The Brando Resort – Tetiaroa, French Polynesia

Tetiaroa is beautiful beyond my capacity to describe.
One could say that Tetiaroa is the tincture of the South Seas.”

Marlon Brando

The Brando Resort – Tetiaroa, French Polynesia is a unique luxury resort on French Polynesia’s breathtakingly beautiful private island of Tetiaroa – an atoll composed of a dozen small islands surrounding a sparkling lagoon 30 miles northeast of Tahiti.

The Brando offers carefree luxury in the midst of pristine nature. With access to the island by private plane, the resort features 35 villas on white-sand beaches frequented by sea turtles, manta rays and exotic birds. The resort was designed to reflect Polynesian lifestyles and culture.

The actor Marlon Brando bought Tetiaroa in 1966 after visiting Tahiti to film Mutiny on the Bounty, and spent many happy days there escaping the battlefield of Hollywood. The Brando, which opened in July 2014, seeks to continue his vision that this dream atoll remain pristine – while also offering guests holiday comforts of the highest level. Despite the name, there is little Brando theming and the ambience is decidedly luxe castaway, with nature providing the flamboyance. A high point is the Varua Spa, which is hidden away in the coconut palms and offers sensual Polynesian treatments. Excursions include lagoon tours and visits to the island’s eco-station, and there is a fitness centre, tennis court and watersports.

ACCOMMODATION

One Bedroom Villa (30 Villas)

Inside your 1,033-sq.-ft. (96-sq.-m) villa you will feel right at home. Each villa is designed to blend into and enhance the serenity of your surroundings, so you’ll feel as though indoors and outdoors have merged together. The cozy sitting room is furnished with soft and comfortable chairs and sofas. To the side is a media room, where you can listen to music, watch a movie, or use WiFi to keep in touch with friends and family.

A walkthrough dressing area adjoins your spacious bedroom, where a king-size bed invites you to relax and gaze through a large window at the lagoon, visible through a screen of pandanus, miki miki, and coconut trees.

The adjoining bathroom features an outdoor bathtub, set behind a wooden screen. The deck leads to a private, 107-sq.-ft. (10-sq.-m) plunge pool.

Two-Bedroom Villas (4 Villas)

Enjoy all the appointments of a one-bedroom villa—plus many built-in extras—in any of the four, 1,808-sq.-ft. (168-sq.-m), two-bedroom villas.

Inside, a large, airy living room combines all the features of the one-bedroom villa’s sitting, while giving you the sensation of spaciousness. The living room also provides you with a private dining area with seating for six, a kitchen, and a wide entryway onto a large, two-tiered deck.

In these villas, the second bedroom is situated above the first. The downstairs bedroom features a private dressing area. Upstairs, as you gaze out over the lagoon, you’ll experience a sensation of floating above this opulent tropical vista. This bedroom also features its own dressing area, bathroom, and outdoor bathtub.

Your sense of spaciousness and privacy extends to your 1,658-sq.-ft. (154-sq.-m) private yard, with its larger deck area and 140-sq.-ft. (13-sq.-m) plunge pool.

Three-Bedroom Villa (1 Villa)

The 2,648-sq.-ft. (246-sq.-m) three-bedroom villa provides an opportunity for friends or a larger family to stay together.  This villa has all the features of the two-bedroom villa but on an even larger scale.

The third bedroom is separated from the main villa by an above-ground walkway, and includes its own dressing room, bathroom, and outdoor bathtub.

Upgraded furnishings in your private outdoor space, which includes an expanded deck and a 236 sq. ft. (22 sq. m) pool.

DINING

The resort’s two restaurants showcase Polynesian-inspired dishes, East/West fusion and classic French cuisine. The award-winning cuisine of Guy Martin of the Michelin two star restaurant Le Grand Véfour in Paris is featured in both dining venues and in-villa dining.

You will enjoy the freshest of ingredients as the Chef will select fruits and vegetables naturally grown in the gardens and orchards, and will serve you delicious and fragrant papayas, bananas, lemons, herbs, cucumbers, zucchinis, tomatoes and eggplants. Most featured fish come from Polynesian waters.

WELLNESS & SPA

Varua Te Ora Polynesian Spa is a unique haven of tranquillity nestled on a restful pond in the heart of the atoll of Tetiaroa. Varua, meaning “the Soul”, perpetuates the tradition established by the Royal family who used to retreat here to relax and indulge in beauty rituals.

Blending into the lush vegetation, it is a hidden oasis at the end of a path through the tropical undergrowth. The Spa is in harmony with its surroundings of plant life, water and wood. Aware of the need to preserve its pure and unspoilt habitat, it offers unrivalled holistic treatments inspired by international and ancestral Polynesian techniques in a truly exceptional setting.

The Spa suites offer amazing views over 2000 sqm of natural landscape on an islet covered in abundant vegetation. And high above in the trees sits Fare Manu, an exceptional suite nesting like a cocoon between heaven and earth. The Spa also has quiet spaces for relaxation including a steam bath, a waterfall, a tea lounge and the Fare Mana, an area sets aside for gentle energies.

Varua Te Ora Polynesian Spa, the soul of Tetiaroa, is a truly Polynesian sanctuary. In perfect accordance with the magnificent surroundings, it allows all to rediscover harmony, relaxation and inner peace.

TETIAROA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

This is the island you dreamed of as a child when the storybook was closed. It’s as if you created your own private world and stepped barefoot into your imagination. With its white sand beaches, swaying coconut palms, colorful birds, and sparkling lagoon, Tetiaroa is a dream paradise.

Beyond its breathtaking beauty, Tetiaroa is a place of rare biodiversity and a natural sanctuary for birds and marine life.

Tetiaroa has a special place in Polynesian history and culture.  It was the exclusive and favored retreat of Tahitian royalty for centuries.  Ancient marae (temples) built on the atoll by early Polynesians can still be found there today.  With its rich history and ethereal beauty it will always have a special place in the heart of Polynesians.

The reef surrounding Tetiaroa and the large and spectacular coral beds in the inner and outer lagoons provide a perfect place for marine life to flourish.  At least 167 fish species have been observed around the atoll, from colorful parrotfish and spotted eagle rays to blacktip sharks and bonefish.  Whales often pause at Tetiaroa  during their annual migrations, and dolphins frequently play off the reef. During the nesting season, large sea turtles come to lay their eggs on the coral sands beneath the trees.