I paid way too much for this place but the City was over booked due to the Olympic torch and conferences. I did get a room with a balcony - looks like the pic, and the view was wonderful and unbeatable. I saw a sandstorm coming in from the mountains, while looking out at the sea. The rooms are clean, old and well, everyone has already said it all....The shower/bath needed some bleach on the grout, like many old hotels do. There is a manpower shortage in Muscat for hospitality and given this, they are doing really well and are accomodating. The nicest traditional western-Euro hotels are the Hyatt and Intercontinental in that order, But neither has the view and secluded beach option that CP has, so I would recommend this for families. Although there are wonderful pool and grass options with beachfront at the Intercontinental too. The Intercontinental has been renovated recently so it is up to expectations. Hopefully this one will be re-done soon and then it will be fine. Eating on the restaurant's balcony at the CP was wonderful at night - took guests staying at the Intercontinental there and it was nice.....Much better restaurant choices at the Intercont. though.,,,several to choose from at the hotel or nearby. Beware of mosquitos in April though.

Decent , up to standard CP hotel in an amazing location.

Better located for a holiday than business, it is worth the easy drive in and out of the city to stay here.

My wife and I recently spent 18 days on a driving/camping holiday in Oman. We stayed at three locations in Muscat during our travels to refresh and rest up for a day or two, including the Oman Dive Center and Shangri-La (see separate reviews). We spent one night in the Crowne Plaza.

Firstly, I am suprised at some of the positive reviews of this hotel on Trip Advisor. My wife and I both felt that the Hotel was overpriced and offered little in the way of quality or value.

Like some old cruise liner on her final voyage or an elderly spinster waiting for the last dance, the Crowne Plaza tries to put on a good show but is well past her best. The rooms are small, old and basically furnished. A basic CRT TV, a barely functioning remote and a faulty hairdryer for my wife did not bode well. The bathroom is basic (bath with shower attachment) and the overall feel is akin to '1970's council flat in shades of beige'.

The breakfast buffet was well presented but the quality of the food was unacceptable. Fresh fruit was underripe, the omlettes were cooked far too fast (burnt on the outside, raw inside) and the bacon and eggs were poor. Pastries were stale and we left most of the food we tried.

Service was, in general, good. This was insufficient to overcome the major structural and operational deficiencies in the hotel however.

In summary, this is a hotel well overdue a refit, a change of management and is, IMHO, largely trading on a past reputation.

We won't stay here again.

We were delighted to have chosen the Crowne Plaza for a getaway break for a few days to escape the British winter monotony! The staff could not have been more helpful or more welcoming - they really went to town on making sure we enjoyed our stay. Our airline managed to lose our luggage but the Receptionist and the Concierge between them took over the responsibility for liaising with the airport and taking the worries away from us in typically smooth, efficient, yet unruffled Middle-Eastern style! We sampled both the Italian restaurant on the first floor and the buffet-style restaurant on the ground floor whilst there - as well as partaking of the buffet breakfast on offer. Eating here is a bit pricey , but that's hotel fare for you, and the quality of the food is high!
The rooms were comfortable (we had a double, our "children" of 21 and 18 years had a twin) and we slept well, having heeded others advice and requested sea view rooms.
I am sorry to say I cannot recommend any one member of staff by name - everyone with whom we came in contact wanted to make our stay as comfortable as possible. It is indeed a credit to the hotel management that the staff take such pride in their hospitality duties!
If you want to go shopping, or to visit an old Omani village, please use the taxi drivers who hang out to the right of the hotel entrance! We found Nasser and Khalifa very helpful in taking us shopping for essentials that our airline had lost - even waiting for us at the shopping mall without any extra charge!
We love Oman and the Crowne Plaza Hotel!