Review of Six Senses Zighy Bay

With the Al Hajar Mountains to one side and a glorious mile-long white, fine sand beach on the other, the Six Senses Zighy Bay is located in a remote northern part of the Musandam Peninsula of Oman – the Norway of the Middle East. Projecting into the Strait of Hormuz, this part of Oman is separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates; its jagged coastline creating fjord like inlets - khors - with its waters home to dolphins and other marine life. There is nothing else in the immediate vicinity, lending that feeling of perfect seclusion and remoteness.

It is 120 kilometres (75 miles) or a 120-minute drive from Dubai International Airport. There is also a small airstrip for private jets a 45-minute drive from the resort. 

Arrival choices include an exhilarating 4x4 drive through the mountains, a 15-minute speedboat trip from Dibba Marina to Zighy Marina or for the ultimate in dramatic arrivals, being strapped to a professional paraglider and alighting on the beach – a personal James Bond moment if there ever was one.

Designed in the reimagined style of an ancient Omani village and built from materials sourced from the region, each of the eighty-two stand-alone villas are built of natural stone and timber with flagstone floors and come complete with a shaded outdoor dining area and a private pool with sun loungers. The villas are carefully positioned to create privacy, located in three tiers running perpendicular to the beach accessed via winding paths shaded by date palms, fig and pomegranate trees.

The Omani-style dwellings offer a cosy cushioned living area, cool under high traditional-style ceilings, antique lanterns offering soft filtered light, oversized terracotta bathtubs and an organic Naturalmat bed made with fine unbleached cotton sheets topped with a choice of ergonomic pillows. A natural colour palette is enlivened by touches of burnt-orange soft furnishings.

Each villa also features individually controlled air conditioning and ceiling fans, Nespresso coffee makers, iPod decks, music and entertainment systems, a mini-bar, local mineral water bottled onsite, a wine fridge and personalised bicycles upon check-in for repeat guests. Most important of all is the Guest Experience Maker assigned to each villa on arrival, acting as a personal butler to arrange any activities and experiences and providing seamless, unintrusive and intuitive service.

There are ten duplex two bedroom pool villas with a ground floor bedroom with full en-suite plus an outdoor shower with a second bedroom on the first floor combined with a living area and balcony. The duplex two-bedroom beachfront villa suites however sit on the south side of the resort with direct beach access and majestic views of the Gulf of Oman. They even accommodate a first floor personal in-villa spa for Six Senses Spa treatments and a shower steam room. 

The two three-bedroom Beachfront Retreats are beautifully spacious at almost three times the size of the duplex properties. Each offers direct beach access overlooking the Gulf of Oman and feature oversized infinity edge pools, spacious living and dining areas and one en-suite bedroom on the ground floor with the other two bedrooms on the first floor.  

The largest accommodation however is offered by the four-bedroom Beachfront Reserve located on its own private beach with amazing views of the Gulf of Oman and the Al Hajar Mountains. It features an oversized 17-metre (60-foot) private infinity pool, a home theatre, pool table, wine cellar and an elevator to the upper floor.

The very heart of the resort contains the public areas - reception, the library, the Wine Cellar and Tower, the main restaurants and the exclusive souk at Boutique, an Oman-style market. It is also home to the main freeform pool which winds down towards the sea surrounded by shaded loungers, palm trees, with a poolside service offered and home-made ice cream on tap.  The saltwater swimming pool with Roman steps and a swim around island is over to one side – the largest such facility in the Middle East – situated close to the watersports centre.

Towering date palms and lime bushes surround the Wellness & Spa facility, a true retreat in every sense of the word. Expect local healing traditions intermingled with smart technology to measure inner health, movement and sleep patterns to give a very personalised programme to help and to treat any issues found. There are two Arabian-style hammams, an ice cave, a steam room, a sauna, a menu of skin-purifying and soothing treatments, outdoor yoga, an indoor gym and a jungle al fresco one.

As you might expect from this resort, there are a wide range of activities on and off site for adventurer seekers to enjoy from sunset cruises to staying abord the resort’s Dhahab dhow, off road 4x4 excursions to local Omani villages and the fish market, to a trek around the mountains and hidden villages of Dibba. Paragliding, flying in a microlight, mountain biking, hand line fishing, scuba diving, kayaking, archery, yacht charters, star gazing even Arabic cooking classes – the possibilities here are endless. Guests can even volunteer to clean up both the underwater areas around the resort and the beach to help protect the environment or visit their Earth Lab to see how to reconnect with nature. 

Children are very welcome here and the resort operates Chaica’s Club for the youngest guests and Al‘s Club for teens. The jungle gym is very popular with junior VIPs. There are children’s menus available with kids under six staying and eating for free, and those aged between six and eleven staying free and enjoying a 50% discount off food and beverage.

The style is pure barefoot luxury at its best - shaded sandy pathways, rustling palm trees, spacious stand-alone villas, simply decorated but with every luxury convenience and the remoteness of the peninsula, all combining to allow for a very serene, relaxed and almost other-worldly experience, a far cry from the noise and bustle of the outside world.  Time does not exist here – this is a place for adventures, to interact with nature and the environment and, if it is not too trite a phrase, to find yourself.

Most interestingly of all is that this resort has been built on the principle of sustainability, living in harmony with the local community, with nearly all the waste created on property recycled or upcycled on site. Any stay therefore is guilt-free, safe in the knowledge that the team at the resort is committed to a sustainability approach - growing their own food, rearing their own animals and looking to nature for inspiration whilst protecting the environment. 

Now that truly is something a little special...

From a hilltop restaurant with jaw-dropping views to a Spice Market and the Bedouin tent of Shua Shack, the three restaurants and three bars at the Six Senses at Zighy Bay offer a diverse culinary journey, fueled by ingredients grown at the resort or its nearby farm.

Situated almost 293 metres (60 feet) above sea level, Sense on the Edge is a mountaintop, contemporary fine dining restaurant with a Spanish twist, offering a unique menu to be enjoyed either indoor or alfresco style. The Starlight and Moonlight tables are perched on private terraces above the restaurant, flanking it on both sides, offering both an intimate setting with a magnificent view. 

The Spice Market, by way of contrast, offers delicacies of Arabic origins – where the Middle East meets Western Classics - in a building to suit, complete with comfortable seating in bold colours and a traditional mud kitchen.

With your feet in the sand and a drink in your hand, at night, the Shua Shack is the resort’s signature Bedouin dining encounter offering hot and cold mezze, Omani Shua lamb and selection of sliced fruit, barazek and date ma’amoul cookies. During the day, this beachside outlet serves as the Mezzerie.

The Summer House is open for lunch and dinner, serving a more casual, home-style cuisine with a twist - bistro style dishes, grills, salads and Mediterranean classics are on the menu – all with views out over the pool, man-made wadi and the wine tower. 

Open until the last guest leaves, Zighy Bar offers signature cocktails and mocktails with light tapas dishes from across the world.  For those special occasions however, there is no more perfect a place than the circular wine cellar for tastings or an aromatic dinner from two to eight people.

Alternatively, of course, the Guest Experience Maker will conjure up a special meal or even a barbecue, in a private villa or around the resort. The possibilities are endless.

As a resort built on sustainability, the Six Senses at Zighy Bay has been caring for the environment and looking after local schools, hospitals and infrastructure since opening. They have also involved the villagers, the local municipality and guests in a tree planting programme. 

Over eighty per cent of the waste created on site (organic or glass) is recycled or upcycled on site. They produce their own bottled water via reverse osmosis and the sea water, which is filtered out during the process, is used in their saltwater pool.

Where possible, the resort sources as locally as possible, buying fish at dawn from the local Dibba fish market and using the organic produce grown on their own kitchen garden and from their farm at Dibba that produces much of the resort’s agricultural produce together with local livestock.

The resort’s environmental projects include creating a marine protected area on the Musandam Peninsula and mainland Oman while increasing education and capacity building. Their diving hosts are trained to remove ghost nets left by fisherman and to rescue the sea life caught up in them. The hotel team also organises beach cleanups on a monthly basis to maintain a pristine environment.

Their other projects have offered financial aid for women’s associations, medical aid for villagers and sponsorship of the local sports club of Dibba. They are also associated with Zighy Village and local schools in the neighbouring township of Dibba where they support the community by offering teaching assistance, infrastructure funding and strategic aid to support the education of students at the local girl and boy’s schools. By sponsoring programmes and activities that improve women’s equality, the resort supports their mission to upgrade their skills and, as a consequence, their future prospects.