We spent two nights at the W Hotel in Muscat. I think this is the last time I will be staying at a W, unless there is a really compelling reason.
There was nothing wrong with this stay. We got a great upgrade, breakfast was good, and the property is a great place to lounge by the pool. I realized that W is not a brand for me anymore after this stay.
I used to think W was a cool brand. W properties are style over substance, and seem to have uncomfortable furniture by design, as I get older. I don't understand it.
I feel like I have evolved in some ways, but maybe the W brand hasn't? I chuckled at how Ford described the brand to me during our stay, and he used to think W was cool.
Why did we book the W? I have two Marriott Bonvoy free night certificates that are valid at properties costing up to 35,000 points per night. The hotel was charging 35,000 points per night, so that was a great use of the certificates.
I used Marriott Bonvoy suite upgrade awards and was able to confirm an upgrade to a Marvelous Suite five days before my arrival. Wow!
Cash rates for standard rooms were $400 per night, while the suite retailed for over $750 per night.
The Royal Opera House is across the street from the W Muscat. The hotel is close to the airport and close to many of the most popular sights in the area. The hotel is close to many places, for example, the Mutrah Corniche, Al Alam Palace, Al Jalali Fort, etc.
We got to the hotel in the evening. The exterior of the hotel was cool looking and gave the property a sense of place. It looks nice compared to the InterContinental Muscat, which is just as ugly.
The sense of place for the public areas of the hotel ends with the pictures of the Sultan at reception. The reception was located to the right of the seating inside the entrance to the hotel. The lobby has lots of natural light thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The check-in process was quick and friendly. He offered to escort us to our room, though we didn't need that. We walked down the hallway with the keys in hand.
The furniture they have is uncomfortable and my biggest point of frustration. The artwork in the lobby was supposed to look like furniture. Is the brand poking fun at itself?
The hotel has eight floors and room 236 is on the second floor. The room was located at the end of the hallway.
The suites at the W Muscat are massive, and are marketed as being over 1000 square feet. The living room was straight ahead of the entryway and the half bathroom was to the right of it.
All kinds of snacks and drinks were available for purchase at the entrance, as well as complimentary coffee and tea.
The living room had a desk with a chair, a shaped couch, and a chair by the window.
The style is a bit out there, but I appreciate that they put some local touches into the design. Why does all furniture at W properties have to be so uncomfortable? Not a single piece of furniture in the living room was comfortable. They were very hard.
This seems to be a conscious design choice by W, and I don't understand it. I value ergonomics more as I get older. Why, why, why? Do people like sitting on a chair at a desk?
I had a welcome gift waiting for me, and it was created by a W property. It's common for W properties to create personalized welcome amenities, such as a picture of you in the room, and it's not uncommon for people to find it weird.
I don't want to look like a gift horse in the mouth, but I do.
I think the W branding is cringeworthy, with every phrase being turned into something silly, like the room service menu saying "KEEP CALM AND NOM, NOM, NOM" If this were isolated, it would be one thing, but it is the case everywhere you turn.
It is similar to the Virgin America safety video. The first time you saw it, it was fun, but by the tenth time, it was boring.
There was a half bath near the entrance, with a toilet and sink. It didn't seem like there was a way to control the temperature in the sink.
The living room was separated from the bedroom by sliding doors.
The bedroom was unfurnished. It had the W signature bed, which is more comfortable than all the other furniture at W properties.
The bedroom and bathroom were not separated, which seems to be standard for W properties. I don't like that for a lot of reasons. There was a partitioned off toilet, a huge soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a closet area in the bathroom. I found it odd that there was only one sink in this suite.
W used to have the Bliss products, but now they are from MOMO.
The room had a large wraparound balcony with a seating area at one end.
The room had a couple more quirks. The phone didn't work in the bedroom. When you turned off the master light switch, anything plugged in next to the bed stopped charging, which doesn't seem ideal.
I'm not sure what to say. We got a great upgrade and the suite was spacious, but I don't like how little thought goes into comfort rather than style.
There is a huge pool area at the W Muscat. There is no sense of place here and you wouldn't know the difference.
There is a main pool with lots of seating. Many sun-starved Europeans love to visit Muscat in the winter to just sit at the pool, so I was in the area to see. Most of the guests at the hotel were from Germany and the UK. They could make themselves feel like they were in Ibiza.
The beachfront access at the hotel is cool. It was nice to go on a beach walk and see so many local families enjoying a beautiful beach, even though the water is muddy and sand isn't amazing.
There is a gym on the second floor. The gym had a variety of equipment. The gym got pretty busy, at least compared to other properties I have stayed at.
We decided to have dinner at Siddharta Lounge because we were late. Buddha Bar is a chain of restaurants in popular vacation destinations. The restaurant was located on the top floor and had both indoor and outdoor seating.
This is one of the best restaurants in Muscat, but the whole place lacks a vibe. The restaurant was empty, and the DJ was staring at his phone all night, because how do you get into the vibe of this place? Maybe it's more busy on weekends. The restaurant was empty with just a few tables outside.
The entire dining experience was strange.
The restaurant's menu can be found here. We shared some salmon and tuna.
I ordered a chicken salad, while Ford had a salmon.
The food was decent. The hotel and restaurant did a nice job of giving us a complimentary appetizer because of my Bonvoy Platinum status.
The Harvest Restaurant is located on the ground floor and serves breakfast from 6:30AM until 11AM. The restaurant had both indoor and outdoor seating.
I chose breakfast as my Marriott elite welcome amenity and it included full access to the buffet. The buffet was good. There were many options, including dishes from the region.
Drinks were supposed to be served by the staff, but we had to follow up three times before we were served the iced coffees we had ordered.
We decided to order room service lunch at the hotel as we were tired and had plans to go out for dinner. The room service menu can be found here.
The cold mezze, Greek salad, and chicken breast were all very good.
I want to be clear, I'm not saying the W Muscat is a bad property, but I know this is a mostly negative review. The hotel has friendly employees, a cool design, and an impressive pool. If you're a huge fan of the brand, you'll love this property.
The stay made me realize that the W brand is no longer for me. The furniture is uncomfortable and a deal-breaker for me. I can't help but think how cool W properties are in the name of trying to be cool. I have noticed that the W brand has not changed compared to a decade ago.
Personally, I would rather stay at any other brand of hotel, which at least has comfortable furniture. I think it is time for the W brand to be refreshed. Hyatt's Thompson brand is a great hotel lifestyle brand. W is more or less the same brand that it was when it was launched over two decades ago, so I think it needs a new vision.
What do you think about the current state of the W brand? Do you like it or do you think it's time to change?
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