Omani tourism is booming and this one-of-a-kind hotel — with exquisite marble swimming pools and dedicated murshid guides — shows why

Tourism is booming in Oman, contributing more than $5.5 billion to the economy last year, according to official data.

Hotel heavyweights, including the St Regis and Mandarin Oriental groups, have moved into Muscat and, just as the capital is a natural gateway to the rest of the Sultanate, so the Gulf country’s appealing combination of an outward-facing attitude with authentic traditions makes it a stepping stone to the wider Middle East.

Of course, the knock-out landscapes — white-sand beaches, monumental mountains, endless desert — help, too.

Elegant Resorts has a new private itinerary that combines the coastal cities of Muscat and Salalah with the Al Hajar mountains and guests checking into The Malkai, which opens in the autumn of 2026, will be chauffeured between its trio of tented camps in fully-equipped Land Rover Defenders.

The sites, in the coastal farmlands of Barkaa, the Al Hajar mountains and the sweeping Sharqiyah Sands, each comprise 15 tented pavilions, inspired by traditional Bedouin tents, a spa and marble swimming pools (one made out of Imperial Red marble, another of dark beige Aramis, both quarried in Oman).

Guests will be accompanied by a dedicated Murshid (guide, friend and philosopher) on the immersive four to ten night journeys — which will included privileged access to a private island in the Al Dimaniyat archipelago. This protected nature reserve off the coast of Barkaa, with its vibrant coral reefs and secluded beaches frequented by nesting turtles, is a snorkeller's paradise.

Rooms at The Malkai will start from about £1,630 a night.