Weekend in Oman: Stay at Coral Hotel in Qurum

T-Mag Thursday 20/October/2016 13:25 PM
By: Times News Service
Weekend in Oman: Stay at Coral Hotel in Qurum

Though I’m sure you’ve driven passed the Coral Hotel countless times on your way through Qurum, but I doubt you’ve ever noticed it. Tucked away in one of the tall, fancy buildings in the shopping district, it is easy to miss. As such, I honestly wasn’t exactly ecstatic when I found out that I would be spending a day and night there to review the relatively new property. Was it a resort? No. But it was an unexpected gem, and I ended up having a most enjoyable weekend there in the heart of the city.

Coral Hotel is a part of a shopping arcade, situated in the centre of Qurum. The hotel essentially begins from the 2nd floor, where there is a reception and a waiting area. There I found myself drawn towards the courtyard, a beautiful set up with a cosy seating arrangement around a big, blue glass dome that essentially protects you from falling into the shopping mall. After surveying the sitting area, we went to reception where the polite receptionist gave us key cards to our “apartment”.

Strange, I thought. Shrugging it off as a brain slip. My sole aim was to relax and chill in a different place not too far away from home, as long as that happened, I was happy. I opened the door to my room and my jaw dropped.

It was a house. A nice, big, beautiful, spacious, fully-furnished home. I had never been to a hotel apartment before, and honestly wasn’t even aware of the concept, so I found myself wide-eyed as I stepped in and walked around my new weekend home.

The modern flat featured two large bedrooms, one hall, an open kitchen, and three bathrooms. There were TVs in all the rooms, big wardrobes in the bedrooms and the kitchen had all the appliances you could possibly need. I loved the warm golds, reds and cream colours in the space, which felt contemporary and classy. I lounged on the big sofa set, tested out the cushioned white chairs, and noticed lovely touches like a little white teapot set on the sidetable, which complemented the setting. The lighting was chic and elegant, and I was especially impressed by the obviously clear vision the designers must have had.

Unlike most places I’ve stayed that are either fussy and old-fashioned or so modern as to be cold, Coral’s rooms seemed to casually say, I am a posh 21st-century apartment, well-equipped with modern comforts and facilities to make your stay, however long, convenient and comfortable.

I was slowly starting to understand the purpose of this hotel. Unlike other tourist hotels, the Coral is situated in the heart of the city, easily accessible to everything. They were designed for those who want to feel, whether here on business or a personal visit, that they are at home in the heart of things, not on a remote holiday. A place to live the upscale, urban life, at least temporarily.

We headed down to Sapphire restaurant, an all-day international restaurant where I enjoyed cheesy chicken spaghetti, hamour fish and rice, mashed potatoes, and roast vegetables, and a perfect slice of strawberry cheesecake.

As usual, I only realised I’d overeaten after licking every speck of dessert off my plate. I waddled back to the flat where my friend and I began debating how to spend the afternoon. There was a heated argument about the benefits of an afternoon nap versus a trip to the gym. In the end, I hopped in my car to make the short drive to my fitness centre to attend the class I’d missed that morning in a bid to burn the calories I’d just inhaled. My friend chose to nap.

I returned to my home-sweet-home and spent nearly two-hours lazying around in the bathtub, until my friend, now away, began banging on the door.

We headed up to the 7th floor, which is home to a big gym, an aerobics room, two massage rooms, and a staircase leading up to our destination—the terrace. This was the perfect place to be at night, featuring a beautifully lit pool and the Cloud Base restaurant. But we had higher yet to go. Spying another set of stairs going up, we emerged in one of the coolest restaurant space I’ve seen in town. Made up of big, private cabanas that could comfortably accommodate about 8 people, each one had its own television and AC inside. The best part was, standing up there, I could see pretty much the whole of Muscat — the busy streets, hundreds of buildings, and thousands of cars that looked like little toys far below.

After having some hot chocolate, we went back to the room and watched a few TV series, but the awesomeness of the kitchen was too alluring, even for a non-cook like me. So, after two episodes of The Big Bang Theory, I decided that we had to test out our skills in the kitchen. City Centre was only a few minutes drive away, so we had only to decide what to prepare before heading out for ingredients. The options flew between us — fancy chicken machboos. Pizza. Omani vermicelli. We finally agreed to go for ready-to-make custard when we realised that we were both pathetic cooks who couldn’t afford to set the beautiful room on fire.

We rushed to Carrefour and bought milk, custard powder, and some chips and cold drinks (in case the custard didn’t work out) before heading back “home”. In the space of a few hours, that was exactly what the Coral had begun to feel like.

We spent the remainder of the staycation making custard (successfully no less), watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and crashing-out in our luxurious rooms later that night. A few hours later, it was time for breakfast, an American-style affair complete with hash browns, scrambled eggs, hot chocolate, orange juice, and bread with jam, butter, and honey, delivered directly to the apartment.

As I drove home later that morning, I realised that I was going to miss the place. But before I could wallow in nostalgia, I began to imagining the next time I felt the need for a change of pace, but not a change of city. I smiled, realising that I now had “a place in town” ready and waiting for me anytime I felt the need to escape my routine, without totally checking out. [email protected]

Coral Muscat Hotel & Apartments
Near Sabco Centre, Qurum
+968 2465 2888
hmhhotelgroup.com/coralmuscat
Nightly, monthly, and yearly rentals available.