My wife and I just wrapped up an amazing stay at The Brando resort on the private atoll of Tetiaroa in French Polynesia. It was a trip of a lifetime and I am so thankful we were able to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary at such a superb resort in such a beautiful part of the world.
Our Magnificent Stay At The Brando Resort
First, let me thank all of you who offered suggestions about where we should stay during our trip to French Polynesia. Both Heidi and I greatly appreciated the input. Deciding where to stay was no easy task…our original plan was to split the time between the Hilton Mo’orea and the Four Seasons Bora Bora but we also toyed with the idea of spending the entire trip on the Tuamotu Islands, known for the diving and coral reefs.
But in the end, my wife and I decided to split our time between two resorts. We spent the first two nights at the Intercontinental Tahiti and then spent the last three nights at The Brando on Tetiaroa.
Tetiaroa was purchased by Marlin Brando in 1967 after he fell in love with it while filming Mutiny on the Bounty. The Brando family still owns the atoll and leases out part of it to the resort while also investing in protecting its natural beauty and biodiversity by strictly limiting development and creating a self-sustaining atoll. A team of scientists and researchers is stationed on the atoll with researchers from around the world flying into to study the unique conditions present.
To reach Tetiaroa, we flew on Air Tetiaroa from a private terminal at Fa’a’ā International Airport in Papeete. The views out the window were breathtaking.
The resort has only 35 villas, each with immense space and privacy.
Our one-bedroom villa included a study, living room, bedroom, and large bathroom.
We had our own pool and easy access to the beach.
The staff were just lovely here and we enjoyed meal after meal at one of the resort’s three restaurants, including the best tuna I have ever had.
The kicker? My wife loved it too…she really loved it. And impressing Heidi, a very down-to-earth German, is no easy task.
I think kids-free trips are important for married couples and our stay was romantically sublime, but this is also a resort I would want to bring my kids back to. There were actually a fair number of families with young children amongst the guests and I know my children would also enjoy the beautiful clear waters, daily activities, and the wildlife.
In what may have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we were awakened early on our last morning to watch turtles who had hatched out of their eggs hours earlier run into the ocean. It was such a beautiful experience.
CONCLUSION
We splurged on our 10th-anniversary trip, but I am so glad we did…it was a trip of a lifetime to one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you can swing The Brando, I recommend it…it’s now the nicest resort I have ever stayed in.
After my next trip report, I will provide reviews of our flights to Tahiti and back and publish detailed reviews of both the Intercontinental Tahiti and The Brando.
Very nice . Do they have disability access ? ( Unlikely .)
Yes. You can get to your room, around the atoll, and into and out of resturants and bars without using stairs.
@Matthew … +1 .
Fantastic Matthew!! Well deserved.
Well done, Sir.
To those other gentlemen paying attention: This is how it is done.
@KOA … Aloha from HNM . Takes me A WEEK to receive my KOA coffee .
Looking sexy as ever Matthew. WOW.
Wow! Congratulations, and a resort I will add to my bucket list. Beautiful!!!
Romantic it is, with baby turtles for good luck!
Congratulations on your 10th!
What an awesome way to celebrate.
Very good. Reading this caused me curiosity about the Brando family. What a mess!
Congrats on the anniversary!
I hate you. You know why.
But I’m looking forward to more.
You certainly stay in shape.
I’m interested In this review…mostly to see how these kind of rates they charge could actually deliver any sense of value. Perhaps Brando does, so waiting to read and learn…
Thanks for sharing. Enjoying a milestone anniversary and enjoying God’s beauty can be amazing. Bless you, and your marriage for many more years.
Looks absolutely amazing. And pricey as hell, I’m sure. But that’s a region of the world very high on our travel list right now. But first comes a very, very long weekend in Paris and three weeks in Japan (our postponed 2020 Summer Olympics trip!)
Happy Anniversary!!! And here#s to the next decade together!
What was your nightly rate?
Over $3K. I’ll outline in full review.
How do I go about being able to read your followup articles about flights to Tahiti and reviews of the Brando and Intercontinental?
Thanks so much
Coming soon…have to work my way through another two trip reports before I get to this one.
Damn how I wanna lick those pecs and abs so badly!
The rooms look a little dated or the pix did not do it justice??