Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa, Muscat, Oman

We spent a week here in Feb with 3 kids (2,5 & 7). Really loved it - such an unusual beautiful setting. Overnight flight with Oman Air a bit grim. Got two interconnecting rooms in the child friendly Al Waha - not massive but perfectly adequate. Strong points - food (way beyond expectations and catered well for child with serious allergy - also kids ate free), service (warm and high standard) amazing setting - seeing baby turtles hatch on beach, going dolphin watching. Less good - kids club a bit rubbish, babysitters good value but not very child experienced, concierge service, in terms of prebooking activities etc a bit chaotic. Would however most definitely return.

We needed a place that would be fun for both really young ones and teens and that is not too far, guaranteed sun. This is the place to go! We stayed at the Al Waha, where all the staff were incredibly child friendly. Genuinely sweet with our kids. They had just opened an indoor Children's Adventure Centre while we were there - really nice - it's not free though. The Little Turtles club, which is free, was excellent and my son (2yrs) even asked to go back several times which was nice to give him a break from the sun. The staff inside were lovely. When my son wanted to come out, one of them would carry him and find me. The babysitting service for my 9 month old was very reliable and very reasonably priced. They always accommodated our last minute requests to get a babysitter both during the day and at night. They have two separate baby/toddler pools, water areas that are part shaded with 'sails' to help keep the little ones' skin protected from the sun. They have life guards too. For the teens, there is an excellent diving centre as well as camel riding on the beach. There were a lot of other families there including other teens, all of course checking each other out! ;-)

Yes it is close to the airport so transfers are minimal, it's also vastly different to anything in Dubai (and not necessarily in a good way).

We were unable to use the beach (the sand dredger had left prop oil there - not nice for the little ones), the kids club was dire with staff who were disinterested and babies dumped in front of the tv.

Also we found the food 'ok' but some of the staff in the hotel lacking. For example my 3 yr old was whining (ok, not nice to hear but he was exhausted from flight etc) and started taking the mickey and not in a funny way but it was nasty and unpleasant. Otherwise staff very nice particularly when we had an 'incident' with a middle aged man taking photos of the children in the pool when he had been asked not to. Hmmm, not sure I would return in a hurry.

Fantastic resort-unlike anything anywhere else in the world. Unlike Dubai - huge sense of space all around hotel and a real awareness of being in the middle of the desert. Kids club great for young girls (shell collecting/face painting type of activities) but not at all appealing to 6 -10 year old boys. However football pitches, lazy river, trampoline etc kept them all very busy and happy. Fantastic babysitting service in rooms. Not a cheap option but very, very relaxing and the locals are amazing with children.

Brilliant! Great for young kids - lots of pools, including a shallow one. A river you could ride along on an inflatable ring between sections of the hotel. Superb service. Great food - lots of variety, and a buffet so hungry little one sdon't have to wait. Expensive but definitely worth it for winter sun. Babysitting and childrens club available. Close to airport (40 mins in a cab)