“In December 2010 I made a brief visit to the fabulous Six Senses Zighy Bay Hotel. Nestling in a glorious sparkling bay on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, it is an easy 90-minute drive from Dubai airport.

Leaving the glittering city high rises behind and passing wild camels dotted around Devon-red sandunes on a route which cuts through the mountains, you cross the most casual of checkpoints. With a flash of my passport we wound up into the mountains again, at last coming across an imposing stone arched gateway which leads to the hotel. From here it’s up onto a ridge by 4WD for the faint-hearted or, for the brave, the excitement of being strapped on to your paraglider, to descend the hillside into the most stunning bay. I confess to having taken the former route!

Here are azure waters, soft white sand, clusters of palms and low level adobe buildings dotted along the beach, all blending in with one another. The hotel’s 82 private plunge-pooled villas are connected by narrow sandy alleys and the main pool is sculpted to be like a kind of heavenly wadi. All the villas have a delightful private courtyard where you can dip a toe in the pool or relax in your sit-out or loungers whilst contemplating your next adventure — be it diving with whale sharks, dining at the cliff-top restaurant Senses on the Edge which overlooks the bay or enjoying a private party in the underground cool of the Wine Cellar. Kayaking, hiking, boat trips and waterskiing are all there — heaven-sent diversions for some, but for many people it’s the amazing spa which tempts them back time and again. As for me, well time was too short on this occasion but I’ve earmarked this destination as a ‘must-return’!”