SALT of Palmar

SALT of Palmar opened in 2018 on the site of an older beach hotel between Belle Mare and Palmar, and it was built as an argument against the all inclusive resort. There are 59 rooms, all of them without a television; instead you find a shelf of Mauritian books and a Roberts radio. Camille Walala, the French designer known for her large scale graphic murals, painted the interiors in blocks of terracotta, ochre and blue, while Jean-François Adam's architecture keeps the lines low so that the eye goes to the lagoon. The building is arranged around a riad style courtyard, and a rooftop bar looks over the reef towards the sunrise.

The kitchen is the second argument. There are no buffets anywhere; The Good Kitchen cooks to order from produce grown within a few kilometres, the bakery turns out croissants each morning and Tek Tek seats ten for a tasting menu. Leftovers go to compost and nothing arrives in single use plastic. Guests are encouraged to leave the property through the Skill Swap scheme, which pairs you with a potter, a fisherman or a basket weaver in the village.

SALT Equilibrium, the spa, has a pink Himalayan salt room and works with natural products made locally, and the whole house is open only to guests aged 16 and over. The beach in front is a long strip of white sand facing the trade wind, cooler than the west coast and rarely crowded.