I’m not sure if we’ve ever written an article about a hotel before, but The Suwgra is unique and a destination in it’s own right. You’ll know you’re heading somewhere special right from the drive in when you catch a glimpse of the village clinging to the edge of a huge cliff. It’s more like something you would expect to read about in a novel than somewhere you can stay in real life.

To set the tone: this is a place that actually has a rule that all external lights must be switched off by 10pm so that guests can enjoy the wonder of a truly dark night sky! It’s a hotel rule I’ve not seen before, but one I dearly wish to see again.

It was more an experience than a hotel stay and one of the best things we did in our five week trip to Oman. Here’s what to expect from staying at The Suwgra and as I am aware this will read like a sponsored post, just know that it isn’t, we paid full price for our stay : )

What exactly is The Suwgra (aka The Cliff Guesthouse)?

The Suwgra is a hotel located in a 500 year old village and every bit as atmospheric as you might expect. The rooms are located in the old buildings, so you can expect a higgledy piggledy mix of different shapes and sizes, from basic to quite luxurious.

All have phenomenal canyon views.

The hotel is run by the village’s former inhabitants and the conversion from local village to hotel has been done beautifully. It still very much feels like you’re staying in a traditional village.

I won’t spoil too much of the talk that you’ll get at dinner about the history of the place, but essentially the locals left to live on the other side of the canyon in order to have direct road access.

The village fell into disrepair and in order to save it they opened up a guesthouse, starting with two rooms and now up to eleven - though it will not expand much more than that in order to keep the old world charm.

There is no direct road access to the hotel so everyone must walk for 450m down into the canyon and then up the other side. The path is paved and in excellent condition, but does have quite a few steps.

Luggage is transferred on a pulley system which is fun if slightly unnerving to watch - especially if you live out of a suitcase like us and all your worldly possessions are dangling high above the valley floor!

Dinner and breakfast is prepared by the local women in the new village (on the other side of the canyon) and transferred on that same pulley system.

There is little to do in the area beyond hiking, but honestly, just coming over for the afternoon and evening and leaving the next day, which is all we had time to do, was oh so worth it.

Day trip vs overnight trip

If it’s full or you simply don’t have time to spend the night, you can visit the village on a day trip. The best time to come is between 10am and 2/3pm when overnight guests have checked out and the new guests are yet to check in. If that’s the case, you can wander the village and even have a little look at the rooms.

If there are guests in the rooms you can still come for a wander and a drink at the cafe, but you can’t explore the whole village, as much of it is the rooms themselves.

You can also walk a bit (or all) of the trail that leads to Wakan Village. Going the whole way is a 5-7 hour (one way) endeavour, but even walking a bit of the trail will give you some great views.

There’s an overhang a five minute uphill walk from the last of the hotel rooms and that has one of the best views of the village in my opinion.

The track is uneven but easy enough and the overhang is a good place to sit and take in the views in solitude. Although if there is anything happening in the village the sound does echo around the canyon walls, so you might be alone, but it doesn’t always feel that way!

However, if you can get a reservation then spending the night is much more special. You get to really experience the village and the local hospitality. It’s especially atmospheric at night when it’s lit by lanterns before all light is shut off at 10pm to allow for a proper night sky experience.

What to expect from the hotel itself

Booking.com

The rooms

The rooms are all in the traditional buildings and have been renovated sympathetically. They range from a simple twin like we had right up to large rooms with free standing baths and private terraces with a fireplace.

All have fabulous views of the canyon and even our room (which is the cheapest on offer) came with access to a gorgeous lounge area which we shared with just one other room.

The terraces have beautiful rugs and cushions which form the seating area and then Omani coffee, tea, water and dates available 24/7.

The water is filtered rather than being served in plastic bottles (a rarity in Oman). There are also several outdoor seating areas too, so if you are in one of the smaller rooms it doesn’t really matter as you don’t necessarily spend too much time in the room itself.

Although we did have a look at some of the other rooms when the guests had checked out the next day, we can only really talk about ours.

However our pick of the rooms based on looks was the Burj (Deluxe King Room) and Al Hilhila (Superior King Suite).

We were in “Moon”, which was a standard twin room on the booking sites. Our room was very simple, just two beds with mosquito nets, a mirror and windows out to the canyon.

It still had the traditional walls and wooden ceilings and surprisingly the mattress was actually soft - another rarity in Oman! The door was incredibly narrow, making getting big suitcases in and out an amusing endeavour.

All rooms have private bathrooms, but two of the cheaper rooms (including ours) have bathrooms which are a couple of minutes walk from the room itself.

The bathroom was nice enough, but if you want to really treat yourself, I’d go for one of the rooms with a freestanding tub!

The food

Dinner and breakfast are included in the room rate and cooked by the local women in the new village and sent across on the pulley.

I would have assumed this meant it would be quite cold when served, but that wasn’t the case at all - it was warmer than a lot of the included hotel buffets we had in Oman! It was also the best food of our entire trip.

The food isn’t fancy but everything is fresh and very tasty. There was two different meat dishes, roasted veggies, rice, salad, hummus (the tastiest we had in Oman), a white dip I can’t remember the name of and local bread. It’s served with fresh juice, which was delicious, and then there was homemade cake and tea for dessert.

The cherry on top is that it’s served on a roof terrace with great views.

Breakfast is an egg dish which they called shakshouka, which wasn’t like the Israeli shakshouka, but was delish, as well as bread (both local and western) and homemade beans. Again simple but delicious.

In terms of the set up, you all eat at individual tables, so though there is something of a communal atmosphere, you can totally keep to yourself if you prefer.

The walk to the hotel

Although your luggage will be sent across the wadi on the pulley, you have to walk! It’s not far at just 450m each way, but there are some steps involved, it’s mainly downhill on the way to the hotel.

The paved path is very well maintained.

When you get into the village you will have more stairs, most of the rooms and dining terrace are accessed via staircases, so if stairs are an issue I would flag that and book one of the rooms with the least amount possible (we think the Superior King Suite -Al Hilhila - had the most).

The road to The Suwgra

You do need a 4WD to access the hotel as it’s located in Jebel Akhdar where a 4WD is mandatory and enforced by a police checkpoint. The road is paved up to the last 4km before it becomes a well maintained gravel road.

There are a couple of semi steep bits, not on par with some of the roads around Balad Sayt for example, but steeper than your average, with a sheer drop on one side. The road is not particularly narrow, so with a good car it should be fine (as long as heavy rain hasn’t caused any issues).

I am sure if you don’t have a 4WD you can arrange a pick up, but my guess is that it would be pricey as it’s quite a distance between the checkpoint and the hotel.

You park your car at the very end of the road and this is where you’ll see the pulley system ready to transfer your luggage.

The Suwgra is located around 172km and a 2.5 hour drive from Muscat, 63km and 1 hour 15 minutes from Nizwa and 140m and 2 hours 40 from Jebel Shams. When entering The Suwgra to Google maps it will come up as The Cliff Guesthouse, but it’s the same place.

Booking The Suwgra

Booking.com

Due to the limited number of rooms, The Suwgra can book out quite quickly, so it’s well worth booking in advance. This was the only property which almost sold out during our visit to Oman (we took the last room hence why we could only get the basic twin). We recommend checking availability on the sites below as early as you can in peak season, especially if you have your eye on the Superior King Suites which have the stunning terrace views and bath tub.

Sometimes Booking.com includes free cancellation and all bookings include dinner and breakfast in the price.

You can check out all the rooms and reviews for the hotel on:

Booking.com

Tripadvisor

Also it’s worth addressing price here too. The Suwgra is not cheap, it was actually one of the most expensive hotels we stayed at on our trip. Our particular room was also very simple, especially for the price.

Was it worth it? Yes. Would I stay again? Yes! It’s such a memorable experience and beat the 5 star hotel we stayed at in Muscat out of the water.

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