Pool villa at Anantara Mai Khao resort in Phuket, Thailand. Filming for HBO satire White Lotus took place at three high-end hotels owned by Minor Hotels across the country, including at Anantara.Anantara Hotels/Supplied
Fans of The White Lotus, the HBO satire that skewers luxury travel, make a habit of turning its locations and real-life hotel sets into must-visit destinations.
Visitors to Maui and bookings at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Hawaii soared after Season 1 aired in 2021 and pandemic restrictions loosened. Then it was Sicily’s turn a year later during Season 2; rooms at the hotel masking as the White Lotus resort – San Domenico Palace, Taormina, a Four Seasons Hotel – were scarce. So it’s no wonder the Canadian-based hotel brand has formalized a partnership with HBO and Max, a U.S. streaming channel, to keep future seasons of the hit show frolicking throughout its hotels.
“We believe this partnership … underscores the growing connection between travel and pop culture, and find that these two worlds naturally complement each other,” said Marc Speichert, Four Seasons’ chief commercial officer in an e-mail interview with The Globe and Mail.
But when Season 3 launches Feb. 16, a Thai-owned hotel brand hopes to profit from the White Lotus love-in.
At Anantara Mai Khao resort, guests stay in villas built to resemble a Thai village grouped around a white and pink lotus-filled lagoon.Catherine Dawson March//Supplied
Anantara, part of Minor Hotels founded by billionaire William Heinecke, which runs 550 hotels, resorts and residences in 60 countries, has 11 high-end hotels across Thailand. White Lotus filming took place at three of them – Mai Khao in Phuket, Rasananda on the full-moon party island of Koh Phangan and Lawana on the island of Koh Samui. Combined with footage from the Four Seasons Koh Samui and scenes shot amongst the grandeur of competitor Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, all the hotels pretend to be the fictional White Lotus brand.
Heinecke, the U.S.-born and naturalized Thai citizen who is chair of Anantara’s parent group Minor International based in Thailand, makes a cameo appearance in the Bangkok scene. “You see me and my wife having a drink, next to the table where the actors are discussing something,” Heinecke said with a grin during a Zoom interview from his office in Bangkok. The White Lotus “really hits home” for Heinecke, as a hotel owner and operator.
A Thai resort on which to live out your White Lotus fantasies
On a walking tour of Anantara Mai Khao Phuket, a large beachfront resort on the Andaman Sea, staff were coy but also dying to talk about its role in the series.
The resort – where guests stay in villas designed to resemble a Thai village built around a white and pink lotus-filled lagoon – was closed for the month of April, 2024, while cast and crew had the run of the place.
“It was the easiest month of my life,” said Ian Thomason, the hotel’s executive chef, with a laugh. “There were no late nights because the crew had to get up early and shoot!”
The third season is expected to focus on wellness-seeking sybarites, and the hedonistic spa at Mai Khao features prominently. During the tour, stories started to slip out about what staff think they know about Season 3.
“So, someone gets shot here and heads out into the lagoon,” said Angela Moore, a Minor Hotels PR executive, as she pointed out the mangrove forest through which an actor swam, noting they had to watch out for enormous fish and monitor lizards.
On a walking tour of Anantara Mai Khao Phuket, a large beachfront resort on the Andaman Sea, staff were coy but also dying to talk about its role in the series.Anantara Hotels/Supplied
More scenes were shot in the luxury lagoon villa No. 54, which may or may not include actors enjoying the private plunge pool, sunken bathtub and outdoor shower. The hotel’s dramatic alley entrance draped in greenery and flaring wall scones features prominently, apparently. Plot points are tightly guarded.
Thailand and the hotels featured in The White Lotus expect a set-jetting boost as viewers flock to see where their favourite TV series was filmed.
Thailand has no shortage of visitors – more than 35 million tourists arrived in 2024. But Heinecke is glad the hit series will showcase the glamorous side of his home country. “Tourists all know Thailand for various reasons – sand, sun, mountains, beach – but very few of them realize how luxurious this location is,” he said.
As the new season begins, expect the Four Seasons to cement its connection to the show.
Four Seasons Kao Samui resort hotel.Supplied
“Our work with The White Lotus has had an incredible halo effect across our brand, and we see that the love for the show extends beyond the three locations,” Speichert said.
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Season 3 premiere watch parties are planned for the Four Seasons Hotels in Toronto, Prague and Majorca. White Lotus poolside spa treatments are offered in Cabo San Lucas, Napa Valley and Dubai, while themed drinks are served at pop-up bars in Thailand and Singapore. At the London Park Lane hotel, guests can order a new Thai-themed The White Lotus Afternoon Tea, which is also offered at the hotel chain’s Thai resorts.
There’s even an “immersive experience” planned in California just outside Los Angeles for the Season 3 debut, Speichert said. “Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village will transform the hotel into the world’s first real White Lotus.”
No matter how wild the White Lotus storylines are, how racy the seductions or how sharp the social commentary from writer/director Mike White, it seems the series can do no wrong.
“Travel fuels creativity and sparks curiosity,” Speichert said.
As far as the luxury travel industry is concerned: May the White Lotus bloom never fade.
The White Lotus Season 3 premieres on Feb. 16 on Crave in Canada.
