Salty Design: Palacio de Sal
By Diana Cook
Blood pressure be damned – I love salt and add it to everything from pizza to watermelon. To me, everything just tastes better sprinkled with NaCl, which is why staying at Palacio de Sal sounds so delicious. Located at the edge of Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, about 220 miles south of Bolivia’s capital La Paz, Palacio de Sal is the resort of choice to enjoy the amazing landscape of the region.
Opened 2007, Palacio de Sal Hotel and Spa was built with over 1 million 14-inch salt blocks. In addition to salt floors, walls, and ceilings, most of the hotel furniture, including beds, tables, chairs and sculptures are salt as well. Each of the sixteen rooms have private bath, solarium, central heating and electricity.
The spa is known for its Lithium treatment therapy. Spa guests also enjoy a dry sauna, steam room, whirlpool baths, salt beds and a pool (saltwater, of course). More active visitors will want to check out the world’s only salt golf course. Designed by Christian Pensu, this 9-hole, 36 par course is ready to challenge guests May-November.
And, while it might be tempting, wall and furniture licking is strictly prohibited – in order to prevent their degradation and to mitigate the eww factor.
