If my memory serves me well and my childhood visits to see family in India are anything to go by, then we, as a family, always had a tendency to try and avoid booking indirect flight options where feasible. After all, if a direct route is affordable, available and price comparable for a long haul adventure, then surely there can be no good reason to prolong an already stretchy journey.

Or can there?

A couple of years ago, when we stopped off in Abu Dhabi en route to the Seychelles, my perspective on stopovers changed. It lent an opportunity to see a new destination without any extra effort and allowed me to reacquaint myself with the Middle East; it eased the jet-lag trajectory, added a contrasting dimension to our otherwise water-predominant holiday and showed us one of the most gleaming mosques we have ever seen, our number one Abu Dhabi highlight.

Shangri-la Al Husn, Oman

This year, therefore, after a hectic five days of Indian wedding debauchery, we used the stopover plan as the handiest excuse going to indulge in another luxurious Arabian adventure –  Hello Oman!

That’s Oman 2017 (not our holiday time capsule of 2027…)

When I put out some tweets for Oman hotel recommendations, raving reviews arose time and again for the Shangri-la, Ritz Carlton (we had loved Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi) and the Chedi. After much deliberation, we chose Shangri-la, having previously had wonderful experiences at their Myanmar and Borneo hotels but that wasn’t the end of the hotel decision-making. With 3 entirely separate Shangri-la resorts all within one gigantic area of land and all falling under the one umbrella of Shangri-la Barr al Jissah in Oman, the next step was selecting which one most aptly suited our travel style.

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