The lobby of the Grand Hyatt Muscat. While it may seem odd, the major luxury hotels and resorts here are billed as tourist attractions, and since most museums, stores and other destinations were closed due to Eid, the Ramadan holiday, we went to look at some of them.

According to Lonely Planet’s “Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula”: “This hotel is pure kitsch! Allegedly designed by a Yemeni prince, the exterior owes much to Disney, while its stained-glass and marble interior is a cross between art deco and a royal Bedouin tent.”