SALT of Palmar, an adult-only boutique hotel, a member of Design Hotels

This was our first time in Mauritius and with Salt and it definitely didn’t disappoint. After arriving with no luggage, the team couldn’t have been more helpful and tried to make a bad situation good! The service was second to none and nothing was too much trouble. They organised our excursion, our taxi into the town to buy clothes whilst we waited for our luggage and everyone always had a smile on their face! Whilst they have no reception, which was a first for us, everyone knew us and our room number and any queries were answered promptly and we didn’t feel we were missing that desk / designated contact! Bhavish made us the most delicious cocktails on the roof top bar and we felt like we really got to know him and Yogesh was so attentive to us when around the pool and the beach and remembered our drinks order every time which is the personal touch you don’t always get. Salt has definitely set the bar high when it comes to hospitality! The room was large in size and made up / turned down daily. We had a bang on beach room and the view was beautiful especially to wake up too. The food menu is vast for breakfast, lunch & dinner and when I asked for variations of things it was never a problem. We particularly loved the concept and ethos of only using and sourcing local ingredients on the island and supporting the local community and giving back. Vinesh at dinner was fab and always had a laugh with us and the taller chef made sure we enjoyed the food and would check in to ask how we found our meal / would greet us (unfortunately we didn’t get his name!). The Tek Tek restaurant is so worth the visit and Ravi was so knowledgeable and presented the food beautifully, it was a special evening. We would 100% return and are so grateful to the team at Salt for their hospitality and care and making our trip memorable. A huge thanks to those that always helped us too; Vinesh, Dhareej, Vish, Fayaaz, Dashak, Rishi, Bhavish, Armaan, Med, Heeroo, Dervin, Bhishav, Yogesh & Rojit. Read less

The most impressive feature of this hotel is the people who work here and the level of hospitality they provide.From breakfast to dinner and everything in between we couldn’t be happier. They are all characters in their own way but one thing they all appear to have in common is satisfying the guests at the hotel. There can do and cheerful attitude makes for a great experience. Our room 314 has a great view overlooking the ocean and is kept immaculately tidy everyday by the housekeeping team. The beach and poolside areas are well serviced by the team offering food and drinks directly to your sun beds. The food are drinks options on a fully inclusive package are fairly good and the chef and bar team will accommodate you on variable options on this within reason of course. I would like to thank Rishi and all his staff for a wonderful stay Charlie & Belinda 314 Read less

SALT of Palmar is a colourful, good-looking hotel with plenty of charm, but it didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by its bold branding and clever photography. The Camille Walala graphics were one of the things that originally drew us to the property, and they do give the hotel a strong visual identity. At first glance, there’s a lot to like: cheerful colours, patterned textiles, murals and plenty of nice design touches. It photographs beautifully. That said, the experience felt closer to a more traditional package hotel than the lifestyle property the branding suggests. We were expecting something closer to Ace, Hoxton or Habitas: design-conscious, relaxed, sociable and aimed at value-driven millennials who care about food, atmosphere and detail. In reality, SALT feels more like an older hotel that LUX* has taken on and given a colourful, design-led glow-up. In many places, the old hotel still peeks through. The shared spaces, while attractive, don’t feel like they can quite accommodate the number of guests the hotel needs to support. At busy times, the restaurant, pool and communal areas can feel hemmed in rather than relaxed and generous. That would matter less if the rooms were luxurious places to retreat to, but ours felt more like somewhere to crash than somewhere to linger. It was small, fairly minimal, tired in places, with scuffed paintwork, stained bed bases and no fridge. The bed setup also wasn’t especially comfortable for a longer stay: two singles pushed together with an uncomfortable foam topper. The rooms could really do with a refresh, including better-quality mattresses. Service was also uneven. Mauritius has a reputation for excellent hospitality, and the senior staff were always helpful and friendly, but day to day the service wasn’t quite what we’d expected from Mauritius or from the other LUX* properties we visited. Orders were sometimes forgotten or came out wrong, and interactions with front-of-house staff could feel laboured and transactional. Staff often seemed more focused on entering orders into handheld devices than engaging in a warm, relaxed way. Fortunately, this feels like something the hotel could improve fairly easily with better training and communication. We stayed nine days on a full-board basis, so food became increasingly important. Breakfast was lovely and probably the highlight of the day, but lunch and dinner felt very similar, so the food became repetitive. We were also excited by the idea of the hotel having its own bakery, but in practice it felt more like a reused breakfast counter with a few pastries left out during the day. Where SALT probably works best is as a cheerful base for exploring the island, rather than as a destination hotel in its own right. If you plan to have breakfast, head out for the day, eat lunch elsewhere and come back for the occasional dinner, it makes much more sense. Just bear in mind that many of Mauritius’s better-known sights are on the opposite side of the island, so some day trips can involve taxi rides of up to around 1 hour 45 minutes each way. If affordability is your main priority, SALT is still a strong contender. But it’s a significant step down from the LUX* properties, and that difference only really becomes clear once you’re there. In retrospect, we probably wish we’d spent a little extra for something that felt more luxurious and memorable, rather than simply pleasant and passable. For us, SALT is probably better suited to a shorter stay of 5 days, especially if you’re planning to spend more time out exploring than relaxing at the hotel. Read less

We spent 10 nights here recently and its one of the few places in the world we've been where you walk in and feel instantly relaxed and comfortable with everything. We chose the half-board option and a Bang on Beach room - definitely worth the upgrade to this level of room and also from a food perspective - there is little around the surrounding area in terms of alternative restaurants so glad we took this option. In saying that, the food was of an exceptional standard at both breakfast and evening meal (3 courses) - plenty of choices available for everyone's tastesfor each course - and if you wanted something slightly different, ask the Head Chef. We told him of our love of fish and the next evening we had a bespoke Fish curry for our main dish - fantastic tasting - but even better was that all the waiting staff knew we were having this so just asked for our starter selection However, the biggest thing for us was the level of service and friendliness of all of the SALT team - they cannot do enough to assist you to ensure you have a great vacation. We are beach lovers so the fact that you walk through the hotel directly onto a lovely beach - not the largest but with only 50 rooms in the hotel, sufficient for most - was ideal. While on the beach you are periodically served with little fruit or drink offerings, your glasses get cleaned and face sprayed to cool you down - all little things but well received. The pool area is quite small so if thats to your taste, get their early. Fresh water points both still and sparkling, are available for refills/drinks bottles throughout the day My wife made use of the Spa twice and enjoyed the experience. We also attended the Rum tasting session which was certainly well worth attending to sample the local offerings The boat house on the beach offer daily trips on a glass bottom boat to see the many fish and also snorkelling trips. We'd also recommend speaking to them about the 5 Island Boat trips that are available further down the beach via Chris and his team - brilliant day out for not a lot of money. Make a note that this is classed as a boutique hotel - expect exceptional service when you need it in a fantastic setting away from it all. Its not the cheapest for drinks, spa sessions etc, there isnt a multitude of organised activities to do during the day so don't come if you want that As always, everyone can improve and we'd suggest that a few things could make a visit even better namely a small fridge in the room for personal items, cold water (not luke warm) at the dining table We thank you, the SALT Team for a memorable trip. When we visit Mauritius again, we will certainly book and stay with you Read less

We stayed 2 nights at SALT of Palmar due to flight changes. We chose this hotel as it had excellent reviews, and it was near to our other hotel we stayed in for 7 nights. We were celebrating our honeymoon, and the hotel were kind enough to provide a romantic dinner for two and a drink on the terrace which was lovely. Our room was upgraded and we had a sea view room. The rooms were comfortable and very clean with a balcony, though noting the furniture on the balcony was basic with no cushions (a small detail but we had just stayed at another 5 star resort with very comfortable chairs). We stayed full board and all meal options are à la carte to reduce waste; though noting that the portion sizes are so large we ended up leaving a lot of food on the plate which was a shame. We personally prefer a buffet, particularly for breakfast, so we can choose exactly what we want. The food was of good quality and well presented, though we noted that if you stayed for longer I would imagine it gets a little repetitive. We found the service to be mixed, some staff were very friendly but some we felt uncomfortable with. The sun beds around the pool are quickly occupied in the morning; we found that the majority of sun beds on the beach were very exposed to the wind and so found a couple of sunbeds just below the pool overlooking the lagoon. We also found it odd that there isn’t a proper 24/7 reception desk; often there were multiple staff stood in the reception area which we found disconcerting. Overall, we had a nice stay to bridge the gap for flight changes but we found the overall experience a little odd (we also had just stayed in a lovely 5 star resort so this may have clouded our judgement). We would not stay here again, as it is not to our personal preference and we found the overall atmosphere of the hotel....odd. Read less