We visited The Brando six months after it opened, again the following year and for five nights including NY's EVE this year. It was a magnificent perfect stay. We stayed in the same Villa, #103 whose location we love. The service was impeccable. I asked for popcorn on the second day and each day it was delivered in the late afternoon. The NY's EVE celebration dinner was wonderfully planned. The decor, ambiance, entertainment and menu were all superb. I had a massage which was expertly done. I knew the spa reception person from the Paul Gauguin. The staff and management were all attentive and available for any and all requests. I highly highly recommend The Brando and we hope to return once again later this year.
I’m a bit late writing this review however we did return in Oct 2021 for our honeymoon. As per my previous review we had a wonderful time! I’d have to say the food was even better this trip if that’s even possible. The food, scenery and customer service was extraordinary and we certainly plan on returning as soon as we can!
If you're fortunate to visit Tetiaroa, you will bear witness to an absolutely magical and mesmerizing atoll and its collection of islets. From the Queens Bath to the turquoise lagoon surrounding Onetahi, its no wonder that Marlon Brando bought this island to entertain his friends in paradise, and celebrities often frequent. In fact, we ran into a certain acclaimed Batman actor and his family during our stay. My family of 4 stayed (8yo and 10yo) here for 6 nights during our kids' Spring Break. We arrived via Air Tetiaroa which is the only airline that serves the island, flying in and out of a private terminal at PPT. Upon landing, we were greeted by a Polynesian warrior blowing a conch shell and Sergey, the guest manager, whisked us off in a golf cart to give us a tour of the property and The Brando's amenities. We were given Villa 209, a 1 bedroom with a separate living area and separate office/media room. The bathroom was large, featuring an outdoor bathtub. This proved to be a great setup as our kids slept in the media room as there was a sofa with a trundle bed. Every villa has magnificent views and features direct beach access along with a plunge pool. There's also an outdoor, shaded dining area which we used to have family breakfast on occasions. We did the All Inclusive which allowed us to have meals and drinks at any of the venues at any time as well as room service except from 10p-6a. The All Inclusive also provides for daily spa treatments and excursions and lagoon school for our kids. Pros - Excursions. The excursions, particularly the Sea Kayaking Tour, led by Tetiaroa Society guides were phenomenal as they take you to some amazing spots and share their insights on the ecology and history. Lagoon School is purposely not a traditional Kids Club as they also take the kids on environmental tours. My kids loved the reef snorkeling. - Venues. As others noted the Villas and Venues are all tastefully done. Manu bar is a great place for a cocktail before or after dinner as their mixologists are great. - People. The staff are all just genuinely friendly and sincerely go out of their way to make folks feel comfortable. My wife enjoyed playing ping pong with Oliver, and my kids loved grating coconuts. - Privacy. There's a true sense of privacy as no one is intrusive, and after taking in the Tahitian mana, you truly come away relaxed. Cons - Food. The food at all venues or via room service is good. We never had a bad dish. Beachcomber is good for breakfast. Nami has nice teppanyaki. That said, there wasn't one (or two) memorable or exceptional meals. For the caliber of this resort, I would except some phenomenal cuisine and/or more local flavors. By comparison, The Nautilus Maldives had sensational food as they had a well renown chef. - Service. While the staff was extremely nice, the service was woefully inconsistent. It would take 45-1hr to get breakfast even if we were the only ones at Beachcomber. Similarly, after making reservations for excursions and dinners, the printout of the week was completely wrong and had to be adjusted multiple times. They said that they were going to book our Covid testing for our return but they never did, so I did it online. I suspect some of the issues were a result of communication (English to French), but I later learned that they are having trouble hiring more staff. And, they don't even have a GM as the individual who manages the Intercontinental hotels in the area is serving as their GM. - Transit Hotel (Intercontinental). This place is a dump and a complete let down for folks visiting The Brando (see separate review). It shouldn't even be an option. Given the ease of traveling from California (direct flights from LAX and SFO), I would definitely consider revisiting as its far superior to any place in Hawaii. But, to be deemed a marquee property, they need to make some improvements.…
We just returned from The Brando and for all the hype came away disappointed. The hotel and locale is stunning with the best turquoise water in the world, with a lush tropical landscape and rooms that hold up well design wise despite being nearly 10 years old. The people who work at this hotel are truly wonderful; friendly, warm and take a lot of pride in their work and generally seem happy to work here. The excursions and Tetiaroa Society guides are terrific and while expensive, worth it once or twice. So, where does this hotel falter? The food. For an all-inclusive hotel with no other options for eating, we were shocked at the level of cuisine - at all restaurants the food was bland, portions small and generally the quality was not 5 star. Interestingly, after we complained to guest relations manager, Sergey, a few times about, the food presented to us for in room dining the last night suddenly improved significantly. That’s strange - as if if they pay attention, the food could be better. Complacency perhaps? The other problem is management communication and consistency. Half the time in correspondence they forgot we are a male couple, sometimes they forgot we do not drink. Messages about spa changes, restaurant cancellations and preferences never make it to the designated person. Keys did not work on two days and when I called the front desk from my cell 5 times, no one picked up. It’s no wonder because when I biked to the front desk, no one was there either. It took 45 minutes to find someone to let us in. Lots of little problems. I told Sergey I think this is gorgeous 4 star hotel cloaked as a 5 star, noting that the owner also runs mostly 4 star hotels (and worse) around French Polynesia. For example, the toiletries are the same here as at the Intercontinental Tahiti (a truly awful hotel, see my separate review). I think they are a bit in over their head here. We will not return.…
Amazing!!! 5 star is not enough to describe this fantastic and unique experience. Service is amazing, the view the most beautiful, the weather amazing and overall just unique experience. Words are not enough to describe fantastic this place is.
We spent five days here over the holidays after spending four days on Bora Bora. From the moment you check in at Air Tetiaroa's private terminal you begin experiencing some of the Brando's magic. It's their attention to detail which makes this place so special - the check in process upon landing, your tour of your villa etc... all of it is designed to make your experience as stress-free as possible. We never ate breakfast out of the villa as their room service menu was so extensive but they offer refined, fresh cuisine at all the restaurants. We experienced the magic of coming across a wayward sea turtle on the way to dinner once, which we carried to the beach behind our villa and watched scamper down the sand and into the water. We chartered a private boat one day and had a wonderful time snorkeling with manta rays and beautiful fish, I loved this place and every minute there and we cannot wait to return again.…
Just finished a lovely week at The Brando. Because words cannot describe how much we enjoyed this trip I’m not going to try. There are plenty of reviews and the promotional material from the resort that give you a solid idea of what to expect. But really, looking at a picture of a beautiful beach is not the same as floating blissfully in unbelievable blue green ocean. We visited during the low season, which is when the weather tends to be much more rainy. Luckily we had plenty of time with weather that allowed for snorkels and swims, and several boat tours to see the other parts of the atoll. The ocean temperature was fantastic. We made use of the spa on a couple occasions during the rain. We heard the week prior to our trip it had rained several days solid, so if we’d been there at that time we likely would have read and sampled their extensive cocktail menu, so all would not have been lost. A real plus side for us visiting during this time was the occupancy rate was quite low so we got to experience the resort in a way perhaps somewhat different than what folks might see in the high season. Still, we saw plenty of spaces and I don’t think even with full occupancy we would have enjoyed this any less. A big thank you to the staff for their lovely attitude and service. Spa, bar, restaurant ... all offered great service and attention to detail. My only suggestion would be to consider allowing an option to go ahead and just make a blanket gratuity at the start and not have to worry about it for spa treatments or at the end of the trip. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed by the transit hotel the night we arrived and day we departed, but glad to have it nonetheless. Again, it would have been nice if the transport included gratuity so I didn’t have to try and find currency the day of arrival and departure. Next time will probably just look to book in a cheaper airport hotel. So yes, we already started talking about when we'd return before we even left! It was a wonderful trip. Five stars!!!!!…
How do you actually describe paradise? Maybe with green islands enveloped by turquoise waters? Maybe with the tranquillity of a very solitary little beach villa with enchanting sunsets? Maybe with good, mostly French food? Or even with a tour on a bicycle through untouched nature? The Brando comes pretty close to these ideas. Our expectations were very high. Marlon Brando's former hideaway is one of those "once in a lifetime experiences" worldwide. Highlights: _ Beautiful atoll with green islands _ Wonderful beach _ Very good breakfast a la carte _ Overall very good cuisine, great wine list _ The ultimate beach bar "Bobs Bar" with best drinks and good music _ Great spa with WOW view into the nature in the entrance area _ Own bicycles _ Very nice stylish beach villa with big garden and private pool _ With two children in the media room on extra beds possible and separate from the master bedroom _ Great and very comprehensive All Inclusive concept _ Short and wonderful flight with own Brando plane to Tahiti _ Beautifully located tennis court _ Beautiful swimming in the sea to the reef into the deep water from the beach at the main pool _ Whole island mosquito free _ Sustainability concept We were there during Covid, so some things were closed and not possible. Good to know and things to improve: _ Pools are freezing cold everywhere and therefore only limited usable _ Only limited offer of excursions and experiences, also for children _ GM service professional, but also a bit distant _ Team very friendly _ A fixed contact person during the stay would be good (compare Soneva/ Six Senses concept) _ The sea is very shallow, you can only swim properly much further out. Conclusion: Must see on a French Polynesia trip. Especially if you are looking for peace and quiet in a very luxurious environment. Rating 9 of 10 1 = no way 2 = rather not 3 = if it's absolutely necessary 4 = you can do it, but you don't have to do it 5 = is fine, but no highlight 6 = one you can make 7 = is good 8 = beautiful hotel 9 = wonderful, do it! 10 = top, definitely do it!…
We just returned from a 10 night stay at The Brando. I can say 10 days was just not long enough. Upon arrival at Tahiti you are transferred to the Air Tetairoa terminal which is just next the the main airport terminal. There is a nice quiet lounge where you can relax and have some coffee or water. You then board a small plane for a short flight to the island. Once you land you are treated by the staff and get a quick tour of the resort, and then are taken to your villa. The Beach….We are beach people and our villa was on Mermaid Beach. We were thrilled. On Mermaid Beach you can walk out a hundred or more yards in sand… You can walk out to the swim platform and just relax. Everyday we walked up and down Mermaid and Turtle Beach.. the view of the ocean are spectacular. The beach’s, so private… As you walk past the villas they are all set back far enough that you cannot see anyone, yet, while you are in your villa, you can see the ocean. The villas…. Phenomenal. We have stayed at the St. Regis Overwater villas in Bora Bora….these villas are 110% better then the St. Regis. You enter to a sitting room with a fridge that is restocked with top of the line items daily. To one side is another room, the media room. To the other side is the bed room with master bath. My husband fell in love with the toilet and all the special operations it had :). The shower is quite spacious and to the side of the shower is a deck with an outdoor tub. Despite comments from other reviews, we felt that the bad was quite comfortable. Outdoor there is a gazebo, large deck, and pool. All quite spacious. The pool is large enough for the two rafts we brought to float in. And the views!!!!! Dining…All menus are on the iPad you have in your room. We had breakfast and lunch delivered to our gazebo daily. Breakfast and Lunch were ordered from the Beachcomber menu.We were never disappointed. Beachcombers - this was our favorite dining experience. Mainly because of the food choices and the Friday night dinner show. The goat cheese ravioli was to die for. The chocolate mouse….yum,yum, yum. Nami- Great show, great food. And a lot of it. Very quaint with a maximum of 8 guests. Les Mutines’- The presentation of the food is out of this world. And the food tastes even better than it looks. Nightlife.. there is Te Manu where you can watch the sunset and other than that.. we would not know about night life because after our rough day of massages and laying in the sun…. We would go to bed after dinner :) The Spa… I wanted to take our therapists home with us. We loved every treatment we had. I had 4 and my husband had 6. When we had them at the same time they arrange for us to be in the couples room. Tours.. My husband did the Green Tour and loved it. He learned so much about what The Brando is doing to be eco friendly. He was very impressed. More hotels should take notice of what The Brando does. The Ultimate Tour was fantastic. We learned about thee A Toll and what is was made up of. We visited and island that had the biggest and prettiest crabs I hav e ever seen … Coconut Crabs, saw lots of birds, and lots of baby birds, and the to end the tour visited another island and were able to go swimming in waste deep water with a pure sand bottom. Reef Tour - we got so close to the fish. We saw a black tip shark, the coral is amazing, we saw the biggest clams I have ever seen.. who knew clams could be colorful? Sunset Tour - We were taken by golf cart to the dock and take3n a a great tour of the atoll, all while snacking on appetizers and sipping on champagne. The staff knew our cocktails of choice and also packed these for our cruise. There are two shops .. on for jewelry and a gift shop… If you forget anything you can get any of you basic needs at the guest shop. Now to the best part.. the STAFF! They are all incredible… from housekeeping , to room service, to dining service, to tours…they all get a A+ from me. They remembers what you like and don’t like. They are ALL personable. I would like to call out everyone personally, but that would mean this review would exceed 5000 characters. But there is one person in particular, we nicknamed “Rainbow” ( one of the boat captains), that you.. you made us laugh and our snorkeling and Ultimate Tour tours of a lifetime This is a definite must visit place..it is beautiful.. is is special… it is one of a kind. Thank you Pacific For Less for helping arrange this fantastic trip. We are already planning our next trip back to The Brando.…
This was our first visit to The Brando. We were celebrating wife’s birthday. The staff went all out and she had the best birthday ever. Thanks to Pacific for Less for recommending and planing an incredible trip. The staff is very attentive, professional, and friendly. The villas are spectacular, provide privacy, and opportunity to relax. Restaurants are varied in offerings and the food is exceptional at each. The activities available include paddle board, kayaking, outrigger, and snorkeling. The atoll and it’s waters are incredibly beautiful, photos don’t do it justice.
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