Honest review
If the task is to see Muscat without paying for extra stars, Ramada Encore handles it neatly. The airport is 14 km away; the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the Royal Opera House and the Muscat Grand Mall and Oman Avenues Mall shopping centres are minutes away.
The city route assembles itself: Old Muscat with the Al Alam Palace and the Al Jalali Fort, the National Museum, Mutrah Souq — for perfumes, scarves and local delicacies — and keep Qurum Beach or a round of golf at the Ghala club for a slow day.
On rooms the advice is simple: look at the mountain-view rooms — calm tones, a seating area with a sofa, a rain shower. The mattresses are orthopaedic, the pillows hypoallergenic — a detail you rarely meet in this category.
Inside — a rooftop pool, a gym, a restaurant serving breakfast and in-room dining; the Wi-Fi is fast and free. Business travellers will find the conference room useful.
Who it suits: those coming to Oman for the city and the sights, not for a beach week.
