Salalah Rotana, Taqah Road, Al Saadah, Salalah

The bread was also soft and spongy, as was characterised by the invariable smell of freshly- baked bread. Without hesitating, I smeared some of the packeted Lurpak butter on it and munched on.

The Arabic grill arrived next. Now, this had to be the most disappointing part of my meal. The grill was a bit cold, almost like it had been prepared first; before the soup and the bread.

The beef was hard and the chicken dry, adding to my disappointment. Thankfully, the accompanying mutton kebab was splendid and masked the shortcomings of the other meats. The mutton was soft and succulent, and the knife effortlessly ran through the meat to split the kebab into two halves.

The hummus was tasty and consistent but was nothing to write home about. I put that down to the time I had ordered the food at. Most chefs prepare hummus in batches and I presumed I was served one that had been prepared in the evening, at the very least.

Meanwhile, I washed down the main course with a glass of orange juice, before deciding to close the meal with a slice of chocolate cake.

The cake slice was massive – the serving was almost half the size of a regular-sized cake. It was cold, which I appreciated, and very creamy. The chocolate was fresh, if a bit too much on the darker side for my liking. The cake, however, was spongy and melt-in-your-mouth soft.

In all, I enjoyed my late-night indulgence before concluding that the cake was definitely worth its price tag.

Above all, though, I was blown away by the level of professionalism exhibited by the chefs and the waiters, despite the (odd) hour I had checked in.

Now, that’s the mark of a hotel that is willing to serve its customers and work towards their satisfaction. That’s precisely why Salalah Rotana Resort earns my mark of approval.