La Belle Maurice

SALT of Palmar

Palmar · Flacq

5 starsStandard

SALT of Palmar is at Palmar, near Belle Mare, on the east coast of Mauritius, in the Flacq district. Reserved for adults, it owes its lobby, its riad-inspired courtyard and its colours to the British artist Camille Walala. Rated five stars. It has 59 rooms, from 30 to 47 square metres, all facing the sea, and the beach is reached on foot without crossing a road.

Rooms
59
Categories
5

Room categories

  • 28 Bang on Beach rooms, 30.7 to 33.6 m², opening onto the sand, 2 adults, one of them adapted for reduced mobility
  • 14 Seaview rooms, 30.3 to 37.3 m², steps from the pool and the sea, 2 adults
  • 12 Garden View rooms, 33.6 to 37.3 m², facing the garden and the filao trees, 2 adults
  • 3 Best on Beach rooms, on the shore facing the Palmar lagoon: two rooftop rooms of 47.5 m² and one of 38.2 m², 2 adults
  • 2 Pool Plus rooms, 47.1 m², facing the pool and the Camille Walala courtyard, 2 adults

The hotel at a glance

Rooms
59
Restaurants
Three: The Good Kitchen, local and international à la carte cooking, breakfast 7 am to 10.30 am, lunch noon to 3 pm, dinner 7 pm to 10 pm, with Season’s Best themed dinners; Tek Tek, ten seats, a six to eight course menu built on the TerraMar philosophy, two services at 7 pm and 9.30 pm, closed Sundays; SALT Bakery, a café-bakery 7 am to 10.30 am, house breads and pastries in partnership with Du Pain et des Idées in Paris, coffee roasted on site. Afternoon tea 4 pm to 5 pm. Room service around the clock, payable.
Bars
Two: The Rooftop Bar, on the roof facing the ocean, 5 pm to 10.30 pm, and The Pool Bar, 7 am to midnight, with local craft beers
Pools
One, heated
Spa
SALT Equilibrium, open daily 9 am to 8 pm: four treatment cabins, one double and three single, a universal treatment room, the Salt zone with its salt room, a hydrolounge, a hair salon and a shop. Also open to outside visitors, by reservation.
Beach
Palmar beach, east coast, reached on foot with no road to cross
Sports and activities
Included on the water: kayak, stand-up paddle, pedalo, canoe, glass-bottom boat, guided snorkelling, aquagym, Payable on the water: speedboat and towed buoy, scuba diving, kitesurfing, deep-sea fishing, catamaran, Included on land: gym open around the clock, French bowling, beach football, yoga, Payable on land: bikes, golf, sunrise yoga, horse riding and stable visits, experience tours, Workshops and experiences: Mauritian cooking class, raw food, soap making, pottery, rattan baskets, skill swaps with Mauritians
Internet
Free and very fast in rooms and public areas
Parking
Free and secure

What sets it apart

The address is built on a conviction, carried through to the last detail. No buffet: dishes are cooked to order, kitchen scraps and coffee grounds are composted, diverting ten to fifteen kilos of organic waste a week. Water is filtered on site by a Nordaq system, which saves fifty thousand plastic bottles a year. Toiletries are refillable and locally made, beach baskets are hand-woven from recycled plastic, packaging paper is made from limestone, and suppliers are exclusively local.

The mood

The spa, SALT Equilibrium, houses a salt room, inspired by halotherapy, with a wall of Himalayan salt. The food follows the same line: Tek Tek, just ten covers, serves a six-to-eight-course menu built on the Mauritian sea-to-plate tradition; The Good Kitchen cooks à la carte from morning to night; the SALT Bakery bakes its bread in association with the Parisian bakery Du Pain et des Idées and roasts its coffee on site. The library gathers more than three hundred books, mostly by Mauritian authors, and every guest receives on arrival a guidebook written by Mauritians.

Highlights

  • Adults only, just fifty-nine rooms, every one facing the sea
  • Design by the artist Camille Walala
  • Tek Tek, ten seats, a six to eight course menu, closed on Sundays
  • A salt room at the spa, with a wall of Himalayan salt
  • No buffet, no single-use plastic, local suppliers only
  • Gym open around the clock

Good to know

  • Tek Tek closes on Sundays and runs two services, at 7 pm and 9.30 pm. A reservation is required.
  • On half board and full board, a twenty-five per cent discount per person per day applies to food at Tek Tek; on all inclusive it covers drinks as well.
  • Kayak, paddle, pedalo, canoe, glass-bottom boat, guided snorkelling and aquagym are included. Speedboat rides, towed buoy, scuba diving, kitesurfing, deep-sea fishing and catamaran trips are payable.
  • Water-skiing is not offered.
  • On land, the gym, French bowling, beach football and yoga are included; bikes, golf, sunrise yoga, horse riding and experience tours are payable.
  • One Bang on Beach room is adapted for guests with reduced mobility, and four rooms have twin beds.
  • The spa also welcomes outside visitors, by reservation.

Getting there

The address is Coastal Road, Palmar 41604, on the east coast. The airport is about an hour away by road, and the hotel arranges transfers. Check-in is at 2 pm and check-out at 11 am. Parking is free and supervised, and the beach is a few steps away, with no road to cross.

In the journal