Monsieur Gautier...
L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier like all good concepts was born by the demand of discerning and intrepid adventurers who love experiencing the unique, the rare and the beautiful but want to enjoy the experience in relative comfort, rather than ‘roughing it’.
Some would consider it madness to head off into the Sahara Desert on an expedition, some would like to go but are stopped by the fear of having to sleep in mobile camps. But now there is L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier – A UNIQUE TRAVELLING “HOTEL” – that each evening ‘unfolds’ to provide the highest comfort by means of spacious tents, daily hot showers, beds with sheets and pillows, – even a private loo – as well as a portable dining room which, comes with its own kitchen and Italian chef.
Whilst you explore the best highlights each region can offer, L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier transforms into ‘travelling’ mode and moves on to the next remote location so that it is ready and waiting for when you next need a comfortable night’s stay in the desert. This allows you to really travel far off the beaten track, far further than it is normal to do when having to return to a permanent camp or rest house. Consequently THE FEW VERY SPECIAL GUESTS of L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier enjoy a privileged view of the many natural and artistic ‘jewels’ of the desert, far away from the tourist “crowded” areas.
L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier allows you to travel like a nomad pitching your tent (or rather having it pitched for you) in some of the most isolated parts of the natural world so that you can EXPERIENCE THE TRUE FEELING OF BENG AT ONE WITH THE DESERT AND WITH NATURE AT ITS BEST. Luxury and comfort is all relative, but with L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier you have the luxury of being able to travel to areas that others are not able to go to and whilst there you are able to enjoy the comfort of a good night’s sleep after enjoying a refreshing shower and a superb dinner under the stars.
This is an experience for anybody who loves nature at its best, is flexible and curious, loves wild open spaces and feels the joy to be part of off-the-beaten-track itineraries.
L’Hotel de Monsieur Gautier is the brain child of Giancarlo Salvador, one of the last Sahara specialists who has lived in and around Africa and the Sahara for the last thirty years. Travelling and exploring alone or with groups or with his many Tuareg friends to the remotest areas of the desert. He has been in charge of logistics for important events such as the Paris-Dakar and the Raid Gauloise, and he has also managed ground operations in Algeria, Mali and Niger. His interests range from archaeology to philosophy, astronomy to geology, photography to architecture as well as African art, music and antiquities. Indeed a nomad not only at heart!
But who is Monsieur Gautier?
Emile-Felix Gautier was a French scholar, geographer and explorer of Madagascar and Northern Africa, born in the late 19th century. Legend claims that he opened a small “auberge” in Amguid in the central Algerian Sahara which soon became the meeting point of “meharists”, travellers and soldiers of the French Foreign Legion, all looking for a taste of home comforts when so far from the city. Caravans and “mehares” are no longer, the Sahara has gone back to its silence but the hotel of Mr Gautier now lives a second life in the form of a special mobile logistics and hospitality centre providing a very comfortable experience and allowing A CHANGE OF PANORAMA FROM YOUR “HOTEL” ROOM EVERY NIGHT!