Thanks for continuing here to Part 2 of this series of two Posts showing Qurum Beach and The CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT Hotel.
I was up early this morning to head up the road from my hotel to visit the CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT. I left my hotel at 6:30AM to beat the heat. It is supposed to reach 97F today here in Muscat, the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman.
As I walked out of my hotel, two friends that I am getting to know walked past me. They are getting a real kick out of me, see them smiling, shooting their photographs. I wonder just how many, of the tens of thousands of tourists they have seen, have paid any pleasant / positive attention to them.
Here we go. We will walk straight ahead up to the main road and then up to the CROWNE PLAZA.
Pray to Allah that you have money to pay your hotel bill!
Me and the help, out on the below balcony, just hanging out, doing a little photo-shoot guys. The tennis courts in the right background. The swimming pool 90-degrees hard right.
My table.
At best, I probably only got a taste of 50% of what was available.
Plain and Pineapple Yogurt. Scrambled Eggs. French Toast. Pancake. Chicken and Spicy Sausages.
Love is lovelier, the second time around.
Mediterranean Items. Hummus. Greek Olives. Feta Cheese and other things. Orange Juice with fruit in it.
Happy I snapped a second view below. All of it good.
Six, to-die-for, Bakery Treats.
Another nice second view.
I ate them slowly and very methodically.
Fruit. Great Fruit.
Really nice Fruit. Oh My Yes!
Do I need more than this meal to start my day? I think not!
The cost (I have to pay for breakfast here) is US $6.50 !!
The issue here goes beyond mere money.
In the photo above, I see the boats you see below quite differently when I walk to the beach from my hotel.
Home Sweet Home at the Qurum Beach Hotel. 'MY' Hotel.
I was up early this morning to head up the road from my hotel to visit the CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT. I left my hotel at 6:30AM to beat the heat. It is supposed to reach 97F today here in Muscat, the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman.
As I walked out of my hotel, two friends that I am getting to know walked past me. They are getting a real kick out of me, see them smiling, shooting their photographs. I wonder just how many, of the tens of thousands of tourists they have seen, have paid any pleasant / positive attention to them.
Here we turn to our right.
It is a bit of a trek up hill.
Our first glimpse of the hotel up close and more personal than from afar down on the beach.
Hello CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT .. HELLO ..
In Dubai, and here in Muscat on the Gulf of Oman, boats are a real part of local history.
We are about to get up close and real personal with the CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT.
Gullible, you have not commented on this new 'Clean Photo Filter' I am using on my camera to make everything I photograph look spic and span and spotless.
Amazing isn't it!
After I entered the lobby area and walked around a bit, I ventured outside.
A quick aside here. I am not sure how many people would have the 'certain moxy' that I seem to possess to be able to just walk in and do a photo shot in a hotel of this calibre. Nobody seems to mess around with me.
Grey of hair and age of 80, wearing a dress shirt and my black dress slacks, I probably looked like I belong here.
Lord God of Abraham, there are people who take all of this for granted! People who have an attitude of, "I am entitled to this and more."
This is the RITZ!
Will you all just look at this!
Muscat, The Sultanate of Oman, who would have thought this!
Out in the distance below is the beach from whence I have been looking up at you Miss CROWNE PLAZA.
Yes! Down .. Way down there .. I've been looking up at you.
There, below in the distance, is my Japengo Cafe. Where I went to eat after I hit the suicide wall a few days ago.
Telephoto closeup of Japengo Cafe.
With all of this in my hand, at my finger tips, how on this good earth could I ever consider suicide? Crazy, Nutso, Insane, Sick in the Head, how about those adjectives Captain?
You want irrational? You got irrational! A brain chemical imbalance wins out every time over clear thinking.
LORD GOD OF ABRAHAM, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH ..
THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOUR LITTLE CAPTAIN TO EAT SOME FOOD.
Below is the outside dining area. I ate inside. I ate near the food!
All Hands On Deck! Prepare to land the landing force! Over the side we go lads!
Oh Good Lord Oh God of Abraham!
Plain and Pineapple Yogurt. Scrambled Eggs. French Toast. Pancake. Chicken and Spicy Sausages.
Fried Tomato. Baked Beans. A wonderful, crusty, bread end, just left to die alone at the cutting board. A Bakery Treat. Amazing potato wedges.
THE MAN, the Maitre D' himself, came up to me. Michael, from Cape Town, South Africa. Class. Pure Class. British Elegance. A tall man. We really hit-it-off. You would have thought, he thought, that I was some man myself. We visited three or four mini-sessions of chatting.
And then? It was over. My Dad had a saying, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it."
I did not ask the Hostess the price of the Breakfast Buffet going in.
Translation: 15.262 Oman Rial totals US $39.68.
Was it worth it. Yes! It was worth it. No! It wasn't worth it.
As a once-in-a-lifetime, happening event, it was worth every single cent I paid. I am not in a class that I do this very often.
Food wise, it simply was not worth the cost. A great steak dinner at a good restaurant is a better option.
I get more pure joy eating on my breakfast buffet in Dubai at my Al Farej Hotel.
No! No! No! Of course I am not saying the breakfast buffet at Al Farej is better. It is not. I am only saying that, for me, the cost of US $39.68 makes it prohibitive cost wise.
Now sports fans, look if you will, at my breakfast buffet here in my Qurum Beach Hotel.
The issue here goes beyond mere money.
You can't put a price tag on a once in a life-time event. I will always be able to proudly say:
I DID ..
The Breakfast Buffet, at THE CROWNE PLAZA in Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman.
That experience, not the food, pays for the cost of the tab.
A few random photos I snapped as I left the grounds.
The walk back to my hotel.
Yes, there is no doubt, these two posts just ran away from me. But what is IS and some one of you may just get some enjoyment from my adventure today.
Smiling Smiles of Joy .. Cap
Cap, I don't know what you mean by "clean photo filter" so I haven't commented on it. There is some nice composition in many of your photos. As for the buffet, you ate FIVE normal-people meals and you say $40 isn't worth it????
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, things, venues, here in the Mid-East are clean, spotless. I am just kidding saying I have a lens filter that makes the many venues that I photograph look as clean and as spotless as they are in actuality.
DeleteNo, I don't think, at $8 a plate (five plates that cost the sum total of $40) the cost pans out all that well. How about the people who are picky, picky, eaters that eat only one tiny plate? Or a cup of coffee and one pastry. For $40. It is those people who make money for the buffet. Can you imagine the waste of food at the end of the meal? Thanks for your insights. Cap
I am one of those people for whom a buffet like this is NOT worth attending since I tend to eat one helping ... the fruit looks very appealing to me! Nice, VERY NICE hotel, as lovely inside as it looks from afar! Smiles for the walk to and fro ... Patti
ReplyDeleteShowing the walk to and fro, up and back to the hotel, shows some of the local area one would never see. I wonder IF the breakfast buffet goes-with the cost of one's room or IF it is an add-on. I would bet that it is included. They cannot put out a spread like they have and then just-hope people flock to eat there. Here in my hotel, where breakfast is an add-on, I have seen only one lady, one day, eating here in my dining room. It makes me a little sad to see no one is giving them business. Oh YES the fruit was wonderful. I will go back up to the hotel and ask them these questions. I did not price the cost of rooms at their front desk, or better on line, either. Smiles and Love and Thanks, Cap
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