There are two luxury hotel options in the Jabal Akhdar Mountains; the Alila and the Anantara and they are both regarded as two of the best luxury hotels in Oman. I dithered for a bit trying to decide which one to stay at, the spreadsheet came out, pros list was huge for both hotels, cons were minimal…we went with the Alila Jabal Akhdar.

A couple of weeks later, I watched BBC’s Amazing Hotels featuring the Anantara and thought I’d made a bit of an error, nothing could possibly beat it with its decadent luxury and jaw dropping views.

I had therefore regulated my expectations for the Alila and having seen the views for myself from the Anantara earlier in my journey, didn’t see how any hotel could compete.

Choosing a luxury hotel in Muscat was probably one of the fastest hotel selections I have ever made and unusually for me, didn’t involve a spreadsheet or a pros and cons list! After some brief research, there appeared to be only three options for a true luxury hotel in Muscat; Shangri-La Al Husn, Al Bustan Palace and The Chedi Muscat. Luckily, our itinerary allowed us to choose two out of the three, as we would begin and end our trip in the capital. The first choice was The Chedi, a smaller boutique design hotel that features on Mr & Mrs Smith, whose hotels have always been spot on in my experience.