A Secluded Paradise

Set amid towering mountains, surrounded by raw nature, is the exclusive Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort in Oman. KALYANI PRASHER reminisces about her visit to this hidden jewel.

Luxury comes in various shapes and sizes. Some are obvious—rich linen, gilded furniture, fine wine, and scented creams that make your hands feel like satin. And then there are the luxuries that are less tangible, almost ethereal in nature, yet more precious for it—the luxury of space, of an unobstructed view, of clear blue skies, of discovering another culture and cuisine, of living in a world totally different from the one you inhabit. This is the luxury of escape.

It was at the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort in Oman that all these luxuries came together in flawless harmony to create a fascinating and, indeed, spectacular world— a world I was happy to explore one long weekend in early December.

As we drove out of Muscat along Route 15, heading towards the Green Mountain, or Al Jabal Al Akhdar, the road stretched endlessly in front of us, winding its way through the rocky Al Hajar mountain range. The sky is so blue, the mountains so tall and stark against it, and the road so smooth that you don’t feel the two-hour journey at all. Here, I encountered another kind of luxury: the luxury of no people. All along the route, I saw maybe ten cars and never more than two together. Driving up the ragged mountain, I began to wonder what kind of hotel I would find up there—or rather how can there possibly be a hotel in the middle of this vast rocky emptiness. I was not quite prepared for the answer.

The elegant resort impresses from the moment it appears before you. Built to resemble an Omani fort, its pleasingly subdued, mud coloured, low-slung, and expansive architecture blends seamlessly with the terrain—the serene vista, set against an illimitable horizon, proving to be an instant balm for my tired eyes. All through my stay, the sky in Oman remained an unmarred, stunning deep blue—a rare luxury for a traveller from Delhi.