Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef — Hotel in Cape Range National Park

If you need to disconnect and reset, Sal Salis is the place for you. ||We had arranged a Sal Salis pick up from Learmonth airport and we were warmly welcomed by Leah, who offered to stop in town if we needed anything. On arrival at the resort, another friendly welcome from Lawrence, who had a cool drink waiting and explained where everything was and meal times etc. ||We were in tent 5, which was very comfortable and had a great view. The toilet and shower area, separated by zipped canvas at the back of the tent, is 'open air' which would be great in summer, but a little chilly in winter if you were to shower after dinner or early morning! Water limits were not stipulated, but we were mindful of conserving and had plentiful water for hot showers. The toilet is 'drop' style, but there was never any smell. Amenities included ocean friendly shampoo, conditioner and body wash, as well as moisturiser. The bed was incredibly comfortable and perfectly positioned for watching whales breaching while enjoying a morning latte - the bathrobes came in handy for early morning coffee trips to the dining area. ||A jug of water is provided in the tent, but you will need to bring your own water bottle if you want to take water with you to the beach etc. as there are none provided, or for sale in the resort shop. Each tent is provided with a torch for walking back from dinner - although not particularly dark, the path is uneven in places. There is plenty of lighting - a table lamp, very bright reading lights on either side of the bed, and a light in the bathroom. Flies are fewer than in summer, but still around in winter (no mosquitoes), we kept our screens zipped, so no issues. It was extremely windy for a couple of nights and the canvas/timber combination got extremely noisy once the wind really picked up after 11pm, but ear plugs are supplied. ||There is a USB A port in the tent, however I suggest bringing a type A to C adaptor for charging newer devices. Alternatively, there is power in the main area if you need to plug in to charge. Most people just left their charger there for the duration of their stay, and I left my Apple watch to charge each morning, security is not an issue in the resort. ||During our stay, we didn't see wallabies, the only wildlife we encountered were the cheeky corellas - they perch above the dining area at meal time, and will land nearby to try to steal food off your plate.||In the main area, the resort provides beach towels, binoculars, board games, books, insect repellent, ocean friendly sunscreen, wetsuits, rashies and snorkel gear. There is a selection of clothing and Sal Salis merchandise available at very reasonable prices.||There are two scheduled activities each day, depending on weather conditions and tides. In the morning, a sunrise hike to Mandu Mandu (the more difficult of the two) or Yardie Gorge, and/or snorkelling. The afternoon tour is a snorkelling tour e.g Oyster Stacks, Osprey Bay, Lakeside Sanctuary. All tours are scheduled around meal times so you never feel rushed. One morning we did the Yardie Gorge sunrise walk then had breakfast before heading to Osprey Bay for a snorkel tour. It is easier to already have your wetsuit on before you leave for these tours and just take something warm to change into when you get out of the water. We had booked a whale shark tour (recommend Live Ningaloo, reviewed separately), which meant that we were away for most of the day and missed out on the Mandu Mandu hike. However, if you stay for three or four nights, you should have an opportunity to do tours to each of the snorkel locations.||The Yardie Gorge walk at sunrise was well worth the 5.45am start. We were fortunate to have Phil as one of our guides - sharing his exceptional knowledge and passion for nature and local history, as well as an astronomy talk while the stars were still quite vivid. Most of the walk is along a flat path however there is some walking over uneven rocky surfaces towards the top (rated moderately difficult). We saw quite a few black-footed rock wallabies and several ospreys... and the colour of the gorge as the sun rises is spectacular. It was quite windy at times at the top of the gorge so ensure you wear layers to keep warm. If you need to connect with the outside world, (Telstra) wifi worked at Tantabiddi boat ramp and Yardie Gorge.||Each night before dinner staff will run through activities for the following day including timings etc. There is a blackboard in the main area with names of people who are booked on day tours as well as a booking sheet for those wishing to join morning or afternoon resort tours. There were no night activities e.g. stargazing, scheduled during our stay and with dinner finishing by around 8:30 pm, most people were in bed fairly early.||At breakfast there is a selection of cereals available as well as an à la carte menu, served from 7am-9am - eggs cooked your way with sides including bacon, mushrooms, spinach, etc., avocado on toast and açai bowls. Breakfast is scheduled earlier for those going on day tours. Lunch was an a la carte blackboard menu served between 12pm - 1pm. Canapes are served at 6pm each evening, with dinner at 7pm. With wine pairings, the three course set dinner menus include lamb rack, pork belly, duck, eye fillet and fish. The dining area is covered, but otherwise open and can get very cold when windy, however there are blankets provided. Outside of meal times there were snacks available, including savoury bar mix and muesli bar slice, as well as a bean-to-cup coffee machine. The open bar included a good selection of spirits and mixers, lemon and lime slices, wine, beer, cider, soft drinks and bottled juices. Dress code I would say is resort casual: if it needs to be ironed, best leave it at home. ||The resort has kayaks and stand-up paddle boards, as well as cool cabanas if you want to set up on the beach for the day. Consider checking tide times for the dates you plan to travel - late morning high tides will give you plenty of opportunity to snorkel out front of the resort in between the morning and afternoon activities. The resort's beachfront area is relatively private, however hikers and people staying at the nearby campground also walk along the beach. The large shaded lounge pods are super comfortable and I found it very easy to spend a few hours relaxing with a book and watching whales breaching.||Our flight home was at 3pm, so we had an early lunch at the resort and left around 12pm. We enjoyed our trip back to Learmonth with Erin, who took us up to Ningaloo lighthouse on the way and offered to stop in town if we needed.||Overall, a wonderful experience in a truly spectacular part...

Best of the best - incredible location, food and staff. Sal Salis is simply incredible. Set right on Ningaloo Reef and secluded from "the world" it is the most amazing location.

Sal Salis is located less than an hour away from Exmouth - easily accessed via 2WD car on sealed roads (you meet staff at South Mandu carpark and they take you via golf buggy to the resort). We were warmly met by Elly who was fantastic throughout our stay - welcoming, thoughtful, caring and a wonderful host.

Our room was number 11 which was secluded from all the other glamping tents (separate pathway) - perfect and quiet. The glamping tents are gorgeous - with extremely comfortable king size beds, fresh water, drink bottles and a private large bathroom - toilet and shower (with great hot water showers). Rooms have usb charging ports.

Sal Salis is all inclusive - food, drinks (both alcoholic and non) plus wetsuits and snorkeling gear. And the food is simply incredible - 5 star, top shelf - led by Chettan (head chef) and perfectly executed by Johnnie. Breakfast was a super flexible meal with the ability to “create your own” which the chef cooks to perfection – I loved the smashed avocado with goats cheese and freshly baked bread. Each night is a 3 course meal of tantalizing taste sensations with matching wines – and the portion sizes are just right (you went to bed so happy but not overfull). And it’s a combination of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes (with all dietary requirements catered for). YUM, YUM, YUM !

We loved meeting “like minded” people at Sal Salis and had a wonderful evening of stories and laughter with Aaron, Tara, Thomas, Alex, Ben and Taily on our table of 8 – we haven’t laughed like that for ages. Brilliant.

In terms of location. Sal Salis is right on Ningaloo Reef at South Mandu. The water in June was warm and snorkeling straight off the beach was incredible – coral, so much marine life. (And if you walk up to the south end of the beach you can “drift” back whilst taking in the feast for your eyes snorkeling.) The team at Sal Salis offer daily activities. One afternoon we went to Yandie Creek for a walk of the gorge – led by Marty he showed us native animals (rock wallabies) and the native fauna. A gorgeous walk. And one morning we went to Turquoise Bay led by Katie and Molly from Sal Salis which was also an amazing spot for snorkeling (just 10minutes up the road). During snorkeling we saw: turtles, stingray, reef sharks, clownfish, coral and so many other colourful fish – fantastic and fun!

Sal Salis will also book whale shark swims for you - we went with Live Ningaloo and had an incredible day - spoilt to see and swim with 4 different whale sharks.

All of the staff at Sal Salis are amazing, led by Elly and Dale. Special shoutouts to both of them plus Chettan, Katie,...

Sal Salis was a gorgeous wilderness escape and one my partner and I were grateful to experience last week. However, we do not feel it is worthy of the $2420 a night price tag due to some major oversights.

A forced unplug / off grid escape ethos raises safety concerns and puts many people at a disadvantage when systems like Starlink make this unnecessary.

The all day help yourself bar is a lovely touch however even the most basic bars in Australia have a bartender. A well versed and dynamic bartender / mixologist for the canapés and dinner period should be a must if you’re charging customers this price tag. It’s not luxury to mix your own drink.

The tea and coffee options - very underwhelming!! There are no mini bar or tea / coffee options in the tents (which makes total sense due to animals and eco safety). BUT there is NO barista at all. The option of a basic communal coffee machine that only does long blacks and the pleasure of frothing your own milk is an insult when paying “luxury prices”. A well trained barista and a full list of cafe available hot drinks should be on offer for breakfast and for after dinner at the very least for this price tag. With takeaway options available to enjoy in the room and on the beach.

Accessibility - my partner and I did not have a car whilst staying at Sal Salis. There were no apparent bikes, golf buggies or drop off / pick up transport options to allow customers to explore the nearby locations during the day unless you booked onto the pre-arranged tours. This is a large oversight as many people cannot walk large distances and staff may not be available to assist drop offs. An independent (eco conscious) means of accessing the area whilst staying at the resort like a bike would be a reasonable expectation when paying “luxury prices”.

All in all these things did not rob us of having a lovely experience. The food was high quality as you’d expect, the service was good with staff friendly, although seemed a little more “if you don’t ask you don’t receive” instead of being highly pro active and conversational. And the resort itself was for the most part what you’d expect for a glamping experience in the sand dunes.

We are glad we came but won’t be returning. Our review and suggestions come based off of staying at other luxury lodges in Australia that were well above what Sal Salis offers. A price tag of $1500 a room per night would be more appropriate. The staff that were on for our stay including Jackson, Jaz, Natalia, Rob and Carolina were lovely and deserve credit for making our stay a very comfortable and positive one....