Inside Marlon Brando's private Polynesian island: Why this is the ultimate castaway experience (even for someone who can't swim)
- Island was originally bought in 1967 by Marlon Brando as his 'personal paradise'
- In 2004 The Brando, with 35 luxury villas, opened on the atoll of Tetiaroa in Tahiti
- Each villa has its own pool and beach and looks out onto a perfect lagoon
While filming Mutiny on the Bounty, Marlon Brando fell in love with the French Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa, buying it in 1967 with a view of turning it into his own personal paradise.
Now, thanks to the creation of The Brando, everyone can experience it - and it is every bit as perfect as the movie legend's vision for a resort 'close to paradise'.
There are 35 private villas, each with their own pool and beach to give the illusion you're the only person on the island, while dining options range from a beachside bar to a stunning restaurant with a menu from Michelin-starred Guy Martin.
Getting there involves taking a 20 minute flight on the Brando's own private airway, and flying into the resort. It's an astonishing experience and appears ahead as the perfect paradise island, with reefs cocooning the beaches, island and residents from the outside world
The Brando is the sole hotel on Tetiaroa, a private atoll of a dozen islets that circle a pristine lagoon 30 miles north of Tahiti
One of National Geographic's Unique Lodges of the World, it's an entirely self contained resort, with supplies shipped in weekly to cater for guest's every whim.
Getting there involves a 20 minute flight on the Brando's own private airline (complete with its own terminal), and flying into the resort is an astonishing experience.
It appears ahead as the ultimate paradise island, with vibrant reefs cocooning the beaches, island and residents from the outside world.
For me, it was the first of an almost endless stream of 'wow' moments at the resort.
The resort is split across two sides of the island, with 22 villas along Turtle Beach and 13 villas along Mermaid Bay
The bedroom looks directly outside to a plunge pool, private beach and onto the natural lagoon. The villas are all high roofed, and have an incredible sense of openness and space
The resort is split across two sides of the island, with 22 villas along Turtle Beach and 13 villas along Mermaid Bay, where we stayed.
While Marlon Brando lived in a low key bungalow on the island - which still stands, and is home to the ecological researchers stationed there, the guest villas these days are a little more high end.
We stayed in a one bedroom villa, and it was vast - with everything from a cinema/office room with big screen TV, desk and sofas to a vast bathroom complete with an outdoor bath area.
There's a separate, large, dressing area leading to the main bathroom, with his and hers sinks.
The bedroom looks directly outside to your own plunge pool, private beach and onto the natural lagoon.
A beach of your own: The tiny number of villas on the island means seeing someone else on the beach your villa backs on to is incredibly rare
The villas are all high roofed, and have an incredible sense of openness and space.
They're also stuffed with technology - from a high end bluetooth speaker system in the bedroom and cinema room to a big screen TV that rises up from the end of the bed when needed (although I will admit the view from the room was so incredible neither my wife or I actually watched any TV during our stay).
From the main living room of the villa, large doors open onto your private deck, plunge pool and dining area.
Beyond this, the beach stretches into the lagoon, along with our favourite part of the entire villa - a large wicker love seat looking out onto the lagoon, the perfect place to unwind after a busy day of, well, unwinding.
The food and service was truly wonderful for a resort so cut off from the mainland, Mark said, and the classic French dishes are prepared superbly
The lagoon is an almost perfectly tranquil body of water shallow enough to walk for a significant amount of time until you get to the reef (which, for a non swimmer like myself is perfect).
Beyond the reef, you can see the waves crashing into the barrier - it's an incredible sight.
The Brando is the sole hotel on Tetiaroa, a private atoll of a dozen islets that circle a pristine lagoon 30 miles north of Tahiti
Each villa has its own driveway, and you feel completely on your own - we caught the odd glimpse of people in villas on either side, but it was only in the communal areas we really saw the other guests.
This sense of seclusion is one of the keys to the Brando.
While in your villa, even in the outside areas it seems as if you're the only people here, while the restaurants and bar are filled with small nooks and crannies for drinkers and diners, so you can watch a sunset in perfect seclusion, should you want.
The Brando offers a number of ways to explore the island and the atoll, boasting everything from boat and walking tours to traditional Polynesian basket weaving and dance classes. Here, Mark takes out a kayak into the calm and shallow waters
The Brando is, while first and foremost a luxury resort, also one that really has taken ecological tourism to its heart in a way not many other places have, or can - everything here was built from the ground up to be both luxurious and sustainable.
The attention to detail is astonishing - from the gardeners who rake the sand outside your villa each morning to make it perfect, to the attitude of the staff, which managed to mix the attention to detail of the French staff with the incredible natural friendliness of the Polynesian staff, making for a team who you really do end up thinking of as friends after just a few days.
If you can drag yourself away from the villa, The Brando also offers a number of ways to explore the island and the atoll, offering everything from boat and walking tours to traditional Polynesian basket weaving and dance classes.
Bob's Bar - a small beach bar modelled on the bar set up and frequented by Brando as part of his original hotel on the island
Sunset from the bar: Bob's Bar was the perfect place to see the stunning sunsets every evening, said Mark
Each villa comes with its own bikes, which are a great way to get around the island
We took the 'ultimate lagoon excursion', a three hour trip that really shows off Tetiaroa.
It's a stunning example of what makes the resort so special, visiting one of the uninhabited islands which give an amazing glimpse back in time, from the coral beneath your feet to the Polynesian altars and rudimentary buildings on the island.
It's also a great way to see the unique wildlife of the area, and it particular the stunning birds - in part, there's even a separate island that's home to thousands of birds, and is an ornithologist's dream.
The trip also involves a stop in the middle of one of the perfect white lagoons, far from the islands - yet still with calm water shallow enough for non swimmers.
There's a full watersports team available, and they'll teach you anything from kayaking to how to pilot a traditional Polynesian boat - or just lend you kit and give you a map to explore on your own.
There's also an incredibly beautiful pool for guests, complete with sunbathing (and drinks service, obviously).
There are secluded tables dotted along the beach, perfect for catching the incredible sunsets with a cocktail or two
It's also well worth taking a bike ride around the island on your own at some point, as much of it is still left in its natural state, with some amazing beaches and strange stone markers from rituals for guests to stumble upon.
There's also, as you'd expect, a well appointed Spa, built over an amazing natural lagoon, and designed to blend in with bird's nest-like treatments rooms.
It's a wonderfully relaxing place, and most packages include a selection of treatments.
The coast is a mix of white sand beaches and colourful reefs - perfect for snorkelling
One thing you won't come across are mosquitoes.
The nonprofit Tetiaroa Society, the stewards of the atoll, have their own research station there where scientists can come and visit.
One of their most remarkable experiments is ridding the island of mosquitoes.
To do this, they regularly release GM male mosquitoes that will mate with and sterilize the wild females, rendering their eggs nonviable.
After a few rounds of such treatment, the population is unable to reproduce itself and collapses - and we didn't encounter a single one.
One of the most surprising aspects of The Brando was the food.
While you'd expect it to be good, perhaps even great, in reality it's truly exceptional.
There are several options for eating, from Bob's Bar, which serves a range of low key snacks and cocktails, to the Les Mutinés, a small and stunning restaurant set up by Guy Martin of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Le Grand Véfour in Paris.
Les Mutinés - a small and stunning restaurant set up by Guy Martin of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Le Grand Véfour in Paris
There it's a complete silver service experience, and the tiny restaurant boasts a superb wine cellar.
Highlights include a stunning take on Shepherd's pie, topped with truffles, and perfectly prepared chocolate puddings.
The entire experience really is incredibly close to being at a Michelin starred restaurant, despite the fact you're actually sitting on a tiny island in French Polynesia.
MARLON BRANDO'S TETIARIOA
Brando first came to Tetiaroa while filming Mutiny on the Bounty, claiming it made him feel 'closer to paradise' - and to his co-star Tarita, who he married
Marlon Brando first came to Tetiaroa while filming Mutiny on the Bounty, claiming it made him feel 'closer to paradise' - and to his co-star Tarita who he married.
He bought the island in 1967, and turned it into his idea of paradise.
Brando's building was minimal, creating a village of 12 palm-thatched shacks on the islet of Onetahi, which then became a very simple hotel. In fact, some of the researchers on the island still live in the original bungalows.
Brando was passionate about preserving Tetiaroa's natural beauty, biodiversity and cultural richness and was determined to find a way in which it could be a centre for research and education and a model of sustainability, deciding to turn it into a luxury eco resort that would mix the latest in green technology, working scientists and unashamed luxury.
In 1999 Brando and Richard Bailey, a long-time resident of Tahiti and head of Pacific Beachcomber, began working on the plans for The Brando, as 'an island where innovative new technologies would enable a self-sustaining luxury environment for hotel guests, residents and scientific research' and the resort finally opened its door in 2014.
The more everyday restaurant, called the Beachcombers, also has a superb menu, with everything from fish and chips to fresh pasta, and special dishes every day.
Calling it a beach restaurant really doesn't do justice to the food and service, although it does perfectly capture the atmosphere of a friendly local restaurant.
One surprise, for me at least, was the vegan menu.
Put together with Kelvin Au-Ieong of Invitation V, Vegan Bistro in Montreal, Quebec, it's superb - and I found myself choosing from it far more often than I expected.
Bob's Bar also offers a great food and drink menu, and its the perfect place to watch the sunset, especially on one of the tables directly on the edge of the beach.
A view you'll never tire of: The back door of the villa looks out onto the perfect private pool and lagoon
It's completely up to guests where they eat, with many choosing to stay in their villas, and with a separate dining area with room for four in the garden area, why wouldn't you?
The food and service was truly wonderful for a resort so cut off from the mainland, and the classic French dishes are prepared superbly - the biggest issue we found was the resort running out of truffles during our visit, which as hardships go, was bearable.
One of the interesting things about the Brando, and possibly the secret to its success, was the incredible work of all the staff to put guests at ease.
Overall, our stay at the Brando was simply perfect.
It is without question a unique resort, and not just because of its location.
The mix of luxury and sustainability should be a blueprint for the travel industry - but most importantly, the experience for guests is a mix of privacy and serenity that it's hard to imagine any other resorts on the planet could match.
In fact, Marlon Brando himself summed up the experience of a stay at the Brando perfectly, when describing his love for the island.
'Tetiaroa is beautiful beyond my capacity to describe,' he once said.
'One could say that Tetiaroa is the tincture of the South Seas.'
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