The Brando — The Ultimate Sanctuary in Tahiti

To go to Tetiaroa in Tahiti is to seek out The Brando, the only resort on the island. On this small atoll, The Brando has pioneered a revolution in eco-friendly resorts.

Words Yeo Hayeon
Photos courtesy of Dream Island

Boarding a small 20-seat plane always thrills me. Small planes have carried me to secluded, beautiful islands that larger aircraft cannot reach. Tetiaroa lies about 48 kilometers north of the main island of Tahiti, and getting there requires a private flight from Tahiti. Tetiaroa is an atoll: its volcano sank beneath the sea, leaving only the coral that once grew around its rim. The shallow, calm lagoon glows in a color found nowhere else. As I step onto the unfamiliar island, my eyes sting at the unreal blue of the water.

Tetiaroa was once owned by the legendary actor Marlon Brando. He came to the island in 1960 to film ‘Mutiny on the Bounty,’ fell in love with its natural beauty, and later bought it, settling there with a Tahitian woman who had appeared in the film. In 1970, Brando built a small resort on the island and ran it until his death in 2004. His wish to protect Tetiaroa’s pristine nature and biodiversity was carried on by his son, Simon Teihotu Brando, who opened the eco-friendly resort The Brando in 2014.

Just two years after opening, The Brando was named the ‘World’s Best Resort’ by the global travel magazine Travel + Leisure. It also drew attention when former U.S. President Barack Obama stayed there after leaving office to write his memoir. Because no one but guests and staff may enter the island, celebrities often come here for a private retreat.

When I arrive at the resort, a joyful welcome follows: a woman with flowers in her hair and Tahitians playing ukuleles. “Ia orana!” The greeting from the Tahitian staff sounds like “Welcome to paradise.” All 35 accommodations at The Brando are private pool villas. The number is small to protect the island’s natural environment. Each villa is divided into a bedroom, a living room, and a business room, and the spacious bathroom comes with an open-air tub. The view from the window, with its clear sea and tropical plants, recalls a Gauguin painting.

Unlike the luxury resorts on other islands of French Polynesia, The Brando has no overwater bungalows. Even so, it is highly regarded for its distinctive philosophy on the environment. The SWAC (Sea Water Air Conditioning) system, which draws cold seawater from a depth of 960 meters, is the biggest contributor to its energy savings. Air conditioning accounts for 60 percent of all electricity use in French Polynesia, and The Brando invested a budget of 12 million dollars in developing the SWAC system. Thanks to it, the resort runs its air conditioning with water drawn from the deepest part of the sea. It uses only renewable energy produced from solar panels and coconut oil, and it recycles rigorously. The pools use rainwater, and most of the ingredients used in the resort are grown on the island’s farm by eco-friendly methods. Even the soil used on the farm, including soil mixed with coral and soil mixed with seaweed, is never brought in from outside. Another notable effort is reducing the mosquito population by creating bio-engineered male mosquitoes, injected with bacteria from other organisms so that they cannot produce offspring. The resort also offers well-designed educational programs to protect nature and tradition, including a sea turtle educator program for children and programs that let guests experience Tahiti’s old culture. As a result, it has won the Turtle Award, given to companies and organizations working to preserve the environment of French Polynesia, six times in a row since 2010.

If you want to enjoy the island a little more actively, join the Ultimate Lagoon Tour. By boat, you pass through the clear lagoon and the ‘Bird Island’ and tour islands where pristine nature has been preserved intact. On the tour, you meet a sea rippling with every shade of blue the dictionary can define, from indigo to jade. Just as you stare in a daze at this unbelievable sea, another dramatic sight unfolds before your eyes: a bird gliding leisurely over the unreal water. Tetiaroa is one of the largest bird habitats in Tahiti. White terns, brown boobies, frigatebirds, red-tailed tropicbirds, and magnificent crested birds found only in the Windward Islands all live together on Tetiaroa. On Tahuna Iti, the so-called ‘Bird Island,’ the birds have no natural predators. A red-footed booby soars with graceful wingbeats into a cloudless sky. This island, which preserves nature as it was at the beginning of time, is a paradise not only for birds but for people as well.