The retreat · purpose-built

Stay & Sleep (S)well.

Designed exactly for its purpose; to feel like home.....by surfers, for surfers

Today in Cabarete
Air28°C82°F
Water27°C81°F

Purpose-built and designed to be the perfect place for an active week.

Swell is a special place with a unique friendly vibe.  We’ve welcomed many guests with high-powered, stressful jobs and it’s amazing to watch their worries drift away in just a few hours.  Swell feels like a real home in the tropics from the moment you enter.  You’ll be greeted by fellow guests who already feel so relaxed it’s as though they are now part of the team.

Each room has a similar theme, a calming colour palette, ensuite facilities, air-conditioning, nice beds with cotton sheets, ceiling fan and safe deposit box.  After an action-packed day in or on the water, you can sleep as well as you should.

8 Rooms
Boutique-style
Pool view
All rooms
5 restaurants
Within a minute's walk
The rooms
A boutique ensuite room at Swell Bedroom detail at Swell 3 person room
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The rooms

Sleep (s)well
after an active day.

Spotlessly clean and simply decorated. A warm shower with toiletries and towels are provided along with daily cleaning (no sand in your bed; small things that matter after a day on the water).

  • Ensuite & privateDouble glazed windows and your own bathroom
  • AC & ceiling fanCool nights after warm days
  • 100% cotton sheetsCrisp, clean and made for you daily.
As seen in
The communal hub
Tropical garden and pool Guests by the pool Friendly vibes The pool is a guest favorite Communal dinners The communal living-room hub
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The communal hub

Arrive a stranger
Leave as a friend.

At the centre of it all is the communal hub — an open living room with one huge table, a pool table, several sofas and loungers. Dine together, share stories, drinks and games.
The majority of our guests arrive on their own — about 70% of them.
This is where they stop being strangers. And if you're not in the mood for socialising, there's always a quiet place to sit in.

  • One long tableBreakfasts together between surfs
  • Surf theory lessonForecasts, wave formation and gear talk in the open living room.
  • A cold drink, a debriefMemorable evenings, friends made for life
From the guidebook

Think of Swell as the anti-surf camp.

There’s plenty of surfing, of course, but the similarities to other surf camps end there. For starters, the rooms are stylish — more boutique surf retreat than reggae-loving surfer digs. Then there are the legendary breakfasts: omelets, pancakes and crepes, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and fruit bowls.

Structured surf lessons take place each morning — an instructor alongside you and the head surf coach watching from shallow water, ready to offer learn-to-surf tips between riding waves. If you are serious about learning to surf, then Swell should be on top of your destination list. Highly recommended!

Frommer’s Travel Guides Guidebook review
The food
Fresh Breakfast
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The food

Home-made food
from the freshest produce

One of our guests' most talked about things is the food. A daily breakfast and 3 dinners per week are included in all our stays. The food is planned and supervised by Swell's manager Haudy, a real foodie, from Chile. She loves to find the best ingredients to prepare great food and it's all eaten around our massive dining table.

Mornings begin with great Dominican coffee and a lite bite. You shouldn't surf on a full stomach, so we save the real breakfast until 10am. Fresh organic tropical fruit and home-pressed juices, eggs or crepes/wraps, home-made muesli and locally made bread. If you're vegetarian, vegan or gluten free, don't worry, just let us know and we will make sure you won't starve!

Dinners are legendary. Haudy loves to work with the best local produce and delicious Dominican recipes feature every week. Grilled fish from the coast, slow-cooked Dominican classics, plenty of vegetables and salads — served family-style while the day’s stories do the rounds. Vegan, veggie and gluten free options are available provided we know in advance.

Market to table
Beach restaurants, two minutes away
Market to table

Daily deliveries,
cooked daily.

Almost everything we serve is bought the same day: fish from the fishermen, fruit, eggs and greens delivered daily. Bread from the bakery down the road.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or allergic to something specific? Tell us when you book, and we'll remember your preferences all week.

4 evenings each week the kitchen rests and Cabarete takes over — beach restaurants with tables in the sand, a few minutes’ walk away. We’ll point you to the ones we actually eat at, and guests usually step out together. We chose not to do dinners every night so you don't miss out on some wonderful dining experiences.

Vegetarian Vegan Gluten-free Allergies, with notice
The freshwater pool from above The pool deck and loungers The communal hub and garden The huge sandy bay, two minutes on foot
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Pool & garden

A freshwater pool, a palm-shaded garden, and nowhere you have to be.

Freshwater pool Palm-shaded garden Lots of loungers Two minutes to the beach
Around the property

Plenty of time to
take it easy......

The pool
The pool
Play some pool
Play some pool
Our tropical garden
Our tropical garden
Designed for purpose
Designed for purpose
Your sunbed...
Your sunbed...
Beer o'clock?
Beer o'clock?
friendly vibes
friendly vibes
Swim time
Swim time
It's swell
It's swell
Good to have

We've tried to think of everything
so you don’t have to.

  • Ensuite · AC · ceiling fan
  • 100% cotton sheets
  • Fresh breakfast & 3 dinners
  • Restaurants 2 minutes walk
  • Beautiful communal space
  • 24/7 staff onsite
  • Freshwater pool
  • Set in tropical garden
  • Minutes from the beach
  • No need for a car
About the stay

Have we forgotten something?
perhaps the answer is here

What our guests ask about rooms, meals, lessons, etc. Anything we’ve missed — write to us, you'll get an answer direct from the owner within a few hours.

It’s a bit tough to give a definitive answer since this varies per week. The average age of our guest generally is around 38; so absolutely more ‘surf retreat’ than a younger, early 20’s, ‘surf camp’ crowd. Our guests come to learn or progress at surfing or wingfoiling, so less party, more activity focussed.

70% of our guests come solo, so you’ll be in good company. Shared breakfasts and dinners and the communal hub mean nobody stays a stranger past the first morning. We tend to be busier October to April so if you need a crowd, choose those months.

Daily breakfast and dinners around one huge table on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday evening, all fresh and made on site. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and most allergies are no problem (with notice).

Every room has AC, a ceiling fan and crisp 100% cotton sheets, and there’s free WIFI in the communal space. After an action-packed day on the water you’re going to sleep (s)well.

For surfing, the breaks are a short drive in the transport we provide twice each morning. For wingfoiling or relaxing, simply walk a couple of minutes to beautiful, sandy Cabarete Bay to meet the instructors at the beach for your lessons. Restaurants, shops are all within a short walk which is exactly why you won’t need a rental car.

surfing Complete beginners can come any time (we keep you away from the larger waves).  Intermediate surfers should come in May to November.  Winter brings the more consistent swell for surfers who don’t need lessons. May, June, July & August and quieter and you will get smaller groups. Tell us your level and your goals and we’ll point you to the right months.

wingfoiling February, March, April, June, July and August all have the best wind.  June and July have the flattest water. The climate is changing; months that previously had less wind can also be windy these days.

From our guests

Don’t take our word for it.
Take theirs

4.9 300+ Reviews
Megan S
Age
43
From
San Diego
Level
Beginner
Travelled
Travelled solo
If I could give Swell 10 stars I would!! My partner and I visited Swell at the end of March 2026. We had an absolutely amazing trip. The rooms are clean and spaceship. The A/C works great and had warm water to shower. The WiFi is spotty in the upstairs rooms but works perfectly in the downstairs communal room. The staff is above & beyond!! The meals were some of the best I’ve had. The surf instructors are phenomenal.. they work with your experience and levels of surfing and join you for breakfast & dinner nights. The yoga is great mostly long holds and stretches which are great after 2 sessions of surfing. Haudy is the best. She runs the place and without her Swell wouldn’t be Swell. I highly recommend doing the canyon tour with Helmut. And last but not least the people that I stayed there with honestly became my family for the week. I honestly want to come back!
Tripadvisor April 2026
Aerial view of the cove at Swell, Cabarete
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300+ REVIEWS
5 nights Minimum stay
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