This is one gorgeous hotel. Overlooking a dramatic rift in the mountain floor, the 86 luxury rooms of this refined hotel command views of the 2000m desert canyon below. Built of locally hewn basalt, with hints of the juniper wood for which the upper plateau of Jebel Akhdar is renowned, the resort lives up to its Sanskrit name, 'Surprise'.
A falaj (irrigation channel) runs past the licensed Juniper Restaurant, which offers buffet and barbecue dining (OR15) from noon to 3pm (4pm on Fridays) and a fine dining à la carte menu (dishes around OR10) at other times (closes 11pm). An open fire roaring in the lobby takes the nip out of the high-altitude air, and a spa (OR45 for a one-hour therapeutic Balinese massage) helps ease the aches from wilderness hiking with local guides. A range of three-hour hikes can be organised through the Leisure Concierge (from OR15 per person) to the abandoned village of Sarab and beyond. There is a library sporting large slabs of polished fossilised coral from the jebel and a shop selling a few tasteful Omani crafts.
