Arabian Nights Resort & Spa

Sand runs to the horizon on every side, broken only by the low wooden roofline of the villas and the pale curve of the pool deck. Arabian Nights Resort & Spa sits deep in the Wahiba Sands, 27 km off-road from Bidiya, a drive that needs a 4x4 and a drop in tyre pressure. It is a quiet stretch to reach. Superior and Premier Dune Villas each have their own bathroom and a private sit-out facing the dunes, while the One Bedroom Suite Villa adds a sofa and a fuller view of the desert beyond. At night the resort's glamping camp pitches tents further into the sands, reached by camel or 4x4 from a nearby Bedouin house, where a private chef serves a five-course dinner in a Majlis tent lit by fire and stars. You can hear the wind shift across the dunes from the terrace after dark. By day, guests cool off in the main pool or head out on quad bikes, sandboards and fat bikes, or book a massage at the Rihla Spa, where treatments draw on Omani ingredients like desert sand and local herbs. Dining runs through Rimaal restaurant and a poolside bar, both open through the day. Mornings begin with coffee brought to the tent and a chef-cooked breakfast served outside as the dunes catch the first light.