Sea Turtles Visiting Hotel In Oman Now Have a Full-Time ‘Concierge’

Okay, so it isn’t exactly a concierge in the sense human travelers think, but the hotel has hired a full-time employee to work with the over 100 sea turtles that return to the beach to lay their eggs and prepare the next generation of hatchlings.

According to Lonely Planet: The luxury Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa is located at one of five nesting sites for turtles in Oman. Around 100 turtles return to the resort’s beach every year to lay their eggs, and as part of the hotel’s development, a careful conservation plan was put in place. Part of that was hiring a turtle ranger, Mohammed Al Hasani, whose job it is to watch over the endangered creatures.

In order to prepare for the role, Mohammed took a couple of months’ worth of training to get all the information he could on the animals, including their habits, their habitat, and their lives. That training now makes him the foremost expert at the hotel. His duties include keeping the turtles safe, given the dangers they face from both humans and other animals. Mohammed also gives eco-talks to guests at the hotel, who I’m sure love to see the turtles in their natural environment. Shockingly, last year there were 4,100 hatchlings and 92 separate nests at the resort…that’s a pretty impressive amount of turtles living on the beautiful beach of a beautiful hotel in the beautiful country of Oman!