How Swell came about
Swell was started in 2008 on the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic. We had been living there for 5 years and decided a new kind of accommodation was what the watersport town of Cabarete needed.
Whilst living in the Caribbean we owned and ran one of the first online surf travel agencies, so over the years we visited hundreds of surf resorts, surf camps and charters.
We liked the hostel vibes of surf camps but wanted the more upscale comforts of a good hotel, so we put a renowned architect to work.
First architect design
We hired a renowned Swiss architect to come up with the first purpose designed and built surf camp in the world. No renovated old villa, but a brand new building for surfers, by surfers.
November 2008
March 2009
Construction begins
A top quality local builder starts construction.
Swell Surf Camp opens
9 Months from start to finish and the Swell Surf camp construction is completed.
LED lighting, Fibre optic pool lighting and a large communal area to co-work , co live and socialise.
The first clients arrive and love the look, feel and design of Swell.
November 2009
April 2012
1000th guest
Lots of clients keep coming back and after 3 years in business we welcomed guests #1000. Some guests have been back to Swell over 16 times in a 9 year time span.
Mexico
Clients love the concept of Swell and kept asking us for another location. We visited the charming town of Sayulita and spent 6 months there. The town is charming, the food is great, but the surf is not consistent enough for a Mexican Swell Surf camp.
June 2013
August 2015
Costa Rica
We visited Tamarindo (didn't like the town), and Nosara (playa Guiones) where we liked the town for a Swell Costa Rica Surf Camp, but found the lack of facilities (barely any restaurants) and other things to offer Swell clients very disappointing. We had to find somewhere we would really enjoy being ourselves to be able to genuinely recommend a place, so we decided to keep looking...
Bali
We visited Bali 20 years ago and loved it, so when we went back and still felt the magic Bali has to offer we knew we had the right island. But Seminyak and Canggu were too busy. We fell in love with Bingin at first sight and immediately started planning.......
December 2017
June 2018
Swell Bali Architect Design
We hired a top team of local architects and they came up with a stunning contemporary tropical design. A builder was found and the project started.
Swell Bali Opens
Swell bali took 15 months to build, but we are super-pleased with the end result. A very open & modern feel, whilst still having lots of local influences, it's a magical space!
May 2020
Questions about Swell
Always a possibility, but the next location has to be at least as good as Bali & the Dominican Republic, so it’s not going to be easy.
Send us an email with what you have to offer Swell. (random Instagram ‘influencers’ with 500 – 10,000 followers; please don’t bother to contact us). Remember, you need an expensive work permit to work in Indonesia.
Send us an email via this webpage