Marlon Brando's dream was to turn his Tahitian hideaway of Tetiaroa into a glamorous, eco-friendly hotel. Now the actor's children have transformed his South Seas paradise into a luxurious 35-villa resort with a Michelin-starred chef, a Polynesian spa and natural beauty worthy of its godfather
You have to feel this place. see it: open your eyes, says Tumi Brando as we skim across the joltingly blue lagoon of Tetiaroa, her grandfather Marlon’s private atoll in French Polynesia. Tumi grew up here, fishing with her grandmother Tarita and taking mud-baths on Oroatera, one of the 12 motus (or islets) that make up the atoll. These days, the 26-year-old is showing off the property to guests at The Brando (thebrando.com), the lush eco-resort the Oscar-winning actor envisioned many years before and that finally opened on July 1—the 10th anniversary of his death. Marlon first saw Tetiaroa, 30 miles north of Tahiti’s main island, while filming Mutiny on the Bounty there in 1960. It was, and is, a place out of time with its vivid turquoise water, untouched beaches, lush vegetation and teeming life, both above and below the water.
He also opened a modest eco-lodge, Tetiaroa Village, on the island so that others could experience his private paradise, among them famous friends such as Quincy Jones and Robert De Niro. However, amenities were few—there was a notable lack of air-conditioning for this steamy part of the world—and basic services were unreliable. “I’m sure if you asked Quincy Jones what he remembers from his visits, he’d say that the island is beautiful,” Bailey says. “But also that the mosquitoes drove him nuts and that he couldn’t flush the toilet because the generator was out.”
In 1999, with an eye to upgrade the place, Marlon asked Bailey to examine the lodge. Bailey was horrified with what he found.
He wrote Marlon a long memo, explaining that he couldn’t help because he was in business to deliver quality travel experiences, not to ensure that there was water and electricity. “He got very upset,” Bailey recalls. “He wasn’t used to people telling him that things wouldn’t work.” But six months later, he called again and asked what it would take to set things right.
That consideration—what would Marlon have wanted?—recurred to Bailey throughout the five years of construction. “I felt him looking over my shoulder the entire time,” says Bailey. “And I heard him arguing, as we always did.” It’s hard, though, to imagine Marlon being displeased. The villas are sleek but muted, constructed mostly in light wood with neutral taupe colour schemes. They come complete with media rooms with satellite TVs, plunge pools and direct access to the beach. Parisian chef Guy Martin, of the Michelin two-star Le Grand Véfour, is the consultant for the two restaurants.
Dishes such as mahi mahi with white mushroom, spice, and a ginger and basil emulsion in the somewhat more formal Les Mutinés, and grilled tuna with coconut vierge dressing in the more casual Beachcomber Café would be remarkable in any setting. At breakfast, Martin’s Paris sous-chef Antoine Soots, the executive chef here, turns out remarkably flaky, authentic croissants that don’t turn soggy in the humidity and are even better with the voluptuous honey produced by the island’s own beehives. Guests can spend their days in the Varua spa experiencing treatments such as the “Varua Mana experience”, a Tahitian tamanu oil scrub followed by a coconut oil Polynesian massage. Off land, they can go snorkelling or take excursions conducted by Te Mana O Te Moana, a Tahiti-based non-profit devoted to the conservation of marine wildlife. They can also visit the eco-station of the island’s own non-profit Tetiaroa Society, where research is being conducted by scientists from visiting universities—another important goal of Marlon’s. The society’s director, Hinano Bagnis, first met Marlon as a 10-year-old visiting the island. She works closely with Marlon’s son Teihotu, who has spent his entire life on the island.(This story appears in the Nov-Dec 2014 issue of ForbesLife India. To visit our Archives, click here.)