Scope
Boutique hotels in general are still overwhelmingly male-built. Surf hotels even more so. The properties below are, in some defensible way, exceptions — designed by women, built by women, or operated by women in a way that materially shaped the property. The collection is a working documentation project; it grows as we identify more examples that meet the criteria.
Inclusion criterion: a woman or women must be in the founding team or principal-design role, not merely on staff or in a co-investor capacity. The aesthetic and operational instincts that emerge from this constraint are, in our reading, distinct: scale tends smaller, hospitality patterns tend warmer, food culture tends more developed, and the relationship between the property and the surrounding place tends more porous.
What we're watching
The properties, places, and threads under active editorial review for inclusion in the published piece.
Templo Saladita
La Saladita · Mexico
Woman-built, woman-run; queer-owned. Five spaces on a corner lot; treehouse, casitas, hexagonal shala. Already the cover story; in this collection as the methodology reference point.
Las Olas Surf Safaris
Sayulita · Mexico
Founded by Bev Sanders in 1997 as the original women's-only surf camp; multiple properties across Nayarit. The originating institution of the women-built surf-travel category.
Surf Goddess Retreats
Bali · Indonesia
Founded by Chelsea Smith; one of the longest-running women's surf retreat operations. The villa is purpose-designed for the program.
Salt Gypsy Surf House
Northern NSW · Australia
Danielle Clayton's operation; built around her surf-apparel brand; aesthetic identity is unmistakable.
Marta Rocks Surfhouse
Caparica · Portugal
Marta Imarisio's small property south of Lisbon; one of Portugal's most considered woman-built houses.
Surf with Amigas
Multiple locations · Central America
Holly Beck's surf-and-travel operation; multiple base properties in Nicaragua + Costa Rica; structurally important to the category.
Tia Wave Co
Costa Rica + Mexico
Younger operation; documented because the design language is identifiably new.
Aloha Surf House
Ericeira · Portugal
Run by Maria de Sousa; small-scale boutique aligned with the Ericeira ecosystem.
Publication status
First chapter publishing Q2 2026. The piece is structured as a documentation project rather than a ranking — the full list will keep growing. Recommendations of properties that meet the editorial criterion are welcome.
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