Mutrah Hotel

The one bright spot was a housekeeper who was kind, professional, and clearly trying his best. The reception experience was the opposite. I care a lot about Oman and its reputation for hospitality, but staff showed little interest in sorting things out. Every complaint got a “five minutes” and then nothing happened. We had to ask after our first night about the missing hot water and nightclub noise. They moved us to a room in another building, reached by crossing the hotel ground floor past the kitchens, cleaning supplies, and even a liquor store. It felt very odd. The Wi-Fi was unreliable too. Each device needed its own password, they expired after 24 hours, and we made several trips to reception to get even one connection working. Our room was never cleaned, despite asking. I have so many childhood memories of Mutrah Hotel, where I stayed with my parents from the 1980s into the early 2000s. Seeing it now was heartbreaking. The renovated lobby and high booking ratings make it look as if the whole place has been upgraded, but the work seems to stop there. The hotel now feels like a nightclub. Music blared nightly, even on weekdays, until about 3 am. We were the only foreign guests and, apparently, the only ones with children. The club also took over the parking, and we repeatedly saw drunk people and very scantily dressed women outside. The rooms were extremely dated and poorly cared for. There was mould in the bathrooms, water on the floor from leaks, dirty sinks, and loose tiles. Curtains were coming off their rails, towels were stained and frayed, and there were only two for four people. We also got just two small water bottles for the family. The air-conditioning units looked very old and clearly hadn't been cleaned. Breakfast was barely there: packaged croissants, toast, butter, processed cheese, no jam, and hardly any fruit. This was my last stay at Mutrah Hotel. It's sad to see a place tied to so many childhood memories lose its soul. The only reason I gave it one star instead of none was that one kind housekeeper.