Hi Oliver

I live in Dubai but have travelled to Oman, Muscat in particular on business. I've never had a holiday there but I intend to take my wife for a long weekend at some point, I really liked it. A lot of Dubai ex-pats take long weekends there as its only about a four hour drive from here. The hotels looked superb and the Omani people are lovely, I dont think I would book a long stay there, but for a short break I think it would be lovely.

I spent a few years in Oman in the late seventies and early eighties. It has changed immensely since then but I have friends who still go out there on business who tell me that the facilities for tourists are superb.
Beaches in the North are amazing and sailing, diving, etc is excellent. Down south, around Salalah the sea is rougher but there's so much else to do and if you go up into the mountains just after the monsoon (or Areef) you'll hardy believe you are in the Middle East.
If you go, you should take some of the trips to places like Nizwa and the Mussandam peninsula if you can.
I plan to go back soon, if only to see where I used to live, which is now the Oman Military Museam at Bait al Falaj!

We went to Oman earlier this year and stayed in the Al Bustan Palace Hotel. The country is way more quite than Dubai but the touring is great as the place to too big and not so many people. The company we used http://www.omanholiday.co.uk dosnt do package tours so you need to tell them a bit on what you want so they do a tour and hotels specialy for you. The weather is hot like in Dubai. You could look at the new place thats being built or finished the Shangrela we saw it when we went on a Dolphon trip with them look ok.