While surfing 29 different wave pools around the world, I experienced a 50-minute walk back to my short-term rental, a 25-minute drive through an unfamiliar city to my hotel, and hitching a ride back to my bed for the night.
Then, a few surf parks flipped the script, turning my visit into a full experience. I can settle in, wake up to the waves and enjoy my final session of the day knowing I don’t need to venture far back to a hotel, hostel or house rental.
Glamping Tents to Boutique Hotels
Out of the 29 wave pools I’ve surfed, only seven offer onsite accommodation. Offerings range from glamping tents, pods and cabins to boutique hotels. Most surf parks aren’t small-footprint venues, so they’re often well off the beaten path, dictated by land availability, local traffic, light and noise limitations. That usually means accommodation isn’t within walking distance of the wave pool, unless overnight stays are offered on the premises.
To be fair, when it came to planning all of these global wave pool adventures, I never put much consideration into accommodation. Priority is booking sessions, planes/trains/automobiles to the park, followed by where I’m staying last. Budget and overall travel costs dictate where I stay vs. convenience and proximity to the wave pools I’m surfing.
That is, until I decided to try staying overnight at a surf park.
Obvious Win
The most obvious benefit is also the most physical: no commute. I lug a 45- to 50-pound board bag to most wave pools I visit. That’s 50 lbs on my shoulder from the car park in, and 50 lbs back to the parking lot after surfing several sessions — multiplied by however many days I’m there.
Forget traffic, tolls and other road hazards before and after your surfs. Guests staying onsite have the privilege of settling in, waking up for the first session of the day without rush, or enjoying a sunset session unfettered by a pesky drive back to the hotel or home rental. Have the urge to surf more? The close proximity to the pool and your equipment all day allows for more freedom to book additional sessions.
Some surf parks, like Waco Surf, encourage guests to stay on property through discount packages. Book a room at the Waco Surf Hotel or cabin? Special surf session rates are offered through their “Stay & Surf” program. Waco promotes Surf, Stay, Dine and Play. I did just that last summer, staying two nights onsite and loved every minute of it. I surfed multiple sessions each day, launched off the giant slides and floated around the lazy river between sessions, and didn’t stress about driving 20 minutes to downtown Waco for food because I ate onsite.
There’s a different flow to an overnight stay compared to a day trip or quick surf and bounce. Surfers can pace their experience better between surfing, resting and eating. This became obvious during my stays at both Waco Surf and Lost Shore. I was able to surf more, enjoy the amenities (restaurants, cafes, bars), recharge between sessions and even try out the on-property spa, waterparks and recovery pools.
Surf, Stay, Spend
The benefits of amenities flow to guests, but the surf park wins too. Onsite accommodation is a win-win: more time on property means higher spend per guest. Visitors need to eat, entertain themselves between booked sessions with ancillary activities and invest in photo and video packages that document their experience. And if the stay leaves a good enough impression, add branded merchandise to that tally.
Now, I understand onsite accommodation isn’t a possibility for many surf park sites — whether due to location limitations, land size, or local policies and restrictions. I would rather see a surf park come to life with no accommodation than no surf park at all. That said, if you’re a founder, planner, consultant or developer, I ask that you consider working in some sort of accommodation into your layout. I will book it, stay longer and spend more while I’m hanging around onsite vs. a quick visit or strike mission.
Business Considerations
Mark “Skip” Taylor of Surf Park Management puts the business case plainly. He says that onsite accommodation works when you’re building a true destination that justifies multi-day stays and can support year-round demand. It tends to fall flat when the park is essentially a local day-use facility, or when the market can’t support hotel-level risk.
“It’s the ‘surf resort’ vs. ‘urban attraction’ question — and not every park needs to answer it the same way.”
For operators where full hotel development isn’t the right fit, Taylor points to a more creative path: partner with a hospitality brand and push that risk to someone else. Done right, onsite rooms attract non-surfers booking for business or travel — people who become natural targets for a learn-to-surf experience, or at minimum, F&B and retail spend. He points to what’s taking shape at Cannon Beach, where a Hilton Hotel is being built on the back of strong demand for 3-star product in the Mesa region, as a live example of that model in action.
I have no skin in the wave pool game, but understand there are considerations that must be made from a developer and operator perspective. Some considerations that come to mind include:
- Balancing room rates with seasonal demand
- Matching session slots vs. accommodation capacity
- Staffing the maintenance + cleaning team
- Physical layout relative to wave pool
- Shared vs. dedicated accommodation facilities (bathrooms, showers, benches, hot tubs)
- Wave pool after hours entertainment
- Guest “quiet” hours
- Child-specific supervision for family stays
- Sustainability impact, water usage, energy consumption in addition to the wave pool
Customer Considerations
My opinion is only one in a sea (or pool) of many paying customers. There are a lot of considerations from the visitor’s perspective when it comes to accommodation, such as:
- Value – Is the premium cost to stay onsite worth the convenience compared to nearby stays?
- Deals & Discounts – Does an onsite stay include meals, sessions, equipment or discounts on these?
- Packages – Can sessions, meals or ancillary activities be bundled with your nightly rate?
- Access – Is early access to session booking, exclusive session levels or early/evening times an added benefit to booking the surf park accommodation?
Onsite accommodation can cost a premium in my experience, but usually comes with added benefits in the form of special access, discounts, or package deals. I have also noticed some small touches that make more difference than operators realize.
In one instance, I was excited to connect my phone to the pod’s Bluetooth speakers so I could jam out after a fun day of surfing, but couldn’t connect to my specific room (only saw other pods listed). I flagged it with the onsite overnight manager, who went out of his way to sort it out by offering to move me to another pod or troubleshoot on the spot. It came down to a simple power reset to re-establish the Bluetooth connection, but I lost an hour of jamming out. Not the end of the world, but he returned with surf park tokens redeemable for drinks at the onsite cafe. Small touch, but I felt like a valued customer.
Area of Opportunity
Based on my firsthand experience staying onsite at two different surf parks, I noted some areas of opportunity to improve guest experience.
- Reliable Wi-Fi: Everyone wants to download their Flowstate clips, photos from Rob Henson or footage captured by friends and family to post on social media — free advertising for the park. The problem: connections are often spotty this far off the beaten path.
- Board storage — Don’t get me wrong, I love my surfboards … but not enough to sleep next to them on the bed since there’s nowhere else to place them in the pod or hotel room. It’s a surf park, so an easy win is building a board rack for guests bringing their own equipment.
- Wetsuit rack: Nobody wants to pull on a cold, damp wetsuit for their next session. A simple drying rack is an easy win.
- Snacks, specifically late-night food + beverages were non-existent and not in walking distance when I stayed onsite. A vending machine, mini mart or late-night cafe would be appreciated by all, especially those without automobiles or public transportation to get to the nearest gas station.
- Entertainment: Build an after-hours program — movie nights, fire pits, socials, dining, drinks — that keeps guests on property after the pool closes.
Bigger Picture
We’re living in a wave pool world and surf parks are coming to a market near you. Onsite accommodation might not be the main draw for day-trippers, but it unlocks a whole new customer profile beyond the core surfer. Think group surf trips, family staycations, bachelor parties, retreats, conferences, reunions and even weddings!
I would have [wedding at a surf park], but my wife said no to getting married at a wave pool last year. We compromised and had our rehearsal lunch at a wave pool.
Proper accommodation onsite has the potential to evolve and shape surf travel as a category. The swell is guaranteed, so why not ditch the flat-spell gamble and book a surf trip to a wave pool. The best parks already offer meal options, spas, shops, walking trails, skate pump tracks, waterparks and even concert venues. With wellness, dining and entertainment all on property, staying over is harder and harder to argue against.
“Back in 2016, we saw that the next generation of surf parks would need to offer more than just great waves,” said Andy Hadden, founder of Lost Shore Surf Resort. “That’s why we designed Lost Shore as a destination resort from the outset, combining fantastic accommodation, food and drink, wellness and world-class surfing in one place. It’s a model we’re increasingly seeing adopted across the industry, and it’s great to see guests embracing the opportunity to turn a surf session into a short break.”
As I mentioned upfront, I never gave onsite accommodation a second thought … until I did. Now it’ll be my first call when planning any wave pool trip. The comfort, convenience and overall experience are worth the premium over offsite rentals and hotels.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram @SurfParkNerd in case we don’t cross paths onsite at a surf park.
