Bolivia’s Palacio de Sal is a hotel made entirely of salt

Bolivia's <a href="http://www.palaciodesal.com.bo/" target="_blank">Palacio de Sal</a> is the world's most "seasoned" hotel - because it's literally built out of salt blocks. Located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni" target="_blank">Salar de Uyuni</a>, Bolivia, the largest salt flat in the world, the Salt Palace has become a tourist destination in itself. As materials are scarce in the region, salt blocks were used as a practical and natural building material for the floors, walls, ceilings and even the furniture. Visitors to the salt flats can enjoy this palatial hotel along with the salty landscape.

Palacio de Sal-Uyuni Salt Flats

The <a href="http://www.palaciodesal.com.bo/" target="_blank">Palacio de Sal</a> was built in 2007 to accommodate travelers to the Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes.

Organized as a palace with large common rooms, a bar, restaurant and spa, and 16 private rooms with bathrooms that resemble igloos with domed roofs.

A twin guest room in the Palacio de Sal.

The spa features a dry sauna and a steam room, a saltwater pool and whirlpool baths.

The game room of Palacio de Sal.

The main hall of the Palacio de Sal.

Materials are hard to come by out in the salt flats and rather than import concrete to built the hotel, the novel approach was to build it from the only local resource - salt.

Translucent roof panels allow sunlight into the hotels hallways.

The walls, floors, ceilings and even the furniture (beds, chairs, tables, and even couches) are constructed out of 1 million 35-cm (14-inch) salt blocks, which are easily visible in the pictures.

Previous to the Palacio de Sal, another salt hotel was built back in the mid 90's, but succumbed to sanitation problems as it was difficult to manage waste in the middle of the desert.

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The 9-hole golf course is open from May to November and is a unique course with a hard surface of salt.

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The dining room of the Palacio de Sal.

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Private bedrooms feature domed roofs of salt blocks.

In order to maintain the integrity of the hotel's structure, it is strictly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_de_Sal" target="_blank">forbidden to lick the walls</a>.