Alila Jabal Akhdar

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Alila is Sanskrit for “surprise.” And it’s a surprise, indeed, to find one of the Alila group’s impeccably stylish luxury boutique hotels in so remote a corner of the Middle East — Oman’s Al Hajar mountain range, to be exact. It requires some effort to get to Alila Jabal Akhdar, and that’s exactly the appeal. This is not just a boutique hotel with serious design chops: it’s an oasis, secluded and self-contained, with a spectacular spa and an infinity pool that’s perfectly placed for drinking in views of the stark landscape.

For their first hotel in the Middle East, Alila pulled out all the stops, tapping the UK-based architecture firm Atkins and Thailand’s P49 Design to build a LEED-certified complex out of locally sourced stone and wood. The result is serene, green, and supremely stylish, with artisanal touches, from copper fixtures to woven basketry and painted ceramics, that remind you where you are. 78 spacious suites feature dark carved-wood furnishings, king-sized beds, juniper wall murals hand-painted by a local artist, and private stone balconies facing the horizon, ridge, or mountains. Bathrooms, massively sized and impossibly sleek with deep marble tubs and custom products, are a particular highlight. A pair of villas come with private pools and large wooden decks with cozy seating areas.

At the center of things is a striking infinity pool, perfectly heated according to the climate and surrounded by romantic stone cabanas; when the sky darkens, casting the surrounding mountainscape into sharp relief, it’s a surreal place to float or lounge on a chaise. On the other side of a glass wall is a candle-framed indoor plunge pool, and beyond, the earthily seductive Juniper dining room, appropriately specializing in sophisticated tagines served beneath the glow of colorful lanterns. The Rose Lounge mixes drinks, just not ones with alcohol — this is still Oman, after all, so your indulgence might have to take the form of a fragrant massage inspired by age-old local traditions in the gorgeous Spa Alila.