Worth its weight in… SALT
by Vaila Erin Bhaumick
SALT. The great healer. It speaks of the banishment of unsustainable practice in hospitality. Could this be the break weary travellers have been waiting for? Vaila Erin Bhaumick talks to Raj Reedoy, General Manager at SALT of Palmar to find out more.
All images courtesy of LUX Collective
A luxury resort, and yet an integral part of the local tapestry, SALT of Palmar is something of an oxymoron. The adult-only boutique resort in Mauritius is part of the LUX Collective group and has everything you’d expect from a luxury hotel. But it’s 2022 and we’re long overdue a blanket rethink on how we travel; SALT has no shortage of ideas.
“Unconventional” is the word General Manager at SALT of Palmar Raj Reedoy uses to describe the hotel brand. As we slide into another year of uncertainty, especially for the hospitality industry, harmful conventions would do well to die off. Something with which SALT’s philosophy aligns. Raj highlights some of SALT’s values for ALHAUS “By staying, guests contribute to empowering local communities as we source everything we can locally, create local employment, provide local training, and preserve the local environment by going single-use plastic free, supporting bio-farming and causing zero-waste.”
SALT is quite literally putting its money where its mouth is. From the books on its library shelves to the music in the beach bar, it’s all about local heritage. Your all-organic bathroom amenities will be wrapped in recycled stone paper. Beautifully-crafted local pottery dispensers filled with sublime, natural salt scrubs and hair masks will make shower time a treat. Female-led island businesses are responsible — Janine Espitalier-Noel for the beautiful crockery and ceramics, and Nathalie Marot and Sarah Hoffmann of Body Bar for the soap products.
Sustainability also permeates their menus and activities; they champion local producers and artisans. No buffets, no plastic straws, no soulless outings. Raj speaks proudly of the SALT family “the Moosbally family make our rattan baskets and have been passing the art down through generations; Kishor who is in charge of sourcing our shellfish has been working in the trade for more than 20 years; Angelo supplies our cheese, Bibi brings our fruit, Giuseppe provides our pasta–all local people with local businesses. We care not only that produce is ethical and organic, but that it supports the community to create a circular economy.” Not always easy to nurture long term, these relationships show the depth of SALT’s commitment to being a local trailblazer for sustainable practice. And they sincerely hope other businesses will follow suit.
The whole island is family with the mantra “a humanistic approach to hospitality”. In creating their Skillswap platform, SALT moves another step away from an outdated image of luxury travel. This cultural exchange matches guests up with a local who’s interested in the guest’s skills and will offer a meaningful learning experience in return. “Devoted to the wonder of all things local and sustainable, SALT of Palmar takes guests to people—not just places. It reveals to guests the beating heart of destinations and their communities and gets them out there exploring it. This has effectively changed the experience guests have in Mauritius from a ‘fly and flop’ destination to a meaningful travel destination.” Raj says of Skillswap. Traveling a little slower is encouraged for some extended sharing and learning, and if you just can’t bear to leave, SALT promotes itself as a remote working destination too.
Raj talks of “banishing unsustainable, thoughtless patterns in hospitality”. Strong words, but perhaps that’s what the world of luxury tourism needs: thought leaders who act as well as speak with conviction. Ethical business owners who are worth their weight, in salt.