What I liked
- Large space
- Floor to ceiling windows
- Massive buffet with tasty dishes
- Well decorated Lounge
- Barista made coffee and Nespresso machines
- Private Sleeping pods
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Oman Air is often forgotten behind the big 3 Middle East Airlines. Etihad, Qatar and Emirates love to hog the limelight! However, my experiences with Oman Air have been first rate.
This review looks at the Oman Air Business Class lounge in Muscat. The lounge is truly exceptional. It could be the best business class lounge in the world.
The space is massive. The architecture is impressive (although too blingy for my liking!). There’s absolutely loads of drinking and dining options. There’s also sleeping pods and showers for visitors to use.
The lounge is a true destination lounge. I’d suggest arriving a few hours early to enjoy it. My 7 hour layover was just about right!
The Oman Air Lounge is located next to the Primeclass Lounge. That lounge is also fantastic and can be accessed via a Priority Pass membership. I did find the Primeclass Lounge to be busier. I also thought that the food and drink options weren’t as good as the Oman Air Lounge.
The Oman Air Lounge Muscat is an absolute behemoth. It has the following facilities
The 1st thing that hits you is the sheer size of the lounge. It’s big – VERY BIG! For a business class lounge, this is a good thing. Muscat is Oman Air’s hub and handles a lot of passengers. So a big lounge prevents overcrowding – it wasn’t busy during my stay. First class lounges are different. These lounges tend to be smaller and offer a more personal service, with spa treatments and restaurant style meals.
The lounge has lots of seating, including restaurant style seating, lounge seating and sleeping pods. The sleeping pods were particularly impressive. The pods are private, with curtains to block out the light (view photo in slideshow). I did try to sleep in one of the pods, but I was too anxious about missing my connection! So I didn’t sleep.
In terms of decorations, Oman Air have spent a lot of money. There’s lots of gold at the entrance. The rest of the lounge had marble effect tiling and pristine leather seating. It wasn’t to my taste, but that’s ok!
Is the Oman Air Lounge Muscat the best business lounge in the world?! I made a bold claim above.. In my view, it could very well be. I would put it on a par with the Air France Lounge, CDG, Paris. That lounge has complimentary spa treatments and bottomless champagne – which the Oman Air Lounge doesn’t. Oman Air charges for spa treatments. However, their lounge has a wider variety of food, private sleeping pods and barista made coffee.
The buffet was an absolute treat. I arrived hungry and was fed like a king! There’s two separate dining areas, each with its own buffet.
The variety of food was fantastic. Food was fresh and flavoursome. Options included
I tried a range of dishes. I had rice, pasta, roast potatoes and veg mezze. The quality was good. I can also report that the fish smelt divine – although I didn’t try it. Fish is expensive and has to be cooked fresh, so its great that it’s offered at the lounge.
For bigger lounges, I think that buffets are better than dine on demand. If you have many people to feed, then buffets are the best option. For smaller lounges, the calculation is different. There might be less people to feed, so food isn’t replaced often enough. This can lead to stale and cold food on the buffet.
I wouldn’t say that Oman Air is the best food I’ve had in a business class lounge. But it’s close.
It’s not surprising that Oman Air has great food. The Primeclass Lounge is right next door. Review here. They have an amazing buffet. The Primeclass Lounge is huge, and can be accessed with a Priority Pass Card. The downside is that the lounge is busier than Oman Air’s lounge.
The drinks at the Oman Air Business Class Lounge were truly fantastic. Both dining areas had Nespresso machines – the swankiest Nespresso machines I’ve ever seen! I had a coffee from both machines – I can confirm that it’s very good. These days, I tend to stick to green tea, but I do treat myself occasionally!
There was a lovely bar area, with premium alcohol. Johnny Walker Black, Chivas Regal and cocktails were on offer. I kept it simple and had a beer.
The drinks selection on Oman Air’s Business Class flight is also Excellent. See my review article here. They offer decent champagne, Grey Goose vodka and other premium alcohol. It’s great to see that Oman Air invests in the customer experience.
The Oman Air Business class seat was pretty fab too!
A unique feature at the Oman Air Lounge Muscat are the sleeping pods. These are day beds, with a small coffee table beside them. There are curtains that provide darkness and privacy. I thought this was a nice feature, as not many lounges have private sleeping areas.
The bed itself wasn’t that comfortable – I tried to sleep for a couple of hours.
Given that I had a 7 hour layover, I made use of the facilities and took a shower. The bathrooms were classy. The decoration was blingy, like at the lounge entrance. There were gold taps, large basins and flannels to dry your hands with. I took some photos – view the above slideshow.
