09 2019BOAT LIFE
Inside track
Camille Walala adds a generous
pinch of style to a Mauritius
hotel, discovers Lucia FeriguttiTHE BUILDING the existing riad-style building
was repurposed by Jean-François Adam of JFA
Architects into a 59-room hotel
THE SPA offering a variety of salty treatments,
the spa shares the hotel’s teal and blue decor
THE RESTAURANT one restaurant serving
exclusively local produceT
aking over a riad-style building on the eastern coast of
Mauritius, the 59-room hotel Salt of Palmar is the first
property to open under the Salt Resorts umbrella, a new
hospitality brand by the Lux Collective. French-born artist
Camille Walala, whose signature large-scale murals can be spotted on
buildings in east London, Brooklyn and Melbourne, was enlisted to
bring her bold and unapologetic style to the project.
Walala’s work is highly influenced by both the Memphis Group, the
postmodernist design movement founded by Ettore Sottsass in the
1980s, and by Ndebele, the traditional South African style that consists
of painting strong geometrical patterns on houses. Vibrant shades of
electric blue, yellow and green, mixed with striking black and white
stripes, are heavy handedly applied throughout the building.
Basic geometrical shapes appear everywhere: squared beach beds,
perfectly round stools, while circles and triangles punctuate partitioning
walls. A standout feature is the central courtyard’s pool, featuring bold
monochrome stripes set against a pink backdrop.
At the core of Salt are sustainability – single-use plastic is banned,
all toiletries are organic and ocean-
friendly and the restaurant only
serves produce that is locally
sourced and in season – and
connection to culture (exchanges
with locals to experience their skills
and working life are encouraged).
From a design point of view, this
meant enlisting Mauritian artisans
for everything from the pottery, by
ceramicist Janine Espitalier-Noel,
to the beach baskets, hand-weaved
by septuagenarian Reotee Buleeram.
Eco-conscious millennials: form
an orderly queue.
saltresorts.comLand