A Tribute to Oman

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has unveiled a new landmark destination overlooking the Omani capital, a city famed for its architectural beauty and natural charm. The interiors were designed by Xavier Cartron Studio, whose work on the project earned accolades at the 2024 LIV Hospitality Design Awards in the Luxury and Middle East categories.

Conceived as a tribute to Omani culture and its longstanding tradition of hospitality, the project strikes a balance between contemporary luxury and local identity – a core principle for the group, where every property is uniquely rooted in its cultural context.

The materials and surfaces are directly inspired by the surrounding landscape, from the mineral texture of stone to the fluidity of water. The architecture acts as a natural extension of the environment, balancing the solidity of matter with the airy lightness of the spaces.

For Xavier Cartron Studio, the project offered an opportunity to translate Oman’s history and traditions into a contemporary interior design inspired by the country’s mosaic of cultural influences. The material palette is dominated by natural, earthy tones and surfaces reminiscent of local stone, resulting in an interior architecture that conveys a sense of calm through its harmonious, understated and elegant spaces.

Within this design framework, a selection of ceramic slabs from Atlas Concorde provides both aesthetic depth and technical reliability. The stone-effect Lims collection, which replicates the warmth of refined limestone in Ivory and Grey, was specified for the floors of the guest rooms, bathrooms and balconies. The sophisticated Kone collection, another limestone-inspired range that fits in perfectly with Muscat’s traditional architecture, is used in other areas such as the Sawa Lounge. In the Lounge Restaurant, stone-effect flooring is paired with the soft elegance of the wood-look Etic Pro collection in an oak finish.

“We chose Atlas Concorde for this project because of their product quality, reliability, production lead times and the sheer variety of their collections,” explains Xavier Cartron. “The biggest challenge was balancing cultural authenticity with the high standards of the Mandarin Oriental brand. Atlas Concorde’s porcelain slabs helped to define the project’s identity across both the private and public spaces of the new hotel.”