As quickly as I catch a glimpse of Tetiaroa, I perceive why Marlon Brando fell head over heels for this South Pacific paradise greater than 60 years in the past. From the window of a twin-engine airplane, I gaze down on the colourful atoll and see 12 lush, tree-covered islets encircling a shimmering turquoise lagoon.
The scene seems like one thing a set designer would have dreamed up in Hollywood. However after the airplane touches down and I step foot on dry land, I’m reassured that it’s very actual. I pinch myself, only for good measure.
After exploring French Polynesia aboard Star Breeze, Windstar company can now prolong their trip—and expertise Tetiaroa’s magnificence for themselves—whereas staying at The Brando, a luxurious eco-resort on the late actor’s non-public island. The 2-night bundle is offered to company who e-book Star Breeze’s Proprietor’s Suites, in addition to its award-winning Broadmoor and Sea Island Suites. Every day excursions, spa remedies, seaside actions and flights are included.
Interested in this new post-cruise extension? Right here’s what it’s like to go to The Brando.
First, a short historical past of Tetiaroa
It was love at first sight when Brando noticed Tetiaroa whereas filming Mutiny on the Bounty within the early Nineteen Sixties. In 1967, he bought the atoll with a objective of preserving its cerulean waters and pristine reef islets, often known as motus.
After Brando died in 2004, his property teamed up with Pacific Beachcomber, a longtime hospitality firm with a number of motels in French Polynesia, together with InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa and InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa. The Brando opened in 2014, on the tenth anniversary of the actor’s demise.
Over the past decade, the resort has welcomed dignitaries, celebrities, honeymooners, households and practically everybody in between. President Barack Obama famously spent a month right here writing his memoirs after his second time period in workplace; different stars who’re rumored to have stayed at The Brando embody Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian and Pippa Middleton. And, now, some Windstar company are becoming a member of their ranks.
Attending to The Brando
Located some 30 miles north of Tahiti, The Brando is distant—and that’s a significant a part of its attraction. It’s solely accessible through non-public flights provided by Air Tetiaroa, which has a snug lounge at Tahiti Faaʻa Worldwide Airport.
The corporate has a fleet of 4 small plane that may accommodate between six and 15 passengers. Although the 20-minute flight is important for reaching The Brando, it would as nicely be a sightseeing tour. I couldn’t tear myself away from the window, the place I had a wide ranging chicken’s-eye view of the Pacific Ocean and the atoll. In the event you’re fortunate, chances are you’ll even spot whales.
Beachfront villas provide complete privateness
The Brando’s lodging are distinctive. Most noticeably, the 35 non-public beachfront villas usually are not overwater bungalows like those provided at different French Polynesian resorts. As an alternative, they’re set again from the water and nestled amongst shady bushes, which not solely offers guests extra privateness, but additionally entry to their very own secluded part of the seaside.
Throughout my latest go to, I stayed in a one-bedroom villa on the west aspect of Onetahi motu, an space The Brando has dubbed Turtle Seaside. The resort additionally gives bigger setups—together with the three,000-square-foot Teremoana Residence—however I discovered my 1,033-square-foot unit to be loads spacious.
As soon as inside, I wandered by means of the principle residing space, the king bed room with a large image window framing the ocean, the humongous lavatory and the comfy den. I slid open the floor-to-ceiling glass doorways and walked out on the deck, the place I discovered my very own non-public swimming pool, a shaded eating space, a hammock and a number of lounge chairs.
After slipping off my sandals, I jogged right down to the water and appeared up and down the seaside—not a soul in sight. A little bit of motion on the sand caught my eye and, upon nearer inspection, I observed a hermit crab slowly however absolutely scooting down the seaside. Inside a couple of minutes, I additionally noticed a white tern, just a few brown noddies, a wandering tattler and a Pacific reef heron.
Later, after unpacking my snorkeling gear, I paddled round a small coral reef just some yards from the shore and noticed colourful fish, sea cucumbers and a noticed eagle ray. As a wildlife lover, I used to be in heaven.
Marlon Brando would have cherished this meals
As a lot as Brando adored Tetiaroa, he could have cherished meals much more—so it’s no shock that his namesake resort has a stellar culinary program. With a number of eating places and bars to select from, the hardest a part of staying at The Brando was deciding the place to eat and drink every day.
Earlier than dinner my first evening, I made a pit cease at Bob’s Bar, an open-air, thatch-roofed hut on the seaside named after Brando’s long-time assistant and confidante. The bar itself is a reproduction of the one the actor constructed for himself not lengthy after shopping for Tetiaroa; the menu, designed to appear to be a journal or log e-book, options historic pictures of Brando, in addition to his associates and co-stars.
I ordered a Soiled Previous Bob—made with whiskey, pineapple juice, lime juice, mint, egg whites, bitters and honey made on Tetiaroa—and sat down to look at the sundown. A couple of minutes later, a bartender ran over and informed me to regulate the horizon—he’d noticed a mom humpback and her child enjoying round. Certain sufficient, the calf started leaping out of the air—the primary time I’d ever seen a whale breach with my very own eyes. I couldn’t consider my luck.
For dinner, I settled in at Les Mutinés, a fine-dining restaurant in a constructing designed to appear to be an upturned boat. Whereas admiring massive Mutiny on the Bounty posters on the partitions, I savored a multi-course tasting menu with dishes like island herb ceviche and lobster cooked over sizzling coals. Later in my keep, I snagged one of many eight seats at Nami, the resort’s intimate Japanese teppanyaki grill, and watched the chef expertly grill veggies, shrimp, hen and duck just some ft in entrance of me.
Breakfasts and lunches had been informal affairs on the Beachcomber Cafe, the principle all-day eatery at The Brando. I couldn’t get sufficient of the refreshing acai bowls, the peerlessly flaky French pastries, the punchy poisson cru (Tahitian marinated uncooked fish) and the fragile crimson tuna sashimi. On the final evening of my keep, I sipped a glass of wine on the cafe’s oceanfront patio whereas watching a standard Polynesian efficiency—which even included a blinding fireplace dancer.
The Brando may also manage non-public eating experiences, like seaside picnics and romantic sundown dinners. And should you don’t really feel like going out, you’ll be able to take pleasure in meals from the privateness of your villa.
Wildlife, sustainability and cultural actions
As tempting because it was to lounge on a seaside chair all day, I additionally wished to get out and discover throughout my time at The Brando. For an introduction to the atoll, I booked the Tetiaroa Final Tour, a guided tour led by the nonprofit Tetiaroa Society, which was established by Brando’s property to guard the atoll. Because the pontoon glided throughout the lagoon, information Thierry Sommers pulled out a map and gave a fast lesson on the atoll’s historical past, crops, animals and geology. As soon as we reached Reiono motu, we headed off into the forest for a fast hike—stopping to admire red-footed boobies, coconut crabs and plenty of different creatures alongside the way in which.
The following morning, I joined the Inexperienced Tour for a behind-the-scenes have a look at the resort’s eco-friendly operations. (The Brando was the primary resort on the planet to obtain the U.S. Inexperienced Constructing Council’s highest commendation, LEED Platinum.) Using round in a golf cart, I received to see the inner-workings of the revolutionary “seawater air con system”—or SWAC for brief—which pulls up chilly water from the chilly, darkish depths of the ocean to chill down the property’s inside areas. I realized the SWAC was a significant funding, however that it has allowed the resort to slash its air con power consumption by 90 p.c.
The tour additionally included The Brando’s vegetable backyard and bee hives; its water storage and therapy techniques; its trash, recycling and compost program; and a fast overview of a number of the scientific analysis being finished on the atoll by means of the Tetiaroa Society. For instance, scientists are working to eradicate invasive species like rats, mosquitos and yellow-crazy ants.
Although windy circumstances canceled my Fowl Discovery Tour and Reef Quest snorkeling tour, The Brando’s group sprang into motion and rapidly organized a pair of cultural actions. Within the morning, I heard concerning the Polynesian symbolism of sure colours and tie-dyed a pareo, a kind of wrap-around skirt or swimsuit cover-up. Later within the day, I realized concerning the cultural significance of coconuts, in addition to the various makes use of of this ubiquitous fruit—from making ropes with its sturdy exterior fibers to harvesting its gentle flesh for oil, meals and milk.
Feeling Tetiaroa’s mana at Varua Te Ora Polynesian Spa
After three magical days at The Brando, it was time to go residence. However earlier than packing my baggage, I handled myself to a standard Polynesian therapy on the on-site Varua Te Ora Polynesian Spa. Earlier than massaging my shoulders and again, my Tahitian therapist put into phrases the hard-to-articulate feeling I’d been experiencing ever since arriving on Tetiaroa. She defined the idea of mana, or the concept each place has its personal therapeutic, non secular power. Tetiaroa’s mana had touched Marlon Brando deeply, and now, I spotted, it had finished the identical to me.
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