Six Senses Zighy Bay

The road ends at the top of the ridge. From there a 4x4 takes the last stretch down a steep gravel track into Zighy Bay, a crescent of sand on the Musandam peninsula of Oman, walled in on three sides by the bare Hajar mountains and open on the fourth to the Gulf of Oman. Six Senses Zighy Bay opened at the bottom of that track in 2008. Guests who prefer not to drive can come by speedboat from Dibba, across the border from the United Arab Emirates, or strapped to a tandem paraglider pilot who launches from the ridge and lands on the beach.

Architecture and design

The resort was built to resemble an Omani fishing village rather than a hotel. The 82 villas are low, with walls of rough local stone, flat roofs and timber doors, laid out along sandy lanes shaded by palms. Each has a private pool and a walled courtyard, and many have an outdoor shower and a rooftop terrace for the evening. The village centre holds the reception, the shops and the main restaurants around a small square, and the beach runs the length of the bay in front of it. The only tall thing in sight is the mountain.

Rooms and suites

The villas are divided by position: pool villas in the village lanes, beachfront pool villas on the sand, and larger retreats with two or more bedrooms for families and groups. The largest, the Private Reserve, stands apart at the end of the bay with its own staff, pool, spa room and beach. Interiors use dark timber, whitewashed stone and cushions in Omani patterns, with the kitchen and bar facilities that Six Senses puts in every villa.

Dining

Spice Market in the village is the main restaurant and serves breakfast and dinner with Arabian and Indian Ocean dishes alongside Western ones. Summer House by the beach is lighter and busier at lunch. The resort's signature table is Sense on the Edge, a restaurant built on the ridge almost 300 metres above the bay, reached by 4x4, which serves a tasting menu at dusk with the whole bay below it. The Shua Shack on the beach cooks lamb in a pit in the sand in the Omani manner, and Zighy Bar covers drinks through the evening.

Wellness

The Six Senses Spa occupies its own cluster of stone buildings at the edge of the village, with treatment rooms, a hammam, a sauna and steam rooms, and a programme that includes the brand's sleep and wellness screenings. The resort also keeps a 50-metre lap pool apart from the villa pools, a fitness centre and an organic garden that supplies the kitchens. Water sports from the beach include kayaking and sailing, and diving and snorkelling trips go out along the fjord-like coast of Musandam to the north.

Weddings and events

Weddings are held on the beach and in the village square, with dinners at Sense on the Edge for smaller parties. There is no ballroom. Corporate groups and incentive trips from Dubai are a regular part of the business, using villa clusters and the restaurants rather than meeting rooms; the Private Reserve is taken for small retreats. The resort's isolation suits buyouts and the bay has been used for them.

Location

Zighy Bay sits in the Omani exclave of Musandam, which is cut off from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. Most guests fly into Dubai, about two hours away by road, and cross the border at Dibba, where the resort's drivers take over. Oman visas and the border crossing are handled in advance by the hotel. The mountains behind the resort reach over 2,000 metres further inland, and the coast to the north is the drowned valley landscape that gives Musandam its nickname of the Norway of Arabia. There is no town within walking distance. Few luxury resorts in Oman are harder to reach, and that is the point.