Six Senses Hideaway at Zighy Bay, Oman by Helene Ravlich

From the minute you are greeted at Dubai customs and placed in an air conditioned room with a plate of fresh croissants, dates and hot coffee, you know that your journey to the Six Senses Hideaway at Zighy Bay in Oman is going to be a special one. Once your luggage and visas have been collected for you, you are transferred to a 7 Series BMW, where a driver clad in traditional dress whisks you through the desert and across the border into Oman, quite the elysium after the madness of Dubai airport - a hustle akin to LAX minus the freaks and the fun.

The site of the Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay is a secluded fishing village on the Sultanate’s northern Musandam Peninsula. The picturesque resort is set between dramatic mountains to the rear and a broad sandy beach in front. The Musandam Peninsula is actually an exclave region of the Sultanate of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates (hence the arrival in Dubai, as opposed to the Omani capital, Muscat). The peninsula’s rugged mountains - which rise up to 2,100 metres above the coast and just into the Strait of Hormuz - have a spectacular fjord-like look, and it is no wonder that Musandam is also called “The Norway of the Middle East”. The overall feeling upon arrival at the top of the mountain range overlooking the bay is one of complete peace and total isolation, being at a “hideaway” in every sense of the word. Guests even have a choice of three arrival experiences: a scenic ten-minute speed boat trip, a four-wheel drive down from the top of the hill overlooking the bay, or travelling as a companion passenger with the Hideaway’s professional paraglider - surely the pick of the bunch for the more adventurous amongst us!

The design and material selection of the brand spanking new Hideaway is based on attention to detail and commitment to the environment, creating an amazing standard of luxury whilst treating the resort’s surroundings with the utmost care. The space is designed with 82 pool villas and pool villa suites, along with a private marina. The accommodations are a blend of the surrounding Omani traditional style found in the neighbouring fishing village, coupled with modern amenities which provide luxury amidst local cultural themes. Each villa has its own pool and butler, and range from the standard Pool Villa to the truly covetable Private Reserve (an amazing 1,625 sq.m). The Reserve, located at the secluded end of Zighy Bay on its own stretch of private beach, begins with a spacious Arabic courtyard which looks over the three villas making up this private “palace”. Within, you will find vast open spaces offering spectacular views over the Gulf of Oman. Alongside its four bedrooms, the Reserve includes an extra-large copper bathtub in the master bedroom, a variety of separate living and dining areas for entertaining, a gym, wine cellar, maids’/nannies’ quarters, private security quarters, and an oversized infinity swimming pool. Grandiose perhaps, but also subtle and understated in style: here the emphasis is on privacy and space, but with a luxurious attention to detail and all you could want in a hyper fabulous, home away from home.

The Hideaway also has the signature Six Senses Spa but with a traditional Arabic twist, and a selection of out of this world dining options that include a boutique restaurant on the edge of a cliff and a marina café that serves up the best catch of the day, cooked almost before your eyes.

Definitely different as well as typically Six Senses, a stay at Zighy Bay really is that experience of a lifetime.

Visit www.sixsenses.com for more of their truly original properties.