ChatGPT recently coughed up the Top Power Adjectives (aka “trigger words”) that boost click-through rate (CTR) in Google SEO. They are, “Best, Top, Ultimate and Biggest.” Why are we sharing this? Just food for thought, so you know that anytime you see these words prominently featured in a headline, the content was most likely written for Google Search instead of actual humans like yourself to read. And, yes, we’re throwing stones. We’ve used these words. And sadly, a lot of context gets lost in that process.
When we read that “The Biggest Wave Pool in America is Coming to the California Desert,” we were perplexed. How had we missed this story? WavePoolMag has followed all five desert projects (yes, there were five at one time) through their various incarnations over the past eight years.
The clicky headline was in reference to the Thermal Beach Club’s long-publicized wave pool project, yet nothing had changed about the TBC project on a design or approval level, or even for the opening date – key components that determine newsworthiness. Were they suddenly building the biggest wave pool in America?
We’re going into this because WavePoolMag received several queries this week, wondering if the project had changed design or ownership, or if it was an entirely new project altogether. But the only news angle is that Coral Mountain Desert Club has partnered with desert neighbor Thermal Beach Club to allow their La Quinta development residents to access TBC’s wave pool. That’s it. Simple. Here’s what we know.
The Desert Surf Park Partnership
What the partnership does is ensure that Coral Mountain Desert Club homeowners and members will have access to the 48-caisson surf lagoon at Thermal Beach Club, located less than 10 minutes away from Coral Mountain.
“The wave pool will feature customizable settings to create optimal surf conditions for every skill level,” the press release stated. “This new wave pool will democratize surfing for all skill levels, from novice to expert, while bringing consistent, year-round waves to the heart of the desert.”
Coral Mountain Desert Club developer Meriwether Companies, backed by Michael Schwab along with managing partner Noah Hahn and many others, had lost approval for a pool in 2022. At that time the plan was to put a Kelly Slater Wave Co. surf basin at the heart of the Coral Mountain Development. And this new partnership seems an ideal solution.
“After several years of discussions, we were able to create a mutually beneficial structure for both projects,” Noah Hahn told WavePoolMag. “We are grateful for the support and vision of Thermal Beach Club’s leadership to reach an agreement.”
The details of that agreement, beyond mutual benefits to both parties, weren’t disclosed. Meriwether did volunteer that the announcement follows the success of the Cabo Real Surf Club in Los Cabos, Mexico, which is a collaboration between Meriwether Companies and the Sanchez Navarro family.
Meriwether and Coral Mountain Desert Club
Beyond the stoked smile of Michael Schwab, Meriwether Companies describes itself as a private real estate investment and development firm specializing in resort master planning, hospitality, and commercial projects. The company focuses mainly on the western United States and Mexico. The company says Coral Mountain Desert Club is designed around golf, surf, wellness, and outdoor recreation as a 400-acre master-planned community in La Quinta adjacent to 20,000 acres of public land.
The club saw its dreams of building around a KSWCo pool shattered when the local council flipped support due to neighbor concerns about noise and light pollution, as well as water use. The new approved development at the Coral Mountain site now includes a golf course rather than a wave pool.
The partnership is an ingenious solution to building a development based on surfing, when that development doesn’t contain an actual wave pool.
“Interest in surf and the wave pool space is booming, and the addition of the surf lagoon will catapult Coral Mountain Desert Club into a category of its own,” said Michael Schwab. “This new amenity reflects our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what a modern master-planned community can be and reinforces our vision for destinations that the next evolution of buyers can enjoy for generations to come.”
Thermal Beach Club
Thermal Beach Club was co-founded in 2016 by Patrick Belous and Brian Grantham and is backed by 19 founding families. According to project representatives, the group is involved in the development of Coral Mountain Desert Club as part of a broader vision. Over the past decade, the team has focused on planning, securing entitlements, and developing the site as a long-term residential and recreational community.
The crew also takes inspiration from nearby Thermal Club, which is basically a surf park for motorheads. Thermal Beach Club has said that the benefits of the surf lagoon go well beyond the waves.
“In order to take our master-planned concept to the next level, we crafted this unique design with Endless Surf as the centerpiece of the project,” said Brian Grantham in 2023. “While the expansive, pristine blue lake with pumping surf will be the heart and soul of this community, we will provide many other activities to deliver our vision for the Thermal Beach Club experience.”
A press release at that time stated the wave pool will be an ES60 generating waves from sixty wave-generating caissons. The 2023 presser also stated that a 3.8-acre Endless Surf pool would be fitted into a larger 20-acre lake, along with a Ka’ana Wave Co. standing wave. This week’s press release touted, “the largest pneumatic wave basin in the U.S with 48 chambers (caissons.)” Speculation is that the wave pool was dialed back in size.
An Instagram post by Big Sky Partners & Michael Schwab said, “We’re bringing Coral Mountain to life — anchored by Endless Surf’s pneumatic wave technology, delivering customizable, year-round waves for surfers of all levels.”
Noah Hahn of Meriwether told The Desert Sun that they expect Coral Mountain Desert Club to break ground in summer 2026. Thermal Beach Club is aiming to begin construction in summer 2027 and aims to open in the fourth quarter of 2028.
One insider noted that the CMDC and TBC arrangement could inspire other developments to pursue a “shared resource” model when it comes to building wave pools.
