Adam McCulloch
Surf's upscale!
When master Hawaiian surfboard shaper John Carper first started surfing 50 years ago, people referred to surfers as beach bums and slackers, and no one thought they’d get a job -- let alone spend their hard-earned cash on five-star resorts. “If you wanted to get fancy you had a tent,” said Carper.
Fast-forward half a century: Surfing is now a $10 billion industry worldwide, and everyone’s riding a wave of success. But it’s not just about finding an amazing hollow tube any more. The sport has also been a boon for hoteliers with luxury accommodation located close to great breaks. And some have gone so far as to open their own surf resorts in far flung locales offering good food, luxurious beds and private waves. What more could a surfer ask for?...
Surf's upscale!
When master Hawaiian surfboard shaper John Carper first started surfing 50 years ago, people referred to surfers as beach bums and slackers, and no one thought they’d get a job -- let alone spend their hard-earned cash on five-star resorts. “If you wanted to get fancy you had a tent,” said Carper.
Fast-forward half a century: Surfing is now a $10 billion industry worldwide, and everyone’s riding a wave of success. But it’s not just about finding an amazing hollow tube any more. The sport has also been a boon for hoteliers with luxury accommodation located close to great breaks. And some have gone so far as to open their own surf resorts in far flung locales offering good food, luxurious beds and private waves. What more could a surfer ask for?...
Adam McCulloch Surf's upscale! When master Hawaiian surfboard shaper John Carper first started surfing 50 years ago, people referred to surfers as beac... more
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Created 06/20/08
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1
Tavarua, Fiji
John Carper and Adam Borello
"The biggest appeal of Tavarua is the fact that it is a completely private island," said Adam Borello. "In Fiji, the villages and tribes that have rights to the island also have rights to the reefs around it. So the only people who are surfing the break with you are the people staying on the island." That means that the two world-famous waves called "Cloudbreak" and "Restaurants" will be all yours.
Guests staying at Tavarua Island Resort are treated to "a total worry free experience," said Borello -- the staff meets you at Nandin Airport and transfers your boards out to the island. The exclusive resort measuring only 29 acres has just 15 beachfront bures, each one luxuriously appointed. Developed in 1979 as a low-impact surf camp, the resort's amenities have grown to appeal to a broader clientele, offering fishing, sea kayaking, scuba diving and sea plane adventures. Adam Borello cheekily recommends vacationing at Tavarua with non-surfers to reduce your already sparse competition on the waves. For more information: www.tavarua.com
2
Sumba Island, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
Adam Borello and Anthony Marcotti
Between March and November, you'll get "some of the best surfing days you've seen in your life," said Anthony Marcotti. "It's really conducive to making you feel like you can actually surf. The waves are so good you spend more time on them -- you can be in the water eight hours a day." The barreling breaks in the Mentawai Islands have powerful names like Hollow Trees, The Hole and Bank Vaults -- each one a badge of honor for the surfers who ride them. The break called Pussies is for, well… beginners.
Nihiwatu Resort is perfect for high-powered executives, according to Adam Borello. "They can sleep in, and whenever the wave looks good, someone will get in a boat and take them out to the reef," he said. Add to that the resort's three-bedroom Haweri villa with private pool, grounds and butler service and it's a surf resort par excellence. Guests are also frequently tempted into deeper water with world-class game fishing for sailfish and 300-pound marlin. For more information: www.nihiwatu.com
3
Turtle Bay, Hawaii
Adam Borello and John Carper
t's hardly surprising that Hawaiian locals Adam Borello and John Carper both chose Hawaii as one of their favorite luxury surfing destinations. Carper picks Poipu on the northern island of Kauai and the north shore of Oahu as two places that offer the right mix of high-class hotels and access to great surf. Oahu's north coast is home to some of the most famous breaks in surfing history: Sunset Beach, Banzaii Pipeline and Waimea Bay, which plays host to the Eddie Aikau Big wave classic each winter.
"Turtle Bay is where many of the pro surfers stay," said Carper of this resort, 45 minutes from Honolulu. It's easy to see why: It boasts five miles of shoreline and surfing school run by ex-pro surfer Hans Hedemann. For beginner surfers, there's an introductory course, and if your skills are closer to that of the big-wave riders, a helicopter can transfer you to more isolated breaks. Accommodation-wise, the resort offers a host of options, from generously proportioned 673-square-foot studios to four bedroom ocean villas capable of sleeping up to 10 people. Each ocean villa comes with a private pool, Jacuzzi, courtyard and personal chef, making it ideal for a post-surf beach party. Plus, you'll be close to Honolulu's great restaurants like Alan Wong's, run by the James Beard Award-winning chef. For more information: www.turtlebayresort.com; www.alanwongs.com
4
Reunion Island, Africa
Dane Sharp
Surfers find luxury in the splendid isolation of Reunion Island, marooned 125 miles southwest of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. “I spent all my time on the west and south coast,” said Dane Sharp. “There are beginner to intermediate waves that are left and right-handers. But the world-class waves are predominantly left-handers. Reunion Island’s most famous wave is Saint Leu, a long curving left hand point break with barrel sections.”
The colonial inspired Villas du Lagon professes to have the largest pool on Reunion Island, measuring 12,000 square feet. And when the surf is as flat as the pool, the villas offer surf rack-equipped bikes to get to the breaks. Sharp loves the food here as well. “The French food and African influence was amazing,” he said. “The local culture is Creole so there’s a dedicated Creole menu in pretty much every restaurant. If you didn’t want to eat seafood every day I’d reckon you were tripping.” For more information: www.villas-du-lagon.com
5
Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Dane Sharp
For Rip Curl's Dane Sharp, one town in Southern Mexico is hard to beat. "Puerto Escondido is a massive wave when it's working," he said. It's called the Mexican Pipeline, for its similarity in shape to Hawaii's iconic Pipeline wave. In 2006, the Rip Curl Pro Search WCT was held there, surfing a wave called La Jolla: a right-handed point break with a nice soft sandy bottom. It peels for up to 600 feet, making it a very long ride.
With 120 rooms (41 with private pools) Camino Zaashila is one of the more prestigious properties located on Tangolunda Bay. Designed by architect Sordo Madaleno, the Mediterranean-style hotel features lashings of Italian marble, white arches and a 500-foot pool. And there are more five-star resorts to come: Mexico's Tourism Ministry plans to make the nearby Bays of Huatulco a featured tourism destination. "One of the great things about surfing in Mexico," said Sharp, "is the fact that you can be trekking through jungle to get to a break and then as soon as you've finished you drive home and get your car valet parked."
6
Bilbao, Spain
Derek O’Neill
Billabong CEO Derek O’Neill likes the charm of a small village called Mundaka in the remote Basque region of Spain. “You’ve got a 300-year-old town with a little church on the point,” he said. “The wave almost breaks into the middle of the village.” From September to March when the wave is at its peak, it’s “the most perfect wave in Europe and capable of holding really large swells,” he said. “It’s really a performance wave. It gets very, very hollow.”
While Mundaka retains its old-world charm, the bustling city of Bilbao -- just a 30-minute drive away -- acts as the perfect urban surf camp. Overlooking the new Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim museum is the Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao, an organic piece of modern architecture most recognized for its inventive lobby, where a tower of river stones reaches skyward in the central atrium. And the nearby town of San Sebastian boasts more Michelin stars per capita than any place on earth. Two standouts are Arzak and Martin Berasategui.
7
Byron Bay, Australia
Derek O'Neill
Derek O'Neill lives just half an hour north of what he feels is Australia's best luxury surfing destination, Byron Bay. "There's a really good variety of waves; Lennox Head is a right-hand reef break that holds quite large swells; Broken Head is probably one of the most picturesque beaches on the coast; The Pass is a highlight suitable for all standards of surfing; and Watego's is good for the long-board guys," he says.
Rae's at Watego is a Spanish-style mansion turned boutique hotel, featuring six newly renovated suites and a spa. (Their guest list includes band members from U2.) With its sweeping water over the long boarders on Watego Bay, you can wake up, check out the surf and grab a board. There's as much variety in the food as the waves: Rae's terrace restaurant offers sublime Thai cusine; Finn's serves up modern Australian; and Dish takes its culinary cues from Morocco. For more information: www.raes.com.au; www.fins.com.au; www.dishbyronbay.com.au
8
Moorea, Tahiti
Derek O’Neill
Sure, you could head to a remote motu and seek out your own break, but O’Neill suggests going no further than Moorea, the closest island to mainland Tahiti. It has “some of the most feared waves on the planet,” he said. Being reef breaks, some are quite a paddle -- half an hour in come cases. “You’ve got blue water, a lot of wildlife, heaps of different fish, the odd reef shark -- it’s pretty hard to beat,” he said. His favorite is a break called Haapiti. “It’s quite a long left hander and it’s a really good shape.”
Tahiti reads like a short list of high-end brands with spas and over-water bungalows galore. The newly opened St. Regis, for example has a super-exclusive three-bedroom royal estate measuring 13,000 square feet. It comes with a private pool and spa facilities, super-yacht wharf and chef’s kitchen -- no surprise that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban honeymooned here. The Sheraton Moorea offers 54 over-water bungalows, allowing you to commute from the break to the mini-bar without touching land. For more information: www.stregis.com; www.sheratonmoorea.com
9
Florianópolis, Brazil
Hans Keeling
Florianópolis’s sandy breaks are perfect for beginners and intermediate surfers, but don’t be fooled by this Brazilian island’s gentle nature: It also hosts South America’s only WCT Pro Surfing event at Joa Quima. “For the best breaks, head to the western side of the island,” said Hans Keeling.
As a self-confessed surf adventurer, Keeling liked the culture of this Brazilian island paradise so much he moved here in 2004. “It’s the Brazilian equivalent of the Hamptons,” he said. He accommodates his clients in the island’s exclusive private beach houses directly in front of the best breaks on Praia Mole and Galheta beaches. There’s also Ponta dos Ganchos, which in 2006 became Florianópolis’ first Relais & Châteaux property. There’s also the stellar nightlife. “Last year we took our surfing clients to a bar called Paiko and Gisele Bundchen was there,” said Keeling. For more information: www.nexussurf.com; www.relaischateaux.com
10
Indies Trader IV, Anywhere
John Carper, Adam Borello and Anthony Marcotti.
What do you do when the best surf is well out of reach of civilization? Charter a boat and chase the waves. “Every left-hand tube is compared to a pipeline and every surf charter is compared to the Indies Trader,” said John Carper. Adam Borello agrees. “It’s beyond five star,” he said. The seven-year round-the-world quest for the best surf has taken the boat to Hawaii, the Maldives and everywhere in between. From April to September, the Indies Trader IV plies Indonesian waters, and from October to March it heads to the Pacific Ocean. They can even fit the ship with a helicopter to get to the breaks quicker. “It’s just like heli-skiing,” said Borello. “Some people don’t want to look at anyone else’s trail.”
According to Marcotti, who owns his own flotilla of boats in the Mentawai Islands, the Indies Trader has played host to every surfing celebrity and industry heavyweight who ever lived. “All the surfing CEOs come and stay on the Indies Trader every year,” he said. The fit-out for Indies Trader IV was entrusted to prestigious marine interior designer Caroline Yeun, who took her inspiration from Armani’s super-yachts. In the deluxe double-berth staterooms (which comprise four of the 11 doubles available) are full queen-size beds, plasma screen TV with surround sound, DVDs, satellite phones, e-mail access and full ensuite -- two with dual basins. For more information: www.indiestrader.com
[source: https://www.forbestraveler.com/adventure/luxury-surfing-trips-story.html ]
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