Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman - full transcript
Giles and Monica learn about some of the challenges of building the highest 5-star hotel in the Middle East. Monica meets one of the few female Omani members of staff and Giles plays cricket.
All over the world,
there are remarkable hotels.
Born of bold vision and daring endeavor.
Wow! This is how I want to live.
Whether it's one of the remotest hotels
on Earth hidden on a Pacific island…
Or sumptuous resort on one of
the highest mountains in the Middle East.
What an incredible view.
The people running these hotels
strive to create the perfect sanctuary.
But what does it take
to offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences
in stunning locations?
Construction was a logistical nightmare.
No water, no source of power.
I'm a restaurant writer,
newspaper columnist, and critic.
I have opinions on just about everything.
He's not a very good driver, is he?
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
And I'm a chef who's worked at the top end
of the hospitality industry
for, well, over 20 years.
This is awesome!
We'll travel to amazing hotels
in every corner of the world.
Enjoy.
To spend time getting to know
the people working away behind the scenes.
I polished Elton John's fruits.
You polished Elton John's fruits.
Do you recall life under apartheid?
Has it changed for you?
Nelson Mandela
was the first Black president.
…gives me more inspiration
to achieve what I want in life.
-Join us as we venture inside…
-The world's most extraordinary hotels.
Oman. An oil-rich Muslim kingdom
of four million people.
It is renowned for its harsh beauty.
On the East Coast of the Arabian Peninsula
it has become a magnet
for high-end travelers.
Nowhere more so than at 2,000-meter high
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort.
The highest five-star resort
in the Middle East.
It opened only a year ago.
It's unbelievable.
Built to resemble an ancient Omani fort,
it has a forbidding exterior.
But once inside,
its opulence is mind-blowing.
Wow! What an amazing place.
The hotel treads a delicate line,
striving to be authentically Omani,
whilst providing
international levels of luxury.
And it has one attraction
that is unquestionably world class.
The breathtaking location.
Wow! What an incredible view.
It's a long way down.
We're going to be working
in this mountainous resort.
Getting to grips
with the three restaurants.
Spa, 82 rooms, and 33 villas.
And helping out the 250 staff
who work on the six-acre site.
Two bread baskets, please.
But luxury at altitude isn't cheap.
Prices reach 6,000 pounds a night
for the best villa.
The man in charge of this huge operation
is former soldier, Darren Darwin.
I've always had an eye for detail,
but it was definitely drilled
into me in the Army.
You really had to support
and help each other,
and it's the same principle as here.
Good morning, Abdullah, how are you?
Darren was the hotel's first employee.
I'm very emotionally attached
to this place.
I came and it was bricks and mortar
and scaffolding and mud everywhere.
And everything is going okay on the gate?
I feel a pressure because I try…
I live up to my own expectations,
which are very high.
It's 8 a.m. at reception,
and I'm kicking off my stint
at the hotel with Darren,
as he does his daily inspection.
-Good morning. How are you?
-Good morning, Monica. Nice to meet you.
-You well?
-I'm good, please.
Everywhere he goes, he is joined by staff
noting down the tiniest of defects.
-This is the reception and waiting area,
-Yeah.
so this is the first impression
for the guests.
So it's important
that everything is in its place,
everything is perfect.
So, the candle…
-The candle's… Yeah, fallen down. Yeah.
-Fallen down.
I'm quite obsessed with symmetrics.
So if I stand in the middle,
I can see everything on the left,
it's the same as everything on the right.
-You can see the umbrellas?
-Yeah.
They are pointing out,
and here, they are pointing in.
-Oh, I thought they were meant to be.
-No, that would…
-Ying and yang.
-I'd be thinking about that all day now.
-If you can see the candle stand,
-Yes.
this one needs to be
moved over to the left.
All right.
-Oh, much better.
-All is good in the world now.
Oh, yes. Everything is now Zen.
And also, Capilla, see where
there's finger marks on that middle glass?
Okay.
It's not just about the interiors.
Here, even the view
has to be double-checked.
-Look at this, these are finger marks.
-Oh, goodness. Yeah. Wet, sweaty.
That's not acceptable.
The glass has to be perfectly clean,
the decking has to be polished.
Then I can enjoy the view.
The man tasked with creating a hotel
beautiful enough to rival the view
was architect Lotfi Sidirahal.
I've been designing more than
20 hotels in 7 different countries.
I dream about sequences,
I dream about moments.
It's not really about…
I mean, the building on itself.
It can be wrong to think
that a hotel is a building.
A hotel, I think it's… It's life.
It's a year since construction
of the hotel finished,
and Lotfi is back
to check on its progress.
It's an amazing place to build a hotel.
I mean, who owns all this land?
It's the military, actually.
The hotel is owned
by the Omani Military Pension Fund.
First time when we came here,
we were hearing the shooting.
I mean, a year before
the opening of the hotel,
we were still hearing the training
and shooting each time we came here.
-Really?
-Yeah.
It took over 3 years, $200 million,
and 2,000 people
to realize Lotfi's ambitious plans
for the hotel.
One of the biggest challenges he faced
was the expectation of privacy.
For many Omani women, it's unacceptable to
be seen in public wearing a bathing suit.
Amazing, it's like a swimming pool
in the middle of a cowboy
western movie or something.
Yeah.
There is one big communal pool,
but the other 34 are all designed
to provide complete concealment
despite some being open to the cliffs.
Privacy is at a premium, how do you stop
people just walking past and looking in?
What we did is that, actually,
it's not allowed to walk in
'cause there's no way you can get directly
to the bedrocks on the cliff edge.
The resort has been built to stop guests
being able to access the cliffs
without putting up any obvious barriers.
If you were sort of walking up
and down here naked,
you might still be worried
that someone was going to appear.
Yeah, well, some goats maybe.
-Really, because, yeah.
-Really?
Well, I don't think
they will take pictures from guests
-No.
-and send out on Instagram, so it's fine.
Today, Darren's mind
is not solely on privacy
but also on making sure
all his staff look immaculate.
-Good morning, everybody.
-Morning.
We're dropping in on a grooming inspection
for the house keeping team.
-Hi, how are you?
-Very good, sir, you?
Good.
Oh, what happened here?
You need to change this, yeah?
We're trying to create perfection
7 days a week 24 hours a day.
-How are you?
-I'm good, sir.
-Good.
-What did you forget this morning?
-Yes.
-Polish, my friend. Shoes, please.
If you're not passionate to the core,
you will fail.
And that goes for not just me
but all of the team.
Good morning.
-Oh, he looks very good.
-Perfect.
Guys, thank you very much.
Very good. Thank you.
-Thank you.
-Have a good day.
Poor guys, you can just…
They're so nervous, aren't they?
One of the reasons Darren demands
such high standards
is the number of high profile guests
the hotel attracts.
When we go through the VIP list,
it's so huge.
It can be over 60% of our guests.
But the reality of it is we love it.
Is it challenging at times?
Very. But we've not had
any complaints, touch wood.
Today, a guest is arriving to stay
in the Royal Villa.
Every VIP gets an authentic Omani welcome.
HR Office.
And I'm going to be helping
Nasser Al Sicuani.
He's giving me a crash course
of national greetings.
-Giles?
-Giles. I haven't got…
I haven't got…
I should write it on the thing.
-Giles. Okay. Yeah.
-Giles. It's a very English name.
There's no Arabic equivalent,
unfortunately. "Giles." Yeah, but Giles.
-This is your uniform.
-Okay.
This one here, for me.
I'm struggling with a dishdasha.
They're worn by almost all Omani men.
So, also, you have to close this.
-What do we do with that?
-So, first, we do this.
My head gear is a traditional turban
known as a muzzar.
-So, this.
-It's quite Lawrence of Arabia.
Or public schoolboy on his gap year.
The uniform has a novel accessory
should any guests prove truculent.
-So this is just ceremonial?
-Yeah, don't kill me.
Hey, look, come on, look at that.
He looks really cool.
Him? He can do my accounts.
The welcome is not
only about looking the part.
We're giving our guest
a full musical performance.
So I'm going to tell you
how to do the drum.
Honestly, I have no rhythm.
Just keep it the same, the same time.
So you have space to drum.
Yeah.
It doesn't make a nice noise like…
More heavy. You're hand
makes more heavy, yeah.
Despite my best efforts,
Nasser concedes defeat.
After do this,
so we will start singing. Lalli-lalli?
-Yalli-lalli?
-Yeah. Yalli-lalli.
But if there's one thing I'm even
worse at than drumming, it's singing.
It's not my natural gift.
-Sing lalli-lalli.
-Lalli-lalli.
-Yeah, lalli-lally.
-Lalli-lalli
Right.
But I've forgotten the first bit now.
You won't see generosity.
Nasser makes an executive decision.
-You will do the drums, I will sing.
-Okay. Perfect.
Let's start.
Thankfully, I still have a couple of hours
to practice before our guests arrive.
One man who has no need for practice
is the unflappable villa host Fahad.
A villa host is a butler. Normally,
I am looking after a lot of VIPs.
The jewel in the hotel's crown
is the Royal Villa.
It's one of the best villas
in the Middle East.
Fahad is the villa host
to the Royal Suite.
And today, we're working together
to make sure
everything will be perfect
for our new arrival.
Oh, wow. This is nice.
Not bad.
You know, wherever I go, it seems
to just go straight to the view, you know.
This is the place which attract
our guest in the beginning.
Yeah.
Temperatures can reach as high
as 35 degrees in the day,
but as low as freezing
during winter nights.
The pool is kept at a constant balmy 29.
We have to check first
the pool temperature.
But the best way to know
the temperature is to take a swim, Fahad.
Never.
Towels, yeah.
Nice.
We are obviously in a Muslim country.
Is there anything especially different
you need to organize for that?
We have signage which is right
in the top. It's an arrow.
-The arrow that points to Mecca?
-Exactly.
And also, we have, for Muslim guests,
we have a prayer mat and a Koran.
Our guest, he asked to remove alcohol,
so we have to make sure.
-Okay. All of it?
-All of it.
As part of the service,
Fahad bathes guests' feet.
It's not a rude question to ask,
you must get some good tips then?
Most of the time, we are getting
a very nice tip from the guest.
-So what's the biggest tip you've had?
-It was 950 Omani riyal from one of…
-From my guest.
-That's almost 2,000 pounds.
Exactly.
The Royal Villa is ready.
Which is lucky because our guest
is only moments away.
You have to be in one line.
There is a palpable sense of tension,
even Darren is here for the grand welcome.
The car has been spotted.
Fahad, worried I might embarrass
our guests,
has some last-minute advice for me.
Shake hands for a man,
-as you, as a lady, no.
-Yes.
For me, it's okay.
For you, for the lady, it's okay.
So you shake hands
with only the same gender?
-He may shake your hand.
-Yes.
If he offers his hand, then I'll take it.
-Or give him the choice for the guest…
-Absolutely, okay.
And after all my practice,
I'm not even sure they noticed me.
Here.
-Hi, Monica.
-Hi.
-How are you? How's things? Excellent.
-Hi.
-Pleasure to meet you.
-Pleasure is mine.
-We'll get the luggage. Yeah.
-It is on. Let's get those bags.
Whilst Fahad and Monica
are checking the guests in,
we've got to get
their luggage to the villa.
It's unacceptable for the guests to arrive
before their bags,
or even to see us moving them.
-Right, I'll drive, shall I?
-Yeah, okay.
Yeah.
It's all feeling so Ocean's Eleven
until we hit a problem.
-We could go inside but we don't have key.
-We don't have a key.
We've got no key.
We have a coffee shop.
They are opening from 10:30 to 7:30.
It's part of the villa host's job
to give their guests a tour of the hotel.
And we have Al Maisan,
which is the main restaurant,
a buffet restaurant where you can have
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
And we have a shisha lounge right here.
It's time to panic.
The main door is locked too.
We got to this villa
and we didn't have a master key,
so we couldn't get in and put
the stuff in. And they're nearly here, so…
Come on. We've got no key.
-Have you got a key?
-Yep.
But it turns out it's still not simple
even when we have a key.
-Is this key not open this?
-No, this is for the Wi-Fi. It's a…
-That key doesn't open that?
-No.
Luckily, Monica and Fahad
are taking the scenic route.
I will take… You will take one.
I will take the… Okay.
Eventually, someone manages
to find a key that works.
-Where shall I put these?
-In the luggage room.
-Yeah, I guess you really need a sweater.
-Yeah.
Nice.
And Fahad and I managed to deliver
our guests to their secluded luxury.
-Welcome home.
-None the wiser.
-Well, that was a close one, wasn't it?
-We finish.
Let's blow this joint.
One last job remains,
to wash our guests' feet.
-Slowly.
-Oh, shit.
-No problem. It's okay.
-Is that okay?
The car is okay, fine.
-All the fuss, we can do this.
-Really? Have you ever done that?
Yeah, before, two times before.
One day, I broke one of the lights here.
-Oh, yeah?
-Yeah. Then nobody knows about this.
The man who has to cater
for all guests, VIP or otherwise
is Executive Chef Sam Grecco.
If I didn't make people happy
with my food,
I might as well hang up my hat
and stop cooking.
Canadian-Italian, Sam has been working
in the Middle East for the last 14 years.
To keep the Omani guests happy
requires that they have a lot of food,
an abundance of food at the table,
but that the food has to be amazing,
has to taste amazing.
I'm joining Sam on the breakfast shift.
The hotel tries to cater for all tastes
with dim sum, French pastries,
and local delicacies.
So what do the Omani like
to have for breakfast?
So, Omanis basically love ful mudammas,
which is a fava bean dish.
If you're looking
for an English breakfast,
Sam has some interesting variations.
-Veal sausage, obviously, beef and turkey.
-Beef bacon.
There's a lot of Muslims come here.
And it's, obviously,
pork is out of the question,
so we don't really feature it.
We do have pork
but we keep it sort of hush hush.
In order to serve pork,
the hotel has a special license
and uses entirely different utensils.
The much more traditional element
of the breakfast is the bread station.
Manned by Egyptian Chef Mahmoud.
I hear you make something
quite special here?
This is actually the sarge bread.
You call it sarge bread.
It's come from all Arab countries.
Sarge is an unleavened flatbread
similar to pitta.
So just open it slowly with your hands.
The dough is made overnight
then it's a case of kneading,
rolling, and throwing.
Slowly from right to left.
Again, right to left.
Roll nicely.
The specially designed sarge dough
heats up to 220 degrees.
Mahmoud! Wow, this is just so awesome.
Absolutely love it.
Clearly, Mahmoud's a master.
I am like a little kid
when I'm learning something new. Go, you!
When things get hectic,
Mahmoud can make 250 in a shift.
Half of the cheese,
again, go to bake again.
-To melt the cheese.
-Look at that.
The hotel serves a sarge of cheese
or the more traditional za'atar,
a blend of thyme, oregano, marjoram
and toasted sesame seeds.
-So we just give the cheese melted nicely.
-Yeah.
Roll it.
This is our best work, you know that?
Just be careful
because the olive oil is too hot.
-So you want to try now?
-Oh, well, if I must, yeah.
I'm sure. Look at the cheese now.
Look at that.
-That's so good.
-It's good.
This has got to be the most fun
I've ever had on a breakfast shift.
Not only that it is delicious.
For me, it beats
an English breakfast hands down any day.
Pomegranates grown
on the Al Jabal Al Akdar mountain
are famous across the Middle East.
The hotel uses them in molasses
and as a garnish for meats.
They get through
30 kilos of them in a week.
Sheikh Abdullah
is one of the local suppliers.
His orchards sit just two kilometers away.
-Peace be unto you.
-Peace be unto you too. How are you?
-You okay? Good.
-Good. Okay.
-Can I help?
-Okay?
-Okay? Yes.
-Yeah.
Pomegranates sell
for as much as two pounds a fruit.
So you can't just pull it off,
you've actually got to break it gently.
-Okay. Need. Tear like this.
-Yeah. There you are.
How do I know which one is good
and which one is not?
Good?
-Okay.
-Yeah.
-Okay?
-Mm-hmm.
-Oh, so sweet.
-Sweet. Yeah.
-So good.
-Okay.
It's nothing like pomegranate
we get back in the UK.
Working with Abdullah, it feels like
we are in a completely different world
from the VIPs and extravagance
of the hotel.
Do you worry that foreigners coming here
would have a change
on some of your culture?
-Here we go.
-Yeah.
-Okay. Yep.
-Okay?
The hotel has found another and ingenious
way to use the local pomegranates.
Hi, Gina.
In the spa.
-How are you?
-How are you? Are you well?
I'm working with Manager Gina Da Costa.
In order to respect Omani sensibilities,
the spa is split according to gender.
There are private pools, saunas,
hammam, and five treatment rooms.
Unusually, the spa also has a kitchen
where Gina and Maria, one
of the therapists, make an unusual scrub.
You're going to blend all this
lovely pomegranates for the scrub?
Yeah. It's very tasty. Sweet.
The flesh and the husks
are blended with salt.
What a gorgeous color. That's so natural,
isn't it? I can make this at home.
Blitzing done, it's my chance
to try out my massage skills.
-Are you feeling comfortable?
-No.
-You're not comfortable?
-Very comfortable.
The scrub is designed to remove
dead skin cells
and leave the skin positively glowing.
That's not too hard?
It's perfect.
I've never done a salt scrub on a woman
before or anyone for that matter.
I have put a salt rub on pork.
This is my first human being.
She does feel much nicer to rub,
to put a salt rub on
than a piece of meat or fish.
Your treatment is finished.
How do you feel?
-Great.
-Thank you.
Should the pomegranate scrub
prove too abrasive,
the hotel has recently found a new
soothing way to attract guests.
It was just one picture in a magazine
that just showed…
It showed the two people doing the yoga,
and I just said, "I just want to do that".
It was just that picture.
Kelvin and Katrina are from Essex.
I said to my wife, "We've got to go there
because I want to do the yoga."
Before coming to Oman,
they had never done yoga.
My god, you feel so small
when you look out there
and you see all of those mountains.
It's a good leveler.
Darren's plans to capitalize
on the hotels extraordinary location
go well beyond picturesque stretching.
We don't want people just to relax
and see the mountain.
We want people to really experience it,
and a big part to really do that,
it has to be driven out of adventure.
He's opening a 200-meter climbing route
on the sheer cliff face
immediately beneath the hotel.
I haven't tried it yet, but I've got to
be honest with you, it looks terrifying.
Mahir is the hotel's mountain guru.
He needs to practice taking people
on the route before it opens.
And we're going to be his guinea pigs.
-Are you nervous?
-No.
-No.
-No. Come on. How hard can it be?
It's fine.
Now we are safe.
We are connected to the cable.
Climbers are attached to a steel cable
throughout the climb.
-So you just hold on to this?
-Yeah.
It starts with a descent down a crevice
with a 30-meter drop beneath.
Oh, god, don't look down.
-You can do it, come on.
-It's really scary.
What are you meant to hold on to?
The rope or the rock?
The rock, go for the rock, hun.
And is this sort of some
deliberate comedy ladder?
-Okay.
-Almost there.
Almost there. Almost there, Giles.
Keep going. Step up.
Good. Here we are.
Knees still trembling, I've at last found
a shelf wide enough to stand on.
Wow, look at that.
With the adrenaline pumping
and tethered only by a rope,
the view is even more awe inspiring.
The view is exactly the same as the view
from my swimming pool
where I sat
and had a cup of coffee this morning,
in literally no percentage danger
of death.
The fun is not over. The route stretches
over another 180 meters
of spiraling cliffs and terrifying drops.
Okay.
-What do you hold on to?
-Under here, hun. Under here.
Oh, not another step.
You need to… Well done.
What am I meant to be holding on to?
Underneath, babe.
-Underneath where you were.
-Where?
-There.
-Yeah. Let's go.
-What, and I just step across to that?
-Yeah. The left leg.
But then where does my right leg go?
The same place where your left leg. Cool.
Oh, I just want to get
this shit over with.
So, Monica, Giles, how is it going?
I haven't hyperventilated so much
since I gave birth.
I don't think I've breathed at all.
Now we're going to
the most challenging part.
Oh, no, what's that?
And just when I thought
it was almost over.
-The zip line.
-What?
It's the zip line time, guys.
You trust me all the way there, right?
-You need to trust me all this as well.
-Okay.
The zip line is 35 meters long
with a 30-meter drop.
-I can't get a grip.
-Ready? Three, two, one.
Yeah!
And it's absolutely thrilling.
I can't do that. Fuck!
There is nothing, nothing in my DNA
that would ever allow me to do that.
Luckily, for me, the hotel has designed
escape routes for exactly these moments.
Wait, and then I can climb back
and up this thing?
-Yeah.
-Giles is taking the escape route out.
He has a fear of heights,
and he's done so well to get this far.
I don't want him to be afraid,
but that was pretty awesome.
Up I go, man, I'm getting out of here.
Obviously, my appearance of fear
was a cunning rouse
to give Mahir some practice
with his easily scared guests.
I just think it's important to test
the escape routes for them.
Soon, I was joining Giles back at the top.
Oh, get me away from the edge.
Well done, wherever we go,
you have to do the brave stuff.
Oh, you did amazing.
-I did half an amazing.
-You did amazing.
-You did the brave stuff and I bottled it.
-No.
-Good job, guys. Well done.
-Oh, my goodness I need to sit down.
Of course, before guests
can risk life and limb on the cliffs,
they need to ascend
2,000 meters to get there.
It's driver Mubarek's job
to make sure they do.
I was born in the mountain.
My heart is in the mountain.
I need the mountain. I love the mountain.
The hotel has a fleet
of five four-wheel drive cars.
Mubarek is going to give me
a lesson in mountain driving.
To drive is very important
'cause we're high up a mountain,
a long way from the airport.
Now my driving is fine,
but it's not that amazing.
And I'm not known
for my politeness and hospitality,
so I'm thinking
it may be a bit of a struggle.
Welcome. My name
is Mubarek Mohammed Al Sharqi.
-Giles Coren.
-Welcome.
Okay.
After the regrettable golf buggy incident,
I'm eager to prove myself.
Which side of the road
do you drive on in this?
-You take a right here. Yeah.
-I take a right.
Mubarek has some strict rules.
Before the drive, you can keep
your phone silence.
No need to use phone,
and no need to use it for, like, WhatsApp.
Am I doing the right speed?
I'm driving at about 70? Is it too slow?
-No, you have only 60.
-Should I be going slower?
-60 is okay, 60.
-You're using your phone.
Yes, my wife is…
Oh, is that different?
The rules are off if it's your wife?
Fine. Well, if my wife phones,
I'll… But that's fine, carry on.
I am done to drive, you drive now.
If I drive, I cannot…
You chat to the wife, Mubarek.
I'll drive. That's fine.
-You chat, you say hello for me.
-Oh, no problem.
Because the road to the hotel
is a relentless descent,
you're legally obliged to use
a four-wheel drive vehicle.
A normal car runs the risk
of dangerously overheating brakes.
Too fast?
-Not need fast.
-Okay.
Because if fast like that,
it's not good to you.
-No?
-Yeah, the guest is with you.
-Oh, of course, the guest.
-Drive. Safety.
Okay, I… Okay.
With my driving not impressing, I thought
maybe I should learn some Arabic.
What do I need to learn
to say to the guests?
How do I say "Hello
and welcome to the hotel"? Yeah.
-Peace be upon you. Thank God you're safe.
-Thank God for your well-being..
-Yes.
-And we're gonna stop, so…
See, he's not a very good driver, is he?
Shall we wind down the window and shout?
What?
-Crazy! Can I…
-Crazy!
Crazy!
He's a complete crazy.
To avoid our road rage escalating,
Mubarek suggests we take a break.
And then that's the hotel?
Yes, you can see nice. That's
the Anantara Hotel in the nice view.
In the hotel, where the men
and women work together,
-Yeah.
-that didn't use to happen in Oman, right?
No, that's okay now,
because all think open now,
that needed the jobs same as man
and woman, that's okay.
-Is that okay?
-Yeah.
What if your daughter
wanted to work in the hotel?
No, my daughter,
that's maybe leave it. No need.
-Why not?
-No need, that's…
Nothing. There's no need.
In Oman, fathers and husbands are legally
considered to be the heads of household.
Only in 2003
were all women allowed to vote.
The hotel employees 46 expat women,
but it also has a small number of Omanis.
We are six Omani women
who work in the hotel.
With a degree in chemical engineering,
Marshaal is in charge of food hygiene
and determined to break the mold.
The women can do anything,
and they can even be better than the men.
Marshaal's very feisty.
She's not scared of saying
what she thinks.
It's her first managerial role,
which she's… And she's Omani lady.
So you can imagine that wasn't embraced
with open arms
by a lot of the guys at the resort.
She goes and tells them herself,
and they do it.
-Kitchen.
-Okay.
Every morning, she checks the chefs
are maintaining standards of hygiene.
-I just want to have a look at your nails.
-Here.
There are 4 kitchens
and 38 employees to monitor.
Almost all of whom are men.
You didn't shave today?
It's like they're our standards.
I have to send him back to shave
and to come back to the kitchen.
Okay.
One of Marshaal's pioneering
Omani colleagues is Amal.
She teaches staff English.
I advise Omani ladies to work in tourism.
I want to advise those families
who strict their ladies.
I want to tell them it's good,
let her to see her life. She will work.
She will be strong. She will be a leader.
She will protect herself and don't worry.
In Oman, industries like hospitality
where women mix with men
are traditionally frowned upon.
Over coffee and dates, I've got a chance
to find out how much Marshaal and Amal
feel about working in the hotel.
What do the locals or the people in
your community think of you working here?
My family, actually,
they are totally fine,
and they always supported me,
especially my father.
I have to be honest,
I can't say that they love me,
a woman who's working in hospitality.
They cannot accept woman
who's dealing with guys too much.
You understand me?
-Yep.
-But I think, for me, I have to ignore
because I'm doing just my duty,
and they know I'm living.
How do you think the hotel
has changed women's lives here?
I mean, woman does come to here,
and they see that there is Arab ladies
or Omani ladies working here.
And they feel that, oh, Oman has changed.
Could you imagine one day having
an Omani woman as a general manager here?
-I want to be a general manager.
-Well, you can.
-Yes, maybe, I'll be the first Omani.
-Yes. Right there.
Yeah. Really, I'm working on it.
For me, it's still surprising to come to a
place where women working alongside men
is seen as novel,
where there is much to celebrate.
These women want more.
They want their independence.
And they're working for it.
And to see that happen for me
is something to rejoice,
and it's empowering.
In some hotels, housekeeping
can traditionally be seen as women's work.
But here, they have
an almost exclusively male team.
Yes, I like things in spick and span
and has to be perfect for the guests.
Ateev Shah is executive housekeeper
and a man who takes his job personally.
I'm not married. Yeah, you can say
that housekeeping is my girlfriend.
We're preparing one
of the 82 standard rooms.
For Ateev, it's about more than
just keeping the rooms clean.
He demands creativity from his team.
We have to fold it
and then we start rolling it.
Today, we're using towels
to make elephants.
They also make monkeys and swans.
Wow. Look at that.
Look at his little head.
Then we fold it from the center.
And there is an elephant.
-So you want to try?
-Yeah.
So we basically want the legs
to be sort of the same size, don't we?
Yeah.
Okay. And then… flip it like that.
Which actually looks like
a snowman naked bending down.
The pressure to impress Ateev
is beginning to tell.
This is definitely
the only way you can do it?
-Okay, let me help you.
-No!
When people doesn't do the attention
to detail, it's pinch in my heart.
No, leave my elephant legs alone.
Okay, and then you turn him
around like that?
And then, don't come, don't come undone.
There we are.
It's looking like a baby elephant.
Thank you. A baby elephant
after a difficult birth.
-Yes. It's something unique.
-So, what's that amazing smell?
Yeah, it's a rosewater,
which we use it in our guest rooms.
We do it on the curtains.
Rosewater is traditionally used
in the Middle East
to make houses and people smell good.
And then we do it in bathroom, shower area
and the main bathroom, and it's finish.
-So how much more do I need? Lots?
-No, it's enough, enough.
The area around the hotel
is famous for its rosewater.
And Sheikh Abdullah,
along with growing pomegranates,
uses age old methods
to produce it in his workshop.
Hello. Peace be upon you.
Oh, my word.
I'm going to help Abdullah
make a batch of his potent perfume.
Oh, you can smell them. Wow.
How many roses does it take
to make a bottle?
Over several hours,
the fire heats the roses.
The steam from the petals condenses on the
plate above and drips down into the bowl.
-In.
-You put water on that?
Rosewater has a host of uses.
The rose-infused water
has already begun to condense.
-Look at that.
-Yeah.
-Wow. That is amazing.
-Okay.
Once the cooking process
is over, the liquid is strained
and left to settle for two and a half
months before being decanted.
A bottle of this precious solution
costs 12 pounds.
Omani.
Yeah.
-Yeah?
-Okay.
-Smells quite smoky, yes?
-Yes, okay.
Smells smoky. That's beautiful.
-Yeah.
-It's fantastic.
What a great way
to refresh yourself as well.
Thanks a lot. Goodbye.
-Okay.
-Goodbye.
Using rosewater to keep the hotel
smelling fragrant
is only one
of housekeeper Ateev's responsibilities.
It's also down to him to keep
everything looking immaculate.
This hotel is positively brimming with
ornate ceilings and beautiful chandeliers,
which is lovely on paper
if you're an architect,
and beautiful to look at
if you're a guest.
Not so much fun if you have to clean them.
So these are the lights,
which we're going to clean today.
And you saved this job
till I was available to help you.
-Yes, definitely.
-Someone thought I might be handy.
Yes.
-Before we start, you can wear gloves.
-Do I need gloves?
Yes.
The chandelier hangs across two floors
connecting the cocktail bar
and the Al Qalaa restaurant.
It's made up of 53 different lights.
It's like polishing Christmas decorations.
It's like Christmas every day.
Some of the areas, still, dust is there.
Okay, but not bad.
Quite fun getting these.
As you spend time in the hotel, it becomes
obvious that not all the staff are Omani.
You're not from around here, are you?
-I am from India, basically.
-What's the place that most are from?
Like we can say Indians are there,
then you can take Sri Lankan.
There are from Pakistan.
There are from like UK,
then you can say Philippines.
And why are there so many foreigners
working in the hotel?
There are lots of Omanis
also working in our companies,
but we are not comfortable
to clean up the rooms.
With its oil wealth,
Oman has become accustomed
to relying on foreign workers,
the rights of whom have at times
been under the spotlight.
Although the place feels quite Omani,
and when you arrive,
you are greeted by Omanis,
and the whole vibe here
is designed to be local,
it's become very clear from talking
to Ateev that to keep it actually running,
they are depending on hundreds of people
who are not Omani, who are expats.
Of the hotel's 260 staff,
190 are from overseas.
Keeping them happy whilst living
and working on a remote desert mountain
is a challenge for Darren.
We have over 30 nationalities here
from various cultures,
all continents of the globe.
The community
is very much ingrained in us.
I think a lot of it is we all
live together. We're a family.
I know it's a cliché, but we literally
live, feed, sleep together.
Maybe not sleep together.
When I was in the Army, one thing
that bought us all together was sport.
In the shadow
of the staff accommodation block
sits the most unlikely of sporting venues.
A cricket pitch hewn from the rock.
-Quite a big crowd today.
-Ready?
It's a long wicket for a game
with a tennis ball, isn't it?
-You want to see them play.
-Are you really good?
Really good.
They'll have fun bowling out
an Englishman, won't they?
I've been picked to play for housekeeping
against the might of food and beverage.
I'm playing alongside Ateev.
Is it important that we win?
Yes, definitely.
One has to win, so that is the most…
Does housekeeping normally win?
-Do we generally…
-Yes.
Darren is umpiring today.
Make sure you get this guy out,
first ball.
Go!
Yes.
Do you get the Omanis
playing cricket with you or not?
Yes. Sometimes some of the Omanis
are also keen to play with this game.
They are also taking part
in playing cricket with us,
so we are also giving them a chance
to play and then they also learning.
With a total of 70 on the board,
it's food and beverage's turn to bat.
It doesn't start well for them.
I never thought I'd play cricket in
the Middle East. I've played in Malaysia.
I've played in Yorkshire.
Never played in the Middle East before.
Very exciting.
And I actually took a catch.
It's easy to see why cricket
is so important for Ateev and the others.
I'm a long way from home
but only for a week or so.
It's already making me feel lifted
and excited
and happy about being here
and working in the hotel.
But to get out, play cricket
in this kind of surroundings,
who couldn't feel enlivened?
It's a big win for housekeeping,
but our victory
is not the only cause for celebration.
The hotel is about to have
its first birthday.
The first year anniversary
is a huge milestone.
We want the anniversary party
to be as local as possible.
And you can't have an Omani party
without a goat.
I've headed down the mountain
to stock up for the festivities.
I have never bought a live goat before,
and I have no idea where to start.
Luckily, I'm with Chef Ibrahim
and Mountain Guide Mahir.
Who has been buying and selling goats here
since he was a child.
-Wow, busy now.
-Always busy.
Farmers employ salesmen from the market
to parade their animals
in front of potential buyers.
Oh, little baby.
The baby is for farming, not for cooking.
-Okay.
-It's only for farming, yeah.
A top breeding goat
sells for as much as 1,000 pounds
but normal prices are about £100.
If I choose, I want to take it home.
Here, you try before you buy. Each goat
must be inspected before we make an offer.
-So we check these.
-Yeah.
It shows that it's really young.
-Monica?
-Yeah?
-See the teeth?
-The teeth's the same, man.
Six to eight months. The age of this goat.
We will take this one.
-We take this one?
-We take this one.
-74.
-Mohamad, 74!
Before we go,
I want to talk to the seller.
Does he have a big herd?
He have almost like 70 goats like this.
-70? Oh, my goodness.
-Yeah.
Yeah, he loves to be with a goat.
-He loves his goat?
-Yeah.
Thank you. Goodbye.
Back at the hotel, Ibrahim and I
are reunited with the goat.
Now this kind of salt rubbing
I'm familiar with.
Yes.
No pomegranates this time,
we're using a blend of Omani spices.
That smells fantastic.
The goat will be
the centerpiece of the party.
Executive Chef Sam is cooking it
using a traditional Omani method.
So if you tell an Omani
that they've got goat for dinner,
the immediate thing
that they think about is shuwa.
What do you do?
Do you toothpick it together or…
Basically, what it involves is cooking
a goat in a pit with embers.
And it's cooked for 24 hours.
It's used in celebrations.
It's used in weddings
So this is the first thing
they think about goat.
Having wrapped the meat
in local banana leaves,
we head to the hotel's own shuwa
in the garden.
The shuwa both cooks and smokes the meat.
-We close it now?
-Yep. Perfect.
How long will it cook for?
-It's gonna cook until tomorrow.
-Really? That long?
We're going to leave it in there
all night, for 24 hours.
It's the morning of the first year
anniversary party,
a chance for Darren
to say thank you to his staff.
I am very proud when I look at my team.
I dunno if I'll ever have
a team as good as this.
All right, mate, I'm here to help.
Don't worry. It'll all be fine.
Just under two hours till we start.
I'm already nervous
because it's the one year anniversary.
I've got my speech.
It's quite emotional for me
when I think back to the journey
where this all started.
Along with the team, there will be
hotel guests, media, the owners,
and an alarming number of men with guns.
We've got high profile VIPs
from the owners' party,
-Yes.
-so there'll be security.
The band has arrived and is practicing.
It turns out even they're packing heat.
An interesting musical instrument
this fellow's got.
-An M16.
-Yeah.
Just behind the courtyard,
we're back at Sam's goat pit.
It smells amazing from here.
It's been a while now, hasn't it?
The goat has been cooking
for the last 24 hours.
Oh, look at this.
You have that little bit
of a charred taste.
You can also taste all the spices
and a little bit of the infusion
and the smell from the banana leaf.
-It's delicious.
-I could eat all this now, actually.
You've got a nice big chunk there.
We're not going to have
anything left for our anniversary.
We're turning
the distinctly Omani tasting goat
into something more international.
Canapés.
Before any of the party guests can eat,
it's Darren's big moment.
Good morning, everybody.
I'd like to thank the team. We have
the most amazing team in this resort.
I feel proud and humble to lead you.
I feel proud and humble to know you.
And I feel proud and humble to have you
with me on this exciting journey.
So I would like to ask everybody
to thank the amazing team
that work here
at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar. Thank you.
I need a cigarette.
With the speeches over, it's time
to serve our smoky goat canapés.
-Would you like to try one?
-Sure.
-It's good? Yes?
-Yes.
Thank you. Enjoy.
And it turns out that even though
it's 11 in the morning,
and there isn't a drink in sight,
it's time to dance.
Seeing Darren and his team
celebrate together,
you're reminded how different it is here
to the world outside,
but also how well it seems to work.
It is a great event.
There was an amount of stress beforehand.
Darren was all worried.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it
would just be the man standing there,
just clapping.
And they were all the kind of Indians
and Sri Lankans and Pakistanis
are all there in amongst the Omanis.
And they were sort of,
yeah, it was sort of a…
They'd sort of made a new thing out
of all the different constituent parts.
And with its inclusivity,
the celebrations really capture
the ethos of the hotel itself.
Yeah, I mean, they haven't got
100% authentic Omani here,
but what they do have
is very distinctive and special.
there are remarkable hotels.
Born of bold vision and daring endeavor.
Wow! This is how I want to live.
Whether it's one of the remotest hotels
on Earth hidden on a Pacific island…
Or sumptuous resort on one of
the highest mountains in the Middle East.
What an incredible view.
The people running these hotels
strive to create the perfect sanctuary.
But what does it take
to offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences
in stunning locations?
Construction was a logistical nightmare.
No water, no source of power.
I'm a restaurant writer,
newspaper columnist, and critic.
I have opinions on just about everything.
He's not a very good driver, is he?
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
And I'm a chef who's worked at the top end
of the hospitality industry
for, well, over 20 years.
This is awesome!
We'll travel to amazing hotels
in every corner of the world.
Enjoy.
To spend time getting to know
the people working away behind the scenes.
I polished Elton John's fruits.
You polished Elton John's fruits.
Do you recall life under apartheid?
Has it changed for you?
Nelson Mandela
was the first Black president.
…gives me more inspiration
to achieve what I want in life.
-Join us as we venture inside…
-The world's most extraordinary hotels.
Oman. An oil-rich Muslim kingdom
of four million people.
It is renowned for its harsh beauty.
On the East Coast of the Arabian Peninsula
it has become a magnet
for high-end travelers.
Nowhere more so than at 2,000-meter high
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort.
The highest five-star resort
in the Middle East.
It opened only a year ago.
It's unbelievable.
Built to resemble an ancient Omani fort,
it has a forbidding exterior.
But once inside,
its opulence is mind-blowing.
Wow! What an amazing place.
The hotel treads a delicate line,
striving to be authentically Omani,
whilst providing
international levels of luxury.
And it has one attraction
that is unquestionably world class.
The breathtaking location.
Wow! What an incredible view.
It's a long way down.
We're going to be working
in this mountainous resort.
Getting to grips
with the three restaurants.
Spa, 82 rooms, and 33 villas.
And helping out the 250 staff
who work on the six-acre site.
Two bread baskets, please.
But luxury at altitude isn't cheap.
Prices reach 6,000 pounds a night
for the best villa.
The man in charge of this huge operation
is former soldier, Darren Darwin.
I've always had an eye for detail,
but it was definitely drilled
into me in the Army.
You really had to support
and help each other,
and it's the same principle as here.
Good morning, Abdullah, how are you?
Darren was the hotel's first employee.
I'm very emotionally attached
to this place.
I came and it was bricks and mortar
and scaffolding and mud everywhere.
And everything is going okay on the gate?
I feel a pressure because I try…
I live up to my own expectations,
which are very high.
It's 8 a.m. at reception,
and I'm kicking off my stint
at the hotel with Darren,
as he does his daily inspection.
-Good morning. How are you?
-Good morning, Monica. Nice to meet you.
-You well?
-I'm good, please.
Everywhere he goes, he is joined by staff
noting down the tiniest of defects.
-This is the reception and waiting area,
-Yeah.
so this is the first impression
for the guests.
So it's important
that everything is in its place,
everything is perfect.
So, the candle…
-The candle's… Yeah, fallen down. Yeah.
-Fallen down.
I'm quite obsessed with symmetrics.
So if I stand in the middle,
I can see everything on the left,
it's the same as everything on the right.
-You can see the umbrellas?
-Yeah.
They are pointing out,
and here, they are pointing in.
-Oh, I thought they were meant to be.
-No, that would…
-Ying and yang.
-I'd be thinking about that all day now.
-If you can see the candle stand,
-Yes.
this one needs to be
moved over to the left.
All right.
-Oh, much better.
-All is good in the world now.
Oh, yes. Everything is now Zen.
And also, Capilla, see where
there's finger marks on that middle glass?
Okay.
It's not just about the interiors.
Here, even the view
has to be double-checked.
-Look at this, these are finger marks.
-Oh, goodness. Yeah. Wet, sweaty.
That's not acceptable.
The glass has to be perfectly clean,
the decking has to be polished.
Then I can enjoy the view.
The man tasked with creating a hotel
beautiful enough to rival the view
was architect Lotfi Sidirahal.
I've been designing more than
20 hotels in 7 different countries.
I dream about sequences,
I dream about moments.
It's not really about…
I mean, the building on itself.
It can be wrong to think
that a hotel is a building.
A hotel, I think it's… It's life.
It's a year since construction
of the hotel finished,
and Lotfi is back
to check on its progress.
It's an amazing place to build a hotel.
I mean, who owns all this land?
It's the military, actually.
The hotel is owned
by the Omani Military Pension Fund.
First time when we came here,
we were hearing the shooting.
I mean, a year before
the opening of the hotel,
we were still hearing the training
and shooting each time we came here.
-Really?
-Yeah.
It took over 3 years, $200 million,
and 2,000 people
to realize Lotfi's ambitious plans
for the hotel.
One of the biggest challenges he faced
was the expectation of privacy.
For many Omani women, it's unacceptable to
be seen in public wearing a bathing suit.
Amazing, it's like a swimming pool
in the middle of a cowboy
western movie or something.
Yeah.
There is one big communal pool,
but the other 34 are all designed
to provide complete concealment
despite some being open to the cliffs.
Privacy is at a premium, how do you stop
people just walking past and looking in?
What we did is that, actually,
it's not allowed to walk in
'cause there's no way you can get directly
to the bedrocks on the cliff edge.
The resort has been built to stop guests
being able to access the cliffs
without putting up any obvious barriers.
If you were sort of walking up
and down here naked,
you might still be worried
that someone was going to appear.
Yeah, well, some goats maybe.
-Really, because, yeah.
-Really?
Well, I don't think
they will take pictures from guests
-No.
-and send out on Instagram, so it's fine.
Today, Darren's mind
is not solely on privacy
but also on making sure
all his staff look immaculate.
-Good morning, everybody.
-Morning.
We're dropping in on a grooming inspection
for the house keeping team.
-Hi, how are you?
-Very good, sir, you?
Good.
Oh, what happened here?
You need to change this, yeah?
We're trying to create perfection
7 days a week 24 hours a day.
-How are you?
-I'm good, sir.
-Good.
-What did you forget this morning?
-Yes.
-Polish, my friend. Shoes, please.
If you're not passionate to the core,
you will fail.
And that goes for not just me
but all of the team.
Good morning.
-Oh, he looks very good.
-Perfect.
Guys, thank you very much.
Very good. Thank you.
-Thank you.
-Have a good day.
Poor guys, you can just…
They're so nervous, aren't they?
One of the reasons Darren demands
such high standards
is the number of high profile guests
the hotel attracts.
When we go through the VIP list,
it's so huge.
It can be over 60% of our guests.
But the reality of it is we love it.
Is it challenging at times?
Very. But we've not had
any complaints, touch wood.
Today, a guest is arriving to stay
in the Royal Villa.
Every VIP gets an authentic Omani welcome.
HR Office.
And I'm going to be helping
Nasser Al Sicuani.
He's giving me a crash course
of national greetings.
-Giles?
-Giles. I haven't got…
I haven't got…
I should write it on the thing.
-Giles. Okay. Yeah.
-Giles. It's a very English name.
There's no Arabic equivalent,
unfortunately. "Giles." Yeah, but Giles.
-This is your uniform.
-Okay.
This one here, for me.
I'm struggling with a dishdasha.
They're worn by almost all Omani men.
So, also, you have to close this.
-What do we do with that?
-So, first, we do this.
My head gear is a traditional turban
known as a muzzar.
-So, this.
-It's quite Lawrence of Arabia.
Or public schoolboy on his gap year.
The uniform has a novel accessory
should any guests prove truculent.
-So this is just ceremonial?
-Yeah, don't kill me.
Hey, look, come on, look at that.
He looks really cool.
Him? He can do my accounts.
The welcome is not
only about looking the part.
We're giving our guest
a full musical performance.
So I'm going to tell you
how to do the drum.
Honestly, I have no rhythm.
Just keep it the same, the same time.
So you have space to drum.
Yeah.
It doesn't make a nice noise like…
More heavy. You're hand
makes more heavy, yeah.
Despite my best efforts,
Nasser concedes defeat.
After do this,
so we will start singing. Lalli-lalli?
-Yalli-lalli?
-Yeah. Yalli-lalli.
But if there's one thing I'm even
worse at than drumming, it's singing.
It's not my natural gift.
-Sing lalli-lalli.
-Lalli-lalli.
-Yeah, lalli-lally.
-Lalli-lalli
Right.
But I've forgotten the first bit now.
You won't see generosity.
Nasser makes an executive decision.
-You will do the drums, I will sing.
-Okay. Perfect.
Let's start.
Thankfully, I still have a couple of hours
to practice before our guests arrive.
One man who has no need for practice
is the unflappable villa host Fahad.
A villa host is a butler. Normally,
I am looking after a lot of VIPs.
The jewel in the hotel's crown
is the Royal Villa.
It's one of the best villas
in the Middle East.
Fahad is the villa host
to the Royal Suite.
And today, we're working together
to make sure
everything will be perfect
for our new arrival.
Oh, wow. This is nice.
Not bad.
You know, wherever I go, it seems
to just go straight to the view, you know.
This is the place which attract
our guest in the beginning.
Yeah.
Temperatures can reach as high
as 35 degrees in the day,
but as low as freezing
during winter nights.
The pool is kept at a constant balmy 29.
We have to check first
the pool temperature.
But the best way to know
the temperature is to take a swim, Fahad.
Never.
Towels, yeah.
Nice.
We are obviously in a Muslim country.
Is there anything especially different
you need to organize for that?
We have signage which is right
in the top. It's an arrow.
-The arrow that points to Mecca?
-Exactly.
And also, we have, for Muslim guests,
we have a prayer mat and a Koran.
Our guest, he asked to remove alcohol,
so we have to make sure.
-Okay. All of it?
-All of it.
As part of the service,
Fahad bathes guests' feet.
It's not a rude question to ask,
you must get some good tips then?
Most of the time, we are getting
a very nice tip from the guest.
-So what's the biggest tip you've had?
-It was 950 Omani riyal from one of…
-From my guest.
-That's almost 2,000 pounds.
Exactly.
The Royal Villa is ready.
Which is lucky because our guest
is only moments away.
You have to be in one line.
There is a palpable sense of tension,
even Darren is here for the grand welcome.
The car has been spotted.
Fahad, worried I might embarrass
our guests,
has some last-minute advice for me.
Shake hands for a man,
-as you, as a lady, no.
-Yes.
For me, it's okay.
For you, for the lady, it's okay.
So you shake hands
with only the same gender?
-He may shake your hand.
-Yes.
If he offers his hand, then I'll take it.
-Or give him the choice for the guest…
-Absolutely, okay.
And after all my practice,
I'm not even sure they noticed me.
Here.
-Hi, Monica.
-Hi.
-How are you? How's things? Excellent.
-Hi.
-Pleasure to meet you.
-Pleasure is mine.
-We'll get the luggage. Yeah.
-It is on. Let's get those bags.
Whilst Fahad and Monica
are checking the guests in,
we've got to get
their luggage to the villa.
It's unacceptable for the guests to arrive
before their bags,
or even to see us moving them.
-Right, I'll drive, shall I?
-Yeah, okay.
Yeah.
It's all feeling so Ocean's Eleven
until we hit a problem.
-We could go inside but we don't have key.
-We don't have a key.
We've got no key.
We have a coffee shop.
They are opening from 10:30 to 7:30.
It's part of the villa host's job
to give their guests a tour of the hotel.
And we have Al Maisan,
which is the main restaurant,
a buffet restaurant where you can have
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
And we have a shisha lounge right here.
It's time to panic.
The main door is locked too.
We got to this villa
and we didn't have a master key,
so we couldn't get in and put
the stuff in. And they're nearly here, so…
Come on. We've got no key.
-Have you got a key?
-Yep.
But it turns out it's still not simple
even when we have a key.
-Is this key not open this?
-No, this is for the Wi-Fi. It's a…
-That key doesn't open that?
-No.
Luckily, Monica and Fahad
are taking the scenic route.
I will take… You will take one.
I will take the… Okay.
Eventually, someone manages
to find a key that works.
-Where shall I put these?
-In the luggage room.
-Yeah, I guess you really need a sweater.
-Yeah.
Nice.
And Fahad and I managed to deliver
our guests to their secluded luxury.
-Welcome home.
-None the wiser.
-Well, that was a close one, wasn't it?
-We finish.
Let's blow this joint.
One last job remains,
to wash our guests' feet.
-Slowly.
-Oh, shit.
-No problem. It's okay.
-Is that okay?
The car is okay, fine.
-All the fuss, we can do this.
-Really? Have you ever done that?
Yeah, before, two times before.
One day, I broke one of the lights here.
-Oh, yeah?
-Yeah. Then nobody knows about this.
The man who has to cater
for all guests, VIP or otherwise
is Executive Chef Sam Grecco.
If I didn't make people happy
with my food,
I might as well hang up my hat
and stop cooking.
Canadian-Italian, Sam has been working
in the Middle East for the last 14 years.
To keep the Omani guests happy
requires that they have a lot of food,
an abundance of food at the table,
but that the food has to be amazing,
has to taste amazing.
I'm joining Sam on the breakfast shift.
The hotel tries to cater for all tastes
with dim sum, French pastries,
and local delicacies.
So what do the Omani like
to have for breakfast?
So, Omanis basically love ful mudammas,
which is a fava bean dish.
If you're looking
for an English breakfast,
Sam has some interesting variations.
-Veal sausage, obviously, beef and turkey.
-Beef bacon.
There's a lot of Muslims come here.
And it's, obviously,
pork is out of the question,
so we don't really feature it.
We do have pork
but we keep it sort of hush hush.
In order to serve pork,
the hotel has a special license
and uses entirely different utensils.
The much more traditional element
of the breakfast is the bread station.
Manned by Egyptian Chef Mahmoud.
I hear you make something
quite special here?
This is actually the sarge bread.
You call it sarge bread.
It's come from all Arab countries.
Sarge is an unleavened flatbread
similar to pitta.
So just open it slowly with your hands.
The dough is made overnight
then it's a case of kneading,
rolling, and throwing.
Slowly from right to left.
Again, right to left.
Roll nicely.
The specially designed sarge dough
heats up to 220 degrees.
Mahmoud! Wow, this is just so awesome.
Absolutely love it.
Clearly, Mahmoud's a master.
I am like a little kid
when I'm learning something new. Go, you!
When things get hectic,
Mahmoud can make 250 in a shift.
Half of the cheese,
again, go to bake again.
-To melt the cheese.
-Look at that.
The hotel serves a sarge of cheese
or the more traditional za'atar,
a blend of thyme, oregano, marjoram
and toasted sesame seeds.
-So we just give the cheese melted nicely.
-Yeah.
Roll it.
This is our best work, you know that?
Just be careful
because the olive oil is too hot.
-So you want to try now?
-Oh, well, if I must, yeah.
I'm sure. Look at the cheese now.
Look at that.
-That's so good.
-It's good.
This has got to be the most fun
I've ever had on a breakfast shift.
Not only that it is delicious.
For me, it beats
an English breakfast hands down any day.
Pomegranates grown
on the Al Jabal Al Akdar mountain
are famous across the Middle East.
The hotel uses them in molasses
and as a garnish for meats.
They get through
30 kilos of them in a week.
Sheikh Abdullah
is one of the local suppliers.
His orchards sit just two kilometers away.
-Peace be unto you.
-Peace be unto you too. How are you?
-You okay? Good.
-Good. Okay.
-Can I help?
-Okay?
-Okay? Yes.
-Yeah.
Pomegranates sell
for as much as two pounds a fruit.
So you can't just pull it off,
you've actually got to break it gently.
-Okay. Need. Tear like this.
-Yeah. There you are.
How do I know which one is good
and which one is not?
Good?
-Okay.
-Yeah.
-Okay?
-Mm-hmm.
-Oh, so sweet.
-Sweet. Yeah.
-So good.
-Okay.
It's nothing like pomegranate
we get back in the UK.
Working with Abdullah, it feels like
we are in a completely different world
from the VIPs and extravagance
of the hotel.
Do you worry that foreigners coming here
would have a change
on some of your culture?
-Here we go.
-Yeah.
-Okay. Yep.
-Okay?
The hotel has found another and ingenious
way to use the local pomegranates.
Hi, Gina.
In the spa.
-How are you?
-How are you? Are you well?
I'm working with Manager Gina Da Costa.
In order to respect Omani sensibilities,
the spa is split according to gender.
There are private pools, saunas,
hammam, and five treatment rooms.
Unusually, the spa also has a kitchen
where Gina and Maria, one
of the therapists, make an unusual scrub.
You're going to blend all this
lovely pomegranates for the scrub?
Yeah. It's very tasty. Sweet.
The flesh and the husks
are blended with salt.
What a gorgeous color. That's so natural,
isn't it? I can make this at home.
Blitzing done, it's my chance
to try out my massage skills.
-Are you feeling comfortable?
-No.
-You're not comfortable?
-Very comfortable.
The scrub is designed to remove
dead skin cells
and leave the skin positively glowing.
That's not too hard?
It's perfect.
I've never done a salt scrub on a woman
before or anyone for that matter.
I have put a salt rub on pork.
This is my first human being.
She does feel much nicer to rub,
to put a salt rub on
than a piece of meat or fish.
Your treatment is finished.
How do you feel?
-Great.
-Thank you.
Should the pomegranate scrub
prove too abrasive,
the hotel has recently found a new
soothing way to attract guests.
It was just one picture in a magazine
that just showed…
It showed the two people doing the yoga,
and I just said, "I just want to do that".
It was just that picture.
Kelvin and Katrina are from Essex.
I said to my wife, "We've got to go there
because I want to do the yoga."
Before coming to Oman,
they had never done yoga.
My god, you feel so small
when you look out there
and you see all of those mountains.
It's a good leveler.
Darren's plans to capitalize
on the hotels extraordinary location
go well beyond picturesque stretching.
We don't want people just to relax
and see the mountain.
We want people to really experience it,
and a big part to really do that,
it has to be driven out of adventure.
He's opening a 200-meter climbing route
on the sheer cliff face
immediately beneath the hotel.
I haven't tried it yet, but I've got to
be honest with you, it looks terrifying.
Mahir is the hotel's mountain guru.
He needs to practice taking people
on the route before it opens.
And we're going to be his guinea pigs.
-Are you nervous?
-No.
-No.
-No. Come on. How hard can it be?
It's fine.
Now we are safe.
We are connected to the cable.
Climbers are attached to a steel cable
throughout the climb.
-So you just hold on to this?
-Yeah.
It starts with a descent down a crevice
with a 30-meter drop beneath.
Oh, god, don't look down.
-You can do it, come on.
-It's really scary.
What are you meant to hold on to?
The rope or the rock?
The rock, go for the rock, hun.
And is this sort of some
deliberate comedy ladder?
-Okay.
-Almost there.
Almost there. Almost there, Giles.
Keep going. Step up.
Good. Here we are.
Knees still trembling, I've at last found
a shelf wide enough to stand on.
Wow, look at that.
With the adrenaline pumping
and tethered only by a rope,
the view is even more awe inspiring.
The view is exactly the same as the view
from my swimming pool
where I sat
and had a cup of coffee this morning,
in literally no percentage danger
of death.
The fun is not over. The route stretches
over another 180 meters
of spiraling cliffs and terrifying drops.
Okay.
-What do you hold on to?
-Under here, hun. Under here.
Oh, not another step.
You need to… Well done.
What am I meant to be holding on to?
Underneath, babe.
-Underneath where you were.
-Where?
-There.
-Yeah. Let's go.
-What, and I just step across to that?
-Yeah. The left leg.
But then where does my right leg go?
The same place where your left leg. Cool.
Oh, I just want to get
this shit over with.
So, Monica, Giles, how is it going?
I haven't hyperventilated so much
since I gave birth.
I don't think I've breathed at all.
Now we're going to
the most challenging part.
Oh, no, what's that?
And just when I thought
it was almost over.
-The zip line.
-What?
It's the zip line time, guys.
You trust me all the way there, right?
-You need to trust me all this as well.
-Okay.
The zip line is 35 meters long
with a 30-meter drop.
-I can't get a grip.
-Ready? Three, two, one.
Yeah!
And it's absolutely thrilling.
I can't do that. Fuck!
There is nothing, nothing in my DNA
that would ever allow me to do that.
Luckily, for me, the hotel has designed
escape routes for exactly these moments.
Wait, and then I can climb back
and up this thing?
-Yeah.
-Giles is taking the escape route out.
He has a fear of heights,
and he's done so well to get this far.
I don't want him to be afraid,
but that was pretty awesome.
Up I go, man, I'm getting out of here.
Obviously, my appearance of fear
was a cunning rouse
to give Mahir some practice
with his easily scared guests.
I just think it's important to test
the escape routes for them.
Soon, I was joining Giles back at the top.
Oh, get me away from the edge.
Well done, wherever we go,
you have to do the brave stuff.
Oh, you did amazing.
-I did half an amazing.
-You did amazing.
-You did the brave stuff and I bottled it.
-No.
-Good job, guys. Well done.
-Oh, my goodness I need to sit down.
Of course, before guests
can risk life and limb on the cliffs,
they need to ascend
2,000 meters to get there.
It's driver Mubarek's job
to make sure they do.
I was born in the mountain.
My heart is in the mountain.
I need the mountain. I love the mountain.
The hotel has a fleet
of five four-wheel drive cars.
Mubarek is going to give me
a lesson in mountain driving.
To drive is very important
'cause we're high up a mountain,
a long way from the airport.
Now my driving is fine,
but it's not that amazing.
And I'm not known
for my politeness and hospitality,
so I'm thinking
it may be a bit of a struggle.
Welcome. My name
is Mubarek Mohammed Al Sharqi.
-Giles Coren.
-Welcome.
Okay.
After the regrettable golf buggy incident,
I'm eager to prove myself.
Which side of the road
do you drive on in this?
-You take a right here. Yeah.
-I take a right.
Mubarek has some strict rules.
Before the drive, you can keep
your phone silence.
No need to use phone,
and no need to use it for, like, WhatsApp.
Am I doing the right speed?
I'm driving at about 70? Is it too slow?
-No, you have only 60.
-Should I be going slower?
-60 is okay, 60.
-You're using your phone.
Yes, my wife is…
Oh, is that different?
The rules are off if it's your wife?
Fine. Well, if my wife phones,
I'll… But that's fine, carry on.
I am done to drive, you drive now.
If I drive, I cannot…
You chat to the wife, Mubarek.
I'll drive. That's fine.
-You chat, you say hello for me.
-Oh, no problem.
Because the road to the hotel
is a relentless descent,
you're legally obliged to use
a four-wheel drive vehicle.
A normal car runs the risk
of dangerously overheating brakes.
Too fast?
-Not need fast.
-Okay.
Because if fast like that,
it's not good to you.
-No?
-Yeah, the guest is with you.
-Oh, of course, the guest.
-Drive. Safety.
Okay, I… Okay.
With my driving not impressing, I thought
maybe I should learn some Arabic.
What do I need to learn
to say to the guests?
How do I say "Hello
and welcome to the hotel"? Yeah.
-Peace be upon you. Thank God you're safe.
-Thank God for your well-being..
-Yes.
-And we're gonna stop, so…
See, he's not a very good driver, is he?
Shall we wind down the window and shout?
What?
-Crazy! Can I…
-Crazy!
Crazy!
He's a complete crazy.
To avoid our road rage escalating,
Mubarek suggests we take a break.
And then that's the hotel?
Yes, you can see nice. That's
the Anantara Hotel in the nice view.
In the hotel, where the men
and women work together,
-Yeah.
-that didn't use to happen in Oman, right?
No, that's okay now,
because all think open now,
that needed the jobs same as man
and woman, that's okay.
-Is that okay?
-Yeah.
What if your daughter
wanted to work in the hotel?
No, my daughter,
that's maybe leave it. No need.
-Why not?
-No need, that's…
Nothing. There's no need.
In Oman, fathers and husbands are legally
considered to be the heads of household.
Only in 2003
were all women allowed to vote.
The hotel employees 46 expat women,
but it also has a small number of Omanis.
We are six Omani women
who work in the hotel.
With a degree in chemical engineering,
Marshaal is in charge of food hygiene
and determined to break the mold.
The women can do anything,
and they can even be better than the men.
Marshaal's very feisty.
She's not scared of saying
what she thinks.
It's her first managerial role,
which she's… And she's Omani lady.
So you can imagine that wasn't embraced
with open arms
by a lot of the guys at the resort.
She goes and tells them herself,
and they do it.
-Kitchen.
-Okay.
Every morning, she checks the chefs
are maintaining standards of hygiene.
-I just want to have a look at your nails.
-Here.
There are 4 kitchens
and 38 employees to monitor.
Almost all of whom are men.
You didn't shave today?
It's like they're our standards.
I have to send him back to shave
and to come back to the kitchen.
Okay.
One of Marshaal's pioneering
Omani colleagues is Amal.
She teaches staff English.
I advise Omani ladies to work in tourism.
I want to advise those families
who strict their ladies.
I want to tell them it's good,
let her to see her life. She will work.
She will be strong. She will be a leader.
She will protect herself and don't worry.
In Oman, industries like hospitality
where women mix with men
are traditionally frowned upon.
Over coffee and dates, I've got a chance
to find out how much Marshaal and Amal
feel about working in the hotel.
What do the locals or the people in
your community think of you working here?
My family, actually,
they are totally fine,
and they always supported me,
especially my father.
I have to be honest,
I can't say that they love me,
a woman who's working in hospitality.
They cannot accept woman
who's dealing with guys too much.
You understand me?
-Yep.
-But I think, for me, I have to ignore
because I'm doing just my duty,
and they know I'm living.
How do you think the hotel
has changed women's lives here?
I mean, woman does come to here,
and they see that there is Arab ladies
or Omani ladies working here.
And they feel that, oh, Oman has changed.
Could you imagine one day having
an Omani woman as a general manager here?
-I want to be a general manager.
-Well, you can.
-Yes, maybe, I'll be the first Omani.
-Yes. Right there.
Yeah. Really, I'm working on it.
For me, it's still surprising to come to a
place where women working alongside men
is seen as novel,
where there is much to celebrate.
These women want more.
They want their independence.
And they're working for it.
And to see that happen for me
is something to rejoice,
and it's empowering.
In some hotels, housekeeping
can traditionally be seen as women's work.
But here, they have
an almost exclusively male team.
Yes, I like things in spick and span
and has to be perfect for the guests.
Ateev Shah is executive housekeeper
and a man who takes his job personally.
I'm not married. Yeah, you can say
that housekeeping is my girlfriend.
We're preparing one
of the 82 standard rooms.
For Ateev, it's about more than
just keeping the rooms clean.
He demands creativity from his team.
We have to fold it
and then we start rolling it.
Today, we're using towels
to make elephants.
They also make monkeys and swans.
Wow. Look at that.
Look at his little head.
Then we fold it from the center.
And there is an elephant.
-So you want to try?
-Yeah.
So we basically want the legs
to be sort of the same size, don't we?
Yeah.
Okay. And then… flip it like that.
Which actually looks like
a snowman naked bending down.
The pressure to impress Ateev
is beginning to tell.
This is definitely
the only way you can do it?
-Okay, let me help you.
-No!
When people doesn't do the attention
to detail, it's pinch in my heart.
No, leave my elephant legs alone.
Okay, and then you turn him
around like that?
And then, don't come, don't come undone.
There we are.
It's looking like a baby elephant.
Thank you. A baby elephant
after a difficult birth.
-Yes. It's something unique.
-So, what's that amazing smell?
Yeah, it's a rosewater,
which we use it in our guest rooms.
We do it on the curtains.
Rosewater is traditionally used
in the Middle East
to make houses and people smell good.
And then we do it in bathroom, shower area
and the main bathroom, and it's finish.
-So how much more do I need? Lots?
-No, it's enough, enough.
The area around the hotel
is famous for its rosewater.
And Sheikh Abdullah,
along with growing pomegranates,
uses age old methods
to produce it in his workshop.
Hello. Peace be upon you.
Oh, my word.
I'm going to help Abdullah
make a batch of his potent perfume.
Oh, you can smell them. Wow.
How many roses does it take
to make a bottle?
Over several hours,
the fire heats the roses.
The steam from the petals condenses on the
plate above and drips down into the bowl.
-In.
-You put water on that?
Rosewater has a host of uses.
The rose-infused water
has already begun to condense.
-Look at that.
-Yeah.
-Wow. That is amazing.
-Okay.
Once the cooking process
is over, the liquid is strained
and left to settle for two and a half
months before being decanted.
A bottle of this precious solution
costs 12 pounds.
Omani.
Yeah.
-Yeah?
-Okay.
-Smells quite smoky, yes?
-Yes, okay.
Smells smoky. That's beautiful.
-Yeah.
-It's fantastic.
What a great way
to refresh yourself as well.
Thanks a lot. Goodbye.
-Okay.
-Goodbye.
Using rosewater to keep the hotel
smelling fragrant
is only one
of housekeeper Ateev's responsibilities.
It's also down to him to keep
everything looking immaculate.
This hotel is positively brimming with
ornate ceilings and beautiful chandeliers,
which is lovely on paper
if you're an architect,
and beautiful to look at
if you're a guest.
Not so much fun if you have to clean them.
So these are the lights,
which we're going to clean today.
And you saved this job
till I was available to help you.
-Yes, definitely.
-Someone thought I might be handy.
Yes.
-Before we start, you can wear gloves.
-Do I need gloves?
Yes.
The chandelier hangs across two floors
connecting the cocktail bar
and the Al Qalaa restaurant.
It's made up of 53 different lights.
It's like polishing Christmas decorations.
It's like Christmas every day.
Some of the areas, still, dust is there.
Okay, but not bad.
Quite fun getting these.
As you spend time in the hotel, it becomes
obvious that not all the staff are Omani.
You're not from around here, are you?
-I am from India, basically.
-What's the place that most are from?
Like we can say Indians are there,
then you can take Sri Lankan.
There are from Pakistan.
There are from like UK,
then you can say Philippines.
And why are there so many foreigners
working in the hotel?
There are lots of Omanis
also working in our companies,
but we are not comfortable
to clean up the rooms.
With its oil wealth,
Oman has become accustomed
to relying on foreign workers,
the rights of whom have at times
been under the spotlight.
Although the place feels quite Omani,
and when you arrive,
you are greeted by Omanis,
and the whole vibe here
is designed to be local,
it's become very clear from talking
to Ateev that to keep it actually running,
they are depending on hundreds of people
who are not Omani, who are expats.
Of the hotel's 260 staff,
190 are from overseas.
Keeping them happy whilst living
and working on a remote desert mountain
is a challenge for Darren.
We have over 30 nationalities here
from various cultures,
all continents of the globe.
The community
is very much ingrained in us.
I think a lot of it is we all
live together. We're a family.
I know it's a cliché, but we literally
live, feed, sleep together.
Maybe not sleep together.
When I was in the Army, one thing
that bought us all together was sport.
In the shadow
of the staff accommodation block
sits the most unlikely of sporting venues.
A cricket pitch hewn from the rock.
-Quite a big crowd today.
-Ready?
It's a long wicket for a game
with a tennis ball, isn't it?
-You want to see them play.
-Are you really good?
Really good.
They'll have fun bowling out
an Englishman, won't they?
I've been picked to play for housekeeping
against the might of food and beverage.
I'm playing alongside Ateev.
Is it important that we win?
Yes, definitely.
One has to win, so that is the most…
Does housekeeping normally win?
-Do we generally…
-Yes.
Darren is umpiring today.
Make sure you get this guy out,
first ball.
Go!
Yes.
Do you get the Omanis
playing cricket with you or not?
Yes. Sometimes some of the Omanis
are also keen to play with this game.
They are also taking part
in playing cricket with us,
so we are also giving them a chance
to play and then they also learning.
With a total of 70 on the board,
it's food and beverage's turn to bat.
It doesn't start well for them.
I never thought I'd play cricket in
the Middle East. I've played in Malaysia.
I've played in Yorkshire.
Never played in the Middle East before.
Very exciting.
And I actually took a catch.
It's easy to see why cricket
is so important for Ateev and the others.
I'm a long way from home
but only for a week or so.
It's already making me feel lifted
and excited
and happy about being here
and working in the hotel.
But to get out, play cricket
in this kind of surroundings,
who couldn't feel enlivened?
It's a big win for housekeeping,
but our victory
is not the only cause for celebration.
The hotel is about to have
its first birthday.
The first year anniversary
is a huge milestone.
We want the anniversary party
to be as local as possible.
And you can't have an Omani party
without a goat.
I've headed down the mountain
to stock up for the festivities.
I have never bought a live goat before,
and I have no idea where to start.
Luckily, I'm with Chef Ibrahim
and Mountain Guide Mahir.
Who has been buying and selling goats here
since he was a child.
-Wow, busy now.
-Always busy.
Farmers employ salesmen from the market
to parade their animals
in front of potential buyers.
Oh, little baby.
The baby is for farming, not for cooking.
-Okay.
-It's only for farming, yeah.
A top breeding goat
sells for as much as 1,000 pounds
but normal prices are about £100.
If I choose, I want to take it home.
Here, you try before you buy. Each goat
must be inspected before we make an offer.
-So we check these.
-Yeah.
It shows that it's really young.
-Monica?
-Yeah?
-See the teeth?
-The teeth's the same, man.
Six to eight months. The age of this goat.
We will take this one.
-We take this one?
-We take this one.
-74.
-Mohamad, 74!
Before we go,
I want to talk to the seller.
Does he have a big herd?
He have almost like 70 goats like this.
-70? Oh, my goodness.
-Yeah.
Yeah, he loves to be with a goat.
-He loves his goat?
-Yeah.
Thank you. Goodbye.
Back at the hotel, Ibrahim and I
are reunited with the goat.
Now this kind of salt rubbing
I'm familiar with.
Yes.
No pomegranates this time,
we're using a blend of Omani spices.
That smells fantastic.
The goat will be
the centerpiece of the party.
Executive Chef Sam is cooking it
using a traditional Omani method.
So if you tell an Omani
that they've got goat for dinner,
the immediate thing
that they think about is shuwa.
What do you do?
Do you toothpick it together or…
Basically, what it involves is cooking
a goat in a pit with embers.
And it's cooked for 24 hours.
It's used in celebrations.
It's used in weddings
So this is the first thing
they think about goat.
Having wrapped the meat
in local banana leaves,
we head to the hotel's own shuwa
in the garden.
The shuwa both cooks and smokes the meat.
-We close it now?
-Yep. Perfect.
How long will it cook for?
-It's gonna cook until tomorrow.
-Really? That long?
We're going to leave it in there
all night, for 24 hours.
It's the morning of the first year
anniversary party,
a chance for Darren
to say thank you to his staff.
I am very proud when I look at my team.
I dunno if I'll ever have
a team as good as this.
All right, mate, I'm here to help.
Don't worry. It'll all be fine.
Just under two hours till we start.
I'm already nervous
because it's the one year anniversary.
I've got my speech.
It's quite emotional for me
when I think back to the journey
where this all started.
Along with the team, there will be
hotel guests, media, the owners,
and an alarming number of men with guns.
We've got high profile VIPs
from the owners' party,
-Yes.
-so there'll be security.
The band has arrived and is practicing.
It turns out even they're packing heat.
An interesting musical instrument
this fellow's got.
-An M16.
-Yeah.
Just behind the courtyard,
we're back at Sam's goat pit.
It smells amazing from here.
It's been a while now, hasn't it?
The goat has been cooking
for the last 24 hours.
Oh, look at this.
You have that little bit
of a charred taste.
You can also taste all the spices
and a little bit of the infusion
and the smell from the banana leaf.
-It's delicious.
-I could eat all this now, actually.
You've got a nice big chunk there.
We're not going to have
anything left for our anniversary.
We're turning
the distinctly Omani tasting goat
into something more international.
Canapés.
Before any of the party guests can eat,
it's Darren's big moment.
Good morning, everybody.
I'd like to thank the team. We have
the most amazing team in this resort.
I feel proud and humble to lead you.
I feel proud and humble to know you.
And I feel proud and humble to have you
with me on this exciting journey.
So I would like to ask everybody
to thank the amazing team
that work here
at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar. Thank you.
I need a cigarette.
With the speeches over, it's time
to serve our smoky goat canapés.
-Would you like to try one?
-Sure.
-It's good? Yes?
-Yes.
Thank you. Enjoy.
And it turns out that even though
it's 11 in the morning,
and there isn't a drink in sight,
it's time to dance.
Seeing Darren and his team
celebrate together,
you're reminded how different it is here
to the world outside,
but also how well it seems to work.
It is a great event.
There was an amount of stress beforehand.
Darren was all worried.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it
would just be the man standing there,
just clapping.
And they were all the kind of Indians
and Sri Lankans and Pakistanis
are all there in amongst the Omanis.
And they were sort of,
yeah, it was sort of a…
They'd sort of made a new thing out
of all the different constituent parts.
And with its inclusivity,
the celebrations really capture
the ethos of the hotel itself.
Yeah, I mean, they haven't got
100% authentic Omani here,
but what they do have
is very distinctive and special.