Six Senses Zighy Bay is the most astoundingly beautiful resort I’ve ever stayed in. After living just over a year in Dubai, and as much as I secretly love the bling-infested buildings and inhabitants of the UAE, Oman continously beckons for a getaway that puts my mind, once again, at temporary ease.

After previously rewarding tent-on-deserted-beach adventures in the northen Omani enclave of Musandam, it was time to check out Zighy Bay, a Six Senses resort located a short hour-and-a-half drive away from home.

We set out early on Friday morning, my bag containing little more than a toothbrush and boardshorts. I was counting on the five-star resort stocking everything else I’d need for the weekend. After a cursory glance at our passports, the Omani border guards waved us through and a short while later we were climbing the steep ascent to Zighy Bay, tightly tucked away in Musandam.

The picture-perfect view enraptured us from above as our driver descended into the bay. All was all turquoise water, sandy beach and date palms. The Omani village looked so sleepy that it might actually have been in a coma, and the heat ensured that I would be within an hour.

Arriving at the resort we were introduced to Julius, our butler. I liked that very much and we decided as a group that the most apt thing to do was to rattle off a string of outrageous requests before we even set eyes on the villa.

Enough has already been written on other sights praising the Omani-style villas, replete with infinity pool, sunlounges, outdoor shower, enormously oversized flatscreen TV (why bother?) and every other amenity that adorns these kinds of places. A whole lof of love, care and attention has gone into the details of this place – dagger-shaped towel hooks fashioned from wood, cigarette lighters encased in a straw sheath. Kinda over-the-top but in a very stylish way. Nothing gleaming, no shiny surfaces and no outlandish use of gaudy colour. This was not Dubai.

The infinity pool quickly became the focal point for the weekend and most of my remaining time in the resort was spent, beverage in hand, moving from one end to the other like a half-mad polar bear trying to make the best of it’s undersized enclosure.

Julius arrived with ice to chill the champagne. Just in time too since the feta cheese and smoked salmon were demanding an appropriate accompaniment. After about five hours and several bottle of France’s finest, I thought perhaps that the beach might be worth a look…

Omani beaches are spectacular. All of them. The water is almost always pristine and there’s inevitably a dramatic backdrop of majestically barren, jagged mountains that were clearly dumped viscously after some primeval upheaval in an age long forgotten. The Omani desert landscape is a beautiful and serene as any I’ve visited.

The sun set slowly while the temperature hovered insistently at an offensive level. Summer heat in this part of the world is quite unlike any climate I’m ever likely to experience again. Sweat beads poured down my back as I sat in the restaurant and exhausted myself by chewing. I was glad to return to the airconditioned comfort of the villa and the newly fill bucket of ice. Juluis was clearly doing his job well.

It was an early night.

Breakfast was ludicrous. The menu was more irrationally large than my imagination and I feasted my way through a fruit platter, some club sandwich construction and regulation coffees. A donut on the way out the door ensured I’d suffer indigestion for my gluttony.

Back in the infinity pool, I started to get that feeling we all suffer from when the first working day of the weeks looms into view. But I managed to blot out such hurtful visions by returning to my polar bear-like existence for a few more hours, chatting with my fellow villa guests and failing to read a chapter of a novel.

Eventually, we had to leave, calling Julius one final time to collect us and our belongings. I was unconsolable and pleased that Juluis knew it too, transporting us the 250m from villa to reception area by golf cart, since in my state of tristesse it would have been impossible for me to cover the distance unaided.

I seriously want to go back. I became used to the infinity pool. Dubai Marina just seems shoddy without one.