Gateway Salalah punches well above its price point: enormous apartments, genuinely warm staff who go out of their way, and a location glued to a major mall and 10 minutes from the airport. The overwhelming majority of guests leave happy and many say they'd return.
🚩 Red Flags
“Rock-hard beds, like sleeping on a bare wooden plank. After we requested and got something like a mattress protector an inch thick the beds were bearable but not comfortable.”
“Furniture and fittings were of extremely low quality. Sofa in the lounge and two single beds were made of hard board with cloth mounted without any foam in it. Both were too hard to sit or sleep.”
“The bed was very hard - I checked to see if it was an actual mattress - it was.”
“The whole place seriously needs renovating, the rooms and the building are very run-down, all the furniture is scuffed, smudges on the walls, a tear in the living room couch, stains on the chairs.”
“The hotel furniture is very dilapidated and needs rehabilitation. The entrance is inside a petrol station. Cleanliness is insufficient and the price is exaggerated.”
“Outdated fittings — door handle broke on day 1, bathroom light goes off and on frequently.”
“The drainage for the waste shower water needs sorting out. Water pools in the middle of the bathroom. The shower tray needs removing and replaced with a simple wet floor system.”
“The toilet cistern constantly drips, there is no shower enclosure.”
“Grimy bathroom fixtures, smelly bathroom. Ill-fitting kitchen window through which the smell of cigarette smoke wafted in several times a day.”
“No cleaning was done in 4 nights and even for breakfast we had to find a staff member to clear the table from plates that sat there until evening.”
“The place is dirty — it really needs a good clean, and a shower curtain.”
“The hotel needs renovation — the cleanliness of the rooms and bathrooms leaves something to be desired.”
“Bathrooms can be better. Exhaust was broken and insects came in at night. Hot water didn't last long.”
“The structure faces a fast-moving road, so traffic noise is audible even at night and early morning.”
“The road is just beside the property and very noisy as it is steep.”
“There was a smell of cigarettes in the room.”
“Ill-fitting kitchen window through which the smell of cigarette smoke wafted in several times a day.”
“The breakfast was rather disappointing. There was no buffet breakfast as in the photographs. This may have been due to the number of guests opting for a breakfast option.”
“Food was disappointing in quality and price. It was advertised as buffet, but there was none available at all. A simple egg sandwich was priced way higher than a decent restaurant.”
“WiFi signal could be improved.”
“The internet is not good — it doesn't work on all devices and sometimes has issues with some apps.”