Brando hotel is your island haven in French Polynesia

Tetiaroa was the film star’s refuge from Tinsel Town. You can escape there too.

WISH-20150402 EMBARGO FOR WISH 2 April 2015 NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSION The Brando resort, Tetiaro, French Ploynesia pic : supplied

The 30-minute flight north to paradise starts at a private air terminal on the fringes of Papeete but the story of my intended destination begins much earlier. It’s hard not to feel a little bit Hollywood when headed to an atoll that was owned by Marlon Brando and is now run as a resort in conjunction with his estate and US-born hotelier turned Tahiti local, Richard H. Bailey of Pacific Beachcomber.

The actor fell in love with Tetiaroa (and local  beauty Tarita, who he married) while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in French Polynesia in the early 1960s and purchased it as the ultimate retreat from Tinsel Town. At what was then a simple beachcomber’s pad, Brando wore a sarong and kept his hair in a ponytail; apparently he used to say his mind was “always soothed when I imagine myself sitting on my South Seas island at night”.

The reimagined resort is a contemporary take on the original that blends clever design with casual, sand-between-the-toes chic. Brando’s vision was based on sustainable resources and an embrace of Polynesian culture; his wishes have been fulfilled with organic plantings and alternative sources of energy, such as sun, coconut oil and seawater. The non-profit Tetiaroa Society runs an on-site marine research station often staffed by visiting conservationists and scientists.

Brando believed the overwater villas so popular at French Polynesian resorts to be an encroachment on nature. At The Brando are 35 villas of one, two or three bedrooms, with high thatched roofs and ironwood pillars. These chiefly-looking abodes, with smart, spacious interiors, are strung at generous intervals along the shore of Mermaid Bay, all with private pool, and the beach a few idle steps away. There are all the tech bells and whistles, smart European-design furniture with witty island twists, and dressing rooms so commodious you could park your steamer trunks and stay forever.

The architecture, at times almost camouflaged amid palms and flowering trees, is low-key, organic, muted and nicely earthed despite the resort’s newness (it opened on July 1, the 10th anniversary of Brando’s death). There’s a palette of coastal colours, scuttling strawberry crabs with dotted rosy shells and passing humpback whales; pandanus throw striped shadows on the sand.

It is instantly head-cleansing; I remember how to breathe deeply. The island has not been cleared or made to look postcard-pristine. Coconut groves are sweetened by clumps of white tiare (Gardenia taitensis); there are red-footed boobies with long blue beaks and wide-winged frigates wheeling overhead. Sea creatures have names as beguiling as lemon peel angelfish and honeycomb grouper; behold the radiata lionfish with its mardi gras headdress. Nature is always at elbow, even in the open-air bathtub surrounded by a wooden screen, the tousled topknots of palms peeking above, parakeets squawking as they whoosh past in flashes of lime green.

The island was the site of an ancient mare, or burial site, a retreat for Tahitian royalty and paramount chiefs to idly feast and fatten their voluptuous women, and still an archaeologist’s treasure with more than 30 significant sites. It feels authentic and imbued with a kind of mysticism that, in the end, has nothing to do with Hollywood.

Dining. Paris chef Guy Martin of Michelin-starred Le Grand Vefour has designed the culinary offerings — resolutely French but with a nod to Polynesia. Seafood is from the surrounding waters but the “important ingredients” — truffles and caviar — are imported. Tetiaroa’s organic orchard is flourishing; well-tended hives produce splendid honey (drizzled into the fillings of the best macarons imaginable). The Beachcomber Café often has just-caught sashimi on the menu while the more formal Les Mutinés (with climate-controlled wine cellar and degustation menus) has been designed to resemble the hull of a boat.

Everyone’s talking about. Te Manu Bar is the social epicentre and it’s hard to envisage a more convivial haunt. It’s set at treetop level, with six small terraces and a spacious red-cushioned interior, all angled for the sunset, and this is where it’s de rigueur to sip a Marlon’s Mojito (coconut-infused rum, coconut water, fresh lime and mint over crushed ice). The cocktail names may be corny but at least there are no photographs of Brando lining the walls; Bob’s Bar, by the beach, however, has been named in honour of Brando’s favourite film-set buddy and, with its straw roof and raffish Gilligan’s Island vibe, harks back to his original hideaway on Tetiaroa.

Hot tip. One 50-minute treatment per villa per day at Varua Polynesian Spa is included in The Brando’s tariff from a selection of four options (the full menu is much more comprehensive). The spa smells of coconut oil and gardenias; hidden among trees and overlooking waterlily-dotted waterways, it’s styled as a series of groovy latticed pavilions linked by walkways. The trick is to arrive at least half an hour early and enjoy the relaxation facilities, steamroom and tea lounge.

Stepping out. While she may introduce herself simply as Tumi, the pretty nature guide is the granddaughter of Marlon and Tarita. Tumi Brando takes guests on boat excursions to a few of the 12 surrounding motu, or islets, and then ashore to learn about birds, the secret lives of crabs, cabbage trees with ensnaring tentacles, and how to spot lemon and black-tipped reef sharks patrolling the shallows of “nature’s giant aquarium” with an ecosystem as diverse as a rainforest. The Gauguin colours of the vegetation, flowers and water are so intense they seem backlit by torches. Fifty shades of blue? Make that hundreds, from brilliant aquamarine depths to pastel trickles on the sand.

Stylish bicycles are provided, with baskets that look purpose-made to carry baguettes and tiny French poodles. Recent guests have included Leo DiCaprio and George Clooney so you never know who might cycle past under a wide-brimmed hat.

Essentials. The Brando, Tetiaroa Private Island, French Polynesia. Daily tariff is €2400 for one villa for two persons, including all meals and drinks and most activities. Roundtrip flights from Papeete, €450 a person. thebrando.com