to have taken particular care in hiring only the most good-natured and personable staff. Both Australia and Oman are relatively large countries with relatively small populations spread over some of the most arid terrain in the world; the positive, funloving attitude commonly attributed to Australians is mirrored by the demonstrative Omani people, the Latins of Arabia, who reflect the same characteristics in their warm hospitality as they readily embrace visitors from a neighbouring village or the other side of the world with the same enthusiasm. Hearty greetings, broad smiles, and gregarious laughter rarely seen elsewhere in the Gulf are the norm in this fascinating country where the layers of cultures are as numerous as the layers of geology seen in the rock formations jutting from the ground, some of which contain marine fossils millions of years old, relics of an era when the land now more than 2000 metres above sea level was under water.
Written by Robert La Bua – Global Travel Connoisseur
