• Dramatic, out of the way location right on the Persian Gulf.
• All-Villa property, each having a gorgeous pool.
• Guests have a selection of memorable dining options and butler service.
• Vinotheque – their well stocked wine cellar.
• Six Senses Spa- focuses on holistic and pampering therapies using only natural products.
The Whole Story
Zighy Bay is a spectacle, a raw, rugged magnificent spectacle. Situated on the northernmost tip of Arabia, on the Musandam Peninsula: a piece of the Sultanate of Oman separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. The landscape is as inhospitable as it is beautiful, and tantalising because it is so inaccessible. This is where the country’s barren primeval mountains drop precipitously into the blue waters of the Persian Gulf. It is not a gentle landscape, the contrast between the sickle-shaped sandy beaches and the bare prehistoric rubble is profound. The perfect place for a hideaway, that’s certainly what Sonu Shivdasani thought when he first stumbled across it. The easy bit was to imagine it as a hideaway, the hard bit came later. Zighy Bay proved a logistical nightmare that involved amongst many things having to build a road where the sheer hostility of the surrounds had previously made it impossible to do so.
Now fast forward a few years; a car is there to pick you up at Dubai airport, and you start your drive in the flat expanses of sandy desert that surrounds this metropolis. The surroundings gradually become ever more barren, but less flat, and just before you reach the Oman border the road is surrounded on either side by jagged peaks completely devoid of any vegetation or colour, save for the shadows. As the surrounding mountains get higher and steeper, the terrain becomes less and less hospitable, while visually it is becoming more spectacular. Then suddenly the road stops, replaced by a gravel path in identikit colour to the mountains. There are no more villages, in fact no signs of civilization except the odd pole holding up electricity wires. It’s a landscape of rock, rubble and mountain goats. When you pass a checkpoint the road (gravel path) really starts to twist and climb, and you sense something is about to happen. It brings you to the edge of a ridge, and there before you way below is the dark blue of the Gulf of Oman. Ever so faintly you can make out a village of stone houses on the white sickle-shaped beach that defines the bay. There are two options at this point; the more predictable one is you get back in your four wheel drive and wind down the road that takes you to the bay below, or you can fly down. Zighy Bay has a Bulgarian flight instructor who, if you’re in the mood for more spectacle, will strap you in and run off the cliff, and courtesy of the thermals that continuously make their way up the mountain, you can paraglide into the resort below.
At first glance, particularly in the shimmering heat, this doesn’t look like a hotel – it looks and feels like an authentic Omani village. In fact the box-like stone structures are very similar in shape and makeup to old houses found in the area. Appropriate and authentic are the first words that come to mind. Zighy Bay is done in a style that adds powerfully to the experience.
For many centuries this area was renowned for its inaccessibility and its sparsely populated remoteness. A handful of tiny fishing villages were only accessible by water. Cleverly the Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay capitalises on this sensation of splendid isolation. The contrast of the placid waters of the Gulf of Oman, with the jagged sepia-toned peaks of the mountains behind is extreme. Better still, this isolation is virtually guaranteed, because the partners in the project for Zighy Bay own the entire bay, and as a first step to ensuring the integrity of this project, they built a checkpoint which vets any entrance to the property i.e. you can only access Zighy Bay if you are a guest, a local or a fisherman.
In many ways Zighy Bay and Al Maha are very similar. They are both projects that introduce an authentic slice of the Middle East without resorting to cliché. It’s all about creating a memorable experience, and to that extent Zighy Bay has gone to extraordinary lengths. Not only do the guest houses resemble traditional Musandam dwellings, but the raw, rugged simplicity of the style carries on in the interior: lamps made from split bamboo, exposed beams, reeds and trimmed braches for ceiling construction, rough rendering, and chairs and tables made from hand-hewn massive pieces of wild timber. The impression is ethnic with a capital ‘E’, and yet all the refinements guests expect are here also. The bathrooms are open plan and loft-like, each villa has its own swimming pool (chilled in the summer), and there is a spa, three restaurants, two bars and a tasting cellar. In terms of restaurants, one of them called Dining On the Edge deserves special mention: perched on the very top of the jagged stone peaks that surround the bay, it is literally on the edge – of a thousand-odd drop to the bay below. It’s an eagle’s nest and it exists only to offer guests the opportunity of an amazing view while they are dining.
Most books on Oman, Arabia’s third largest country, which describe this nation’s diversity in terms of terrain do not fail to mention the land of the Jirz, so named because traditionally the men would wear a small axe with a decorative blade instead of a curved knife in their belt. This tip of Arabia, where the jagged mountains plummet to the sea, has captured the imagination of journalists and journeymen alike. Now, thanks to the Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay it is possible to experience the land of the Jirz, not just read about it.
The Rooms
79 pool villas, plus The Private Reserve, and 2 Retreats are a blend of the surrounding traditional Omani, indigenous village style with modern amenities which provide luxury amidst local cultural themes. The villas offer a spacious, personal environment with rustic chic décor and all have a private infinity-edged pool and a summer house.
Pool Villas - present a studio design concept, offering sleeping and living areas and indoor and outdoor showers.
Beachfront Pool Villas offering direct access to the beach are also available.
Spa Pool Villas are highlighted with a personal in-villa Spa in which guests can enjoy Six Senses Spa treatments by skilled therapists, within the privacy of their own villas.
Zighy Pool Villas offer two separate levels with 1 bedroom and the living room on the lower level and a verandah and a second bedroom on the upper level. They present a great combination of personal space and spectacular views.
Other room types are also available.