Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef

This is NOT glamping!! For the prices charged, this resort needs significant improvement. While the bed in the tent was very comfortable and the sheets felt very high quality, much more is expected. Having “glamped” in Africa at much more remote locations, this is really unacceptable! Due to limited availability, we were forced to reserve the “honeymoon” tent which was basically larger than the other tents on the property. There is absolutely no privacy for the dry toilets. Our toilet was literally in the entryway to our tent. And the sink basins have no hot water, though the shower luckily does, but if the wind picks up, the water blows sideways. And guests are given one set of towels for their entire stay. All totally fine but not at these prices!! Also, on arrival several guests informed me that they had been up most of the night due to the wind causing the tents to flap around. I can sleep through almost anything but on our 3rd night, we were informed that there was going to be rain and wind due to a cyclone. The staff suggested that we make sure that anything we had hung out to dry was brought in. Really? Perhaps the staff should have personally battened down each tent! Due to the rain and the wind, I woke up in the middle of the night to find my husband outside the tent grabbing through pillows, the hammock and other loose camp related items that were flying around. This should not be a guest’s responsibility. The staff should handle this. Also, within the tent, there is no place to put suitcases. One of our friends tent flooded in the storm and all of their stuff was wet due to blowing rain and having to put their suitcases on the floor! Also, it was extremely cold when we were there which was good because I cannot imagine how the 2 tiny fans by the bed would be able to provide any coolness in the hotter times. The food is fine but I think that they really could go for simpler offerings with less sauces. Keep it simple and elegant. The wine selection is also unacceptable at these prices. It’s pretty crappy and it wouldn’t take much to improve it. On the positive side, the activities are very nice and the guides are excellent. Big shout out to Rob and Johnny who were terrific! They really made the whole visit!!

Beware, there is nothing luxurious about this resort despite the ridiculously steep price. In fact, it is barely serviceable. Where to begin? The tents were flimsy and sparsely furnished. The ensuite means you have a dry toilet that is separated from your bed by two zippered “walls”. The problem is, in addition to a dry toilet (yuck), that the zippers constantly jammed or broke so you were subject to the toilet and attendant flies. Zippers were also at the entry of the tent and surrounding the windows. While the owners cannot control the weather, the tents are not designed for wind and rain—both of which we experienced. In order to keep out the rain, the flaps have to be zippered. The tents then overheat because they have only 2 small fans at the bedside. If you don’t zip the flaps to improve air circulation, you are subject to listening to them flapping all night while your tent takes on water. This is not a choice that one should have to make at this price point. Did I mention the flies? They were everywhere—to include all over our food. While the owners cannot eradicate the flies (or can they?), they can mitigate them with a screened porch for meals, which in addition to keeping the flies at bay would also thwart the corellas (small cockatoos) that swoop and poop on guests. The food was good but would have been better if simpler—the chef is trying too hard (perhaps to justify the price of the place?). And I scratched my head when one of our companions asked for a hard-boiled egg and was told that it couldn’t be made, despite having poached eggs daily, hmmmmm. The wine was average—again, given Australia’s superb wines this was disappointing. The activities are the reason to come to Ningaloo and we did enjoy snorkeling and hiking. The beach beyond the tents is pretty and has good snorkeling and kayaking—it would have been nice had a team member set up the chairs, offered towels, and provided life vests for kayakers. On a positive note, several members of the staff were exceptional. Both Rob and Johnny who led our snorkel and hiking trips were professional, knowledgeable, and friendly! Catarina, one of the general staff members was also wonderful. She went out of her way to try and ameliorate some of the above. You can only do so much with so little. Overall, if you are coming to Ningaloo to swim with the Whale Sharks—stay in an air bnb and go to the Whale Bone in Exmouth for great pizza and beer. Your experience will cost a fraction of Sal Salis and will be much more enjoyable.

From start to finish, this place felt like a scam. The tents are as bare as any place I’ve visited. The flaps of the tent are hardly secured, which caused us to be up all night from the wind (the tent flapping noise was crazy loud). There are two tiny fans by the beds — the kind college kids would clip onto a dorm room headboard — so no air when it’s warm during the day. There are no flushable toilets so all you get is a toilet seat with a hole in the ground. I’m not sure how they are cleaned/maintained but when we checked in, there was still waste and toilet paper in there from the previous guests. Also, tons of flies hovering over the toilet hole. The flaps of the tent need to be zipped and unzipped whenever you enter/exit the tent because of the insects but the zippers are worn and often get jammed. There was a bad storm one night and so we woke up in the morning to a lot of water inside the tent. It seems to me that with a place that charges so much per night, management could have done a better job securing the tents for the storm (perhaps while guests were at dinner). The entrance area/lodge area of the place is all open — with little shade or protection, except for two long tables where the guests eat communal style. This made for a difficult couple of days as we had a lot of rain and no place to go or sit. The eating area has tons of flies so be prepared for your food and yourselves to be covered with flies during the daytime when you’re having breakfast and lunch (it was not a problem for dinner). The dinners were a little on the fancier side and were trying too hard — they would have been so much better off if they kept it simple with a grilled piece of fish or seafood. The place provides wet suits for their guest but they did not have enough inventory for the sizes we needed (we had to wait a day and a half until someone checked out to get the size we needed). On the positive side, the staff was lovely and really tried. Carolina in particular went out of her way to be helpful. There’s only so much they could do given what they had to work with.

Superb from start to finish. Staff are exceptional, even though most only been there a short time: Jackson, Billie, Tash and Carolina excellent. Lunches are amazing; suppers it depends who you sit next too, but food a little over fussy. Canapes at 6pm were fabulous. Average wine pairing. Help yourself all day to any drinks-great selection. The tours; snorkeling, walking, kayaking, etc were good. I found the house reef strong currents. Tents were well equipped and so nice to be without the internet. No problem with lack of water or indeed recharging equipment in tents as USB ports. Lovely night skies as no ambient lights.

Sal Salis is part of the Luxury Lodges of Australia, however, this place's standard is way below the 3 we went to (Longitude 131, the Louise, Capella L.). First, the tents are boiling hot during the day, no shade whatsoever, same as the Lodge itself. Second, the food, I'm afraid, is average, seating is prescribed on 2 long tables. On 2 mornings we just had a cold water shower and there was a power cut. 2 of the staff were extremely helpful and understanding, and rectified the situation. All in all, this place esperately needs to be upgraded.