GM Interview: Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar's Darren Darwin

It’s a long way up to the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort. Some 2,000m above sea level to be precise, on the Saiq Plateau atop Oman’s fabled Green Mountain on the edge of a curving rim of a great canyon.

“Elevated in both location and authentic luxury,” Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar claims, zeugmatically, the hotel is the highest five-star resort in the Middle East and one of the highest in the world. And with rooms and villas perched right on the cliff edge, the property is not for the vertiginous.

Neither is it for a faint-hearted general manager. The logistics alone involved in operating and supplying such a hotel require serious planning.

Everything has to come up the mountain by road. A cable car was once mooted but rejected. And civilian helicopters are restricted by the proximity of the hotel to an army base.

It is a two hour journey from Muscat in a modern 4x4 with good traffic and fair weather. And while the picturesque drive up the mountain is part of the experience for guests, fully laden supply trucks trundle up the steepest sections of Jabal Al Akhdar at no more than 20kmph, so nothing arrives quickly; including water, all of which is delivered by tankers.

“We once nearly ran out — and we’ll never make that mistake again,” says general manager Darren Darwin. “We simply have to make sure we always have enough.”

The same applies to all other supplies, and Darwin, who has been with the hotel for approaching three years (half of that time in pre-opening), quickly realised that self-reliance was the only way to ensure on-time deliveries. “Some suppliers just wouldn’t or couldn’t come here, so now we do it all ourselves. We have our own store at the bottom of the mountain and our own trucks, and that has improved our reliability of supplies.”

It was initially no easier to attract staff to work at the resort. “It was difficult to find people to work on top of a mountain two hours from Muscat,” recalls Darwin.

“But because we have built a good reputation we now don’t struggle with recruitment, and we actually attract a very high-calibre of applicants.”

Staff turnover is running at just 20%. “People tell me they’ll be happy to do five or six years here,” says Darwin, adding that he has only suffered five ‘moonlight flits’ since opening. “People respect the team and the ‘family’ too much to run away.”

Managerial transfers to other parts of the Minor Hotels group are more common, and while Darwin doesn’t begrudge that, the loss of experienced team members must be carefully managed. “The profile of our guests here [60% GCC, then British, then German] requires a world-class, senior team — they don’t want to talk to 20 year olds.” 

The proximity of some ancient mountain villages and their inhabitants necessitates a certain level of cultural sensitivity too. And that challenge is helped by a strong representation of Omani nationals on the staff — 26% of the total workforce, including some from the immediate vicinity.

One such local, Maher Al Riyami — highly commended in the Hotelier Awards 2017 — is employed as a ‘mountain guru’, taking guests rock climbing on the ‘Ultimate Jabal Activity Wall’ and on guided walks through nearby settlements.

Staff benefits include regular transportation to Muscat, a computer room for Skype calls home, a Western Union money transfer service on payday, high-speed WiFi, BeinSports on TV, and a cricket pitch that witnesses regular ‘international matches’ between the different nationalities.

“There’s something going on for staff every day,” says Darwin. “They’re having fun, and that reflects in the great service they provide to our guests.” By way of an example, Darwin remarks that team members from back of house departments often help out when the resort is full. “I’ve had people from accounts clearing plates,” he says.

Everyone — the GM included — lives in an accommodation block a few hundred metres from the resort. Darwin says he was offered a villa, but wanted to be in an apartment “with the rank and file” — betraying his background as a non-commissioned officer in the British Army. “And now I know the staff better than anyone,” he adds.

While the GM’s office of a five-star resort on the top of a mountain in Oman might seem a strange place to find a fellow from the outskirts of Manchester, who began his professional life at the age of 16 as a commando attached to the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Darwin actually credits his military background with securing himself the job.

“I never thought that would come in useful here, but at the grand opening it was wall-to-wall military. All the generals came, and it was a talking point for me — some common ground.”

The interview process took six months, with eight interviews and three psychometric tests, and that was before the owner’s process, laughs Darwin. “But that’s where the army connection was maybe helpful against some strong internal Anantara candidates. In January 2015, I got the job and I was here by the March.

“I didn’t think I would come back to Oman [he was GM of the Ramada Qurum Beach Resort from 2009-2012], and I knew the job would be a stretch for me, but I remembered something Richard Branson once said: ‘If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes — then learn how to do it later!’” Darwin was honest about his weaknesses — for example, he had never run a world-class spa. “So I hired the best spa manager,” he says.

“In fact, I can take credit only for hiring the right people,” he adds, modestly, saying that respect, accountability and empowerment provide the environment for that talent to shine. 

“If we get a complaint, I expect the staff member to deal with it. Because if they escalate it to me, the guest will have to wait. And it’s often a quick service recovery that creates a loyal guest.”

In terms of business development, Darwin reveals: “Only 10% of the ideas that have made [Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar] successful have come from management; 90% came from the team. Some of those ideas are big, but a lot of them don’t cost a penny. The housekeepers in particular are amazing [at coming up with ideas].”

Darwin holds regular quality meetings, and says that he allows the vast majority of staff suggestions to proceed. “The Activity Wall was a team member idea, and that is huge now.” Phase two was recently completed with new bridges and zip lines.

“The original guest reviews hinted that there wasn’t enough to do at the resort, so now we have 40-plus activities — including stargazing, a sundance ceremony, yoga, village walks etc.

“We set the themes of culture and adventure and simply say to the guests: ‘Do as little or as much as you like.’”

Darwin says that the key to guest satisfaction at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar is not ‘over-pampering’ them. “You can feel if and when people want to engage. So the biggest thing with the team is emotional intelligence, engaging on a personal level and knowing when to stop.”

The approach seems to be working. At the time of writing, the hotel was averaging scores of 9.4 on Booking.com and 5 (with 82% excellent) on Tripadvisor. It also made the top 10 in the Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2017 for the Middle East. It has featured on the BBC’s Top Gear with former TV show Friends heart-throb Matt LeBlanc. And it is soon to appear in the BBC’s Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby series alongside other iconic properties like Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

“Half the marketing job is done with the location — the hardware, if you like,” admits Darwin. “The rest is software.” So, just over a year after opening the doors of the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar to paying guests, how does Darwin rate his progress?

“The business model is not easy,” he says. “It’s a weekend destination, though we are getting busier through the week. But I am so pleased that I took on this challenge — the team has done an amazing job.”

He continues: “When I arrived here, all I saw were scaffolding and grey blocks, but the vision for this place — in line with the Sultan’s 2020 vision — was extraordinary.

“And when I retire, of all the hotels I have managed, this will always be the one I remember,” he concludes.

Darwin’s career has reached new heights, literally and metaphorically, with his achievements at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar, said the Hotelier Awards judges, who unanimously named him GM of the Year 2017.