The Chedi Muscat opened in 2003 as Oman’s first contemporary beach hotel, designed by the architect Jean-Michel Gathy, and it is still one of the region’s best-known design resorts. It sits between the Al Hajar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman, across twenty-one acres of gardens, ponds and courtyards, in a style that combines Omani architecture with Asian minimalism. The 162 rooms and villas are built around space and calm, a deliberate contrast to busier resorts nearby. The location is central enough for sightseeing but quiet on site, which suits both leisure and business travellers. There are six restaurants and lounges, three pools including the 103-metre Long Pool, the longest in the Middle East, a thirteen-suite Balinese spa with a large health club, and a 383-metre private beach on the Gulf. It is understated rather than flashy, and consistently picks up international awards. Choose it if design, space and calm matter more to you than spectacle.