Muscat Holiday

Friendly staff, a clean, cozy room, quiet nights, and thoughtful service made the stay calm, comfortable, and welcoming. Manager Atif deserves sincere thanks for his involvement and dedication. His attentive, professional, hands-on support helped make everything smooth and pleasant.

I stayed at Holiday Hotel in the center of Muscat, and it was very good, especially the breakfast. During my five days in Oman, I also visited Matrah Market. It was an old, interesting market, though not very lively, and the seaside was attractive with large ships out on the water. Urum Beach, a national resort, was clean and beautiful, with good restaurants, cafes, and sea views. There were many foreign visitors, some dressed more casually, especially women. I saw newly designed malls such as Oman Mall and Grand Mall, huge and impressive, but everything was very expensive and there didn't seem to be many people buying. Opera is a beautiful music center in Muscat. I didn't attend the “Nights of Muscat” evening ceremonies, held mainly in January. There are plenty of other wonderful places I couldn't visit because of time and cost, including the green mountains of Jebel Akhdar, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Wadi Shab canyons, and the traditional Nizwa Fort and Bahla Fort. Nice, high-quality cars are everywhere, particularly big four-wheel drives from all the famous brands. Arabic-speaking guests at the hotel communicated easily with each other and other passengers. European visitors seemed older and less social, sometimes offering only a brief smile as they passed. Many women wore hijab or dark chadors, which honestly made me uncomfortable and could be the main reason I might not be able to live in Oman long term. I noticed that many low-wage service jobs were done by workers from India and the Philippines, while it seemed many Omanis didn't do those lower-paying jobs. The people I met in Oman were incredibly kind and welcoming. Travelers were respected and helped, the atmosphere felt comfortable, without aggression or sadness, and most Omanis I met understood English well, making communication easy. Still, I faced challenges with the high cost of living, especially food and transportation. Public transit was limited, there were few pedestrian walkways, and taxis were expensive. With my Iranian income of about 10 OMR a day, I could afford only two small meals and one taxi ride per day, nothing else. That might have been enough to live in Iran, but it didn't go far in Oman. Wages in Oman are generally adapted to the higher costs of housing, food, and daily life, but my budget wasn't enough to live comfortably.

The hotel is old, and you can see it in some of the room features. Still, it offers all the basic amenities and good value for money. Leisure options are excellent, with a swimming pool, activities, coffee shop, sports bar, and nightclub with live entertainment.

A nice four-star hotel. The daily buffet menu repeats so much that you get bored after eating there two or three times.