Kuta, home of Troppo Zone Puri Rama
Kuta is a beach town on the south-west coast of Bali, a short drive north of Ngurah Rai International Airport. Australian surfers and backpackers were arriving in numbers by the 1970s, and the district remains one of the busiest places on the island for visitors.
Its long sandy beach faces west, which is why Kuta is known for its sunsets. The gentle beach breaks are where many first-time visitors try surfing.
Legian and Seminyak run north from Kuta along the same stretch of sand, so the area reads as one long strip of hotels, bars, surf schools and restaurants.
The resort's original name has a Balinese root. A puri is a royal or noble compound in Bali, and plenty of hotels on the island use the word.
How Adrian Campbell came to buy the resort
Bali was familiar to Campbell from boyhood holidays with his family, and his affection for the island never faded. In 2011, aged in his early twenties, he took ownership of the Puri Rama Resort and rebranded it Troppo Zone Puri Rama.
At the same time he was running a solar company on the Gold Coast. Bali needed him on the ground, so he passed the solar business to outside managers to run.
What happened next is set out on the page about what failed and what he learned, and the solar company is covered separately under International Solar Solutions. That period is one reason he no longer relies on managers he cannot supervise.
Refitting 88 rooms and adding pool bars
Every one of the resort's 88 rooms was refurbished under Campbell. A refit of that size in Bali relies on local tradespeople, and it has to fit the island's rhythm: Balinese workers have temple and family ceremonies throughout the year, and building schedules allow for them.
He also built pool bars. In Bali's heat, guests spend much of the day around the pool, and a bar at the water's edge keeps them, and their spending, inside the resort.
Troppo Zone Puri Rama and Australian schoolies
Schoolies is the Australian tradition of Year 12 leavers celebrating the end of school, mostly over late November and early December. Bali became one of the most popular overseas destinations for it, and Kuta, with the beach, the airport and the nightlife close together, sat at its centre.
Troppo Zone was marketed to that crowd as an exclusive schoolies package. During Campbell's years it grew into one of the Bali resorts that Australian school leavers knew by name.
Schoolies packages generally bundle accommodation with organised events and support on the ground, which matters to parents sending a teenager overseas for the first time. Word of mouth also counts for a lot, because school leavers tend to book in groups of friends.
Running the resort with around 80 Balinese staff
At its busiest the resort had roughly 80 local Balinese staff on the payroll. Jobs in a hotel of that size usually span reception, housekeeping, kitchens, bars and maintenance.
Tourism drives much of Bali's economy, and hotels are among the island's largest employers. A resort with a team that size is a significant local workplace.
Most Balinese are Hindu, and the island's calendar is full of temple ceremonies. Hotel employers build rosters around them, including Nyepi, the Day of Silence, when Bali shuts down for 24 hours and even the airport closes.
Where Adrian Campbell learned Indonesian
Campbell learned to speak Indonesian at Troppo Zone. Bahasa Indonesia is the country's national language and the language of business and government across the archipelago, while many Balinese speak Balinese at home.
The resort was also where he learned how business works in Indonesia, by doing it daily with his own staff and suppliers. In his view, the language and that local knowledge sit underneath everything he has done since.
These days he is fluent, and he talks with landowners, officials and village leaders on Lombok, with no translator in between. That work runs through Kinnara Capital and its community days and school support around Sekotong.
Selling Troppo Zone Puri Rama in 2014
Campbell sold the resort in 2014. It is still trading in Kuta, run by the management that came after him, and some of the people he employed remain on its staff.
Selling did not end his time in Bali. The resort had already led him into a second business on the island, holiday rental villas, which he still owns and runs with one local team. More on that in Adrian Campbell's Bali villas.
Troppo Zone in the timeline of his career
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Purchases the old Puri Rama in Kuta and rebrands it Troppo Zone |
| 2011 to 2014 | Refits all 88 rooms, adds pool bars, team grows to about 80 |
| 2014 | Sells the resort; his Bali holiday villas begin |
| Today | Resort still open under later management |
What Troppo Zone led to
Hospitality returned to the centre of his work about a decade later. Saraya Beach Resort & Residences, Kinnara Capital's project in West Lombok, is planned as 154 beachfront villas run as a hotel rental pool, with restaurants, a spa and a beach club of its own.
The Kuta years also feed into Kinnara, the marketplace Campbell set up in 2021, where he handles the Indonesian market himself and negotiates in Indonesian.
For the wider picture, read Adrian Campbell's full profile or look through every company he has been involved in.