The Hotels of ‘White Lotus’ Thailand Are Ready for Prime Time

With the upcoming new season of ‘White Lotus,’ these Asian hotels are ready to step into the spotlight.

When the new season of HBO/Max’s White Lotus series reaches screens starting on February 16, I predict the deep-pocketed guests won’t arrive by the route that real-life people travel to the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui—that is, by the traffic-clogged, unscenic ring road from the island’s tiny airport. More likely, the characters will arrive by boat, perhaps under the spray of a quaint outboard-powered longtail, with their abundant luggage following up in another boat.

Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand from the isolated northwestern headland on the Thai island of Koh Samui, the deluxe Four Seasons Koh Samui will star as the deluxe White Lotus Koh Samui, the setting for the third season of the sly murder-mystery dramedy. Three other five-star hotels will stand in for parts of the White Lotus Koh Samui: the Anantara Mai BoPhut and Anantara Lawana on Koh Samui, as well as the Anantara Mai Khao 200 miles away on the island of Phuket.

Finally, branching off the Koh Samui ring road, you climb inward and upward through coconut palms to reach the Four Seasons’ reception area and the (Michelin-recommended) Koh Thai Kitchen restaurant. The sides of both structures are open to the air, presenting a 180-degree view of the sea.

Scattered across 42 acres in the hill below, the 70 villas share a similar sweeping view. On a clear day, to the north, you can spot the emerald islets of Ang Thong National Marine Park and the larger island of Koh Pha-ngan, home of the raucous monthly Full Moon Party. To the west, you might be able to see Surathani Province, 70 miles away on the mainland.

With dark hardwood floors, steeply pitched palm-thatched roofs, and long overhanging eaves, the villas’ design was inspired by the village homes of Southern Thailand. The interiors of larger villas are similar to that of the one-bedroom “Serenity Pool Villa” where I stayed (rates start at $1,400 per night). That pitched ceiling was lined with plaited bamboo. The color scheme was soothing white and foam green with rosewood furniture, an espresso machine, botanical prints, and a bowl of always fresh passion fruit and oranges.

When filming of the White Lotus mini-series shut down the resort to regular guests for 57 days in February and March 2024, most of the cast and international crew stayed in one- and two-bedroom villas like mine. According to Bangkok-based landscape architect Bill Bensley, the placement of buildings was guided two decades ago by a desire to preserve as many trees as possible in this former coconut plantation. The result is that each villa feels enveloped by the jungle, and any neighbors must be very far away. You fall asleep to the sound of waves.

Thailand Beats Out Japan for ‘White Lotus’ 

Around the hill to the south of these villas are larger privately-owned “residences” where some of White Lotus’s lead actors stayed. With Hollywood redressing and recoloring, villas and residences served as sites for many scenes. Eleven of these residences currently can be booked when the owners are absent. With two- to five bedrooms (starting at $5,500 per night), an infinity pool, and a butler on 24-hour call, these residents can request the services of the hotel’s chefs and massage therapists at home. (If you’re in the market for a three-bedroom, four-bathroom unit with a large infinity pool, several are currently for sale for about $6 million).

Hollywood trade media reported a close race in 2023 between Japan and Thailand as their tourism authorities vied to convince White Lotus producers to shoot the new season in their homelands. Thailand got the edge by dangling at least $4.4 million in rebates. That still left the choice of Four Seasons’ four properties in Thailand. But Hannes Schneider, the resort manager at the Four Season Koh Samui, says that Mike White, White Lotus creator-director-showrunner, decided quickly once he got a look at the Koh Samui franchise: “Mike said, “This is it.’”

All the resort’s buildings are linked by a web of narrow lanes with many hairpin turns. It probably wouldn’t take 10 minutes to walk from my villa down to the beach or up to the Secret Garden spa’s cabin in the sky for three hours of pummeling and pampering, but I wasn’t there long enough to master the loopy map. Besides, the weather tended to be damp, so I did what every other guest did: I texted for a large electric-powered golf cart (or, “buggy,” as they’re referred to). It always appeared in minutes, helmed by a cheerful male driver adept at reverse uphill maneuvers when encountering another buggy.

Perhaps they have been silenced by iron-clad NDAs, but the staff at the Four Seasons, Anantara BoPhut, and Anantara Mai Khao swear to have no clue about the storyline or potential suspects in the White Lotus Koh Samui. They can only point to where some scenes were shot. Nor do they have anecdotes about any of the large cast that includes Natasha Rothwell (as returning spa manager Belinda), as well as Carrie Coon, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins, Lek Patravadi, and Tayme Thapthimthong. None made outlandish requests. Schneider shrugged: “There was no drama. This was a well-behaved cast.”

But then, what could they complain about, given the resort’s amenities and the entire 300-strong staff of courteous, efficient servers, cleaners, massage therapists, drivers, and exercise trainers devoted to their needs? Besides meals prepared by award-winning Thai and Italian chefs, they could make use of a library, games room, gym, kayaks, yoga and cooking classes, and tennis courts. In the Muay Thai ring, they could spar with a patient Anuphong Deesamer, a former U.K. champion.

Then there’s the small private beach backed by a 164-foot infinity-edge pool. If previous White Lotus seasons are a guide, this is the area where pivotal scenes will unroll, as characters meet for the first time, drink and dine, perhaps as the sun drops into the sea. Scenes were definitely shot at the CoCoRum Bar, which is supplied by “the only rum vault in Asia.” The Plaa Plaa restaurant specializes in Mediterranean food, although you could also order wagyu beef or Australian lamb. I recommend Luigi Franssanito’s tangy burrata with gazpacho, followed by grilled smoky octopus which was balanced by marinated tomatoes and fluffy potato cream. While you can never go wrong with mango sticky rice and coconut cream, for dessert, I’d also suggest the chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

The ‘White Lotus’ Effect

The hoteliers are well aware that the first two White Lotus mini-series generated tremendous interest in the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Sicily. They are excited for Koh Samui’s beauty to get a turn in the international spotlight, which usually shines on Phuket on the opposite coast. A larger island with a longer history of trade and mass tourism, Phuket has more beaches, more five-star hotels, and more scenes in international movies and TV.

“We think it will have a massive impact on Samui. We certainly hope that the number of tourists visiting Samui will increase quite exponentially. The media interest has been really strong in the past months,” says Aryawan Arbani, Anantara’s assistant director of marketing and communications.

“Koh Samui as a destination … It will go crazy. It will be so positive,” says Schneider, the Four Seasons Koh Samui resort manager.

“In 2025, it will start to ramp up. 2026 is when it will fly,” says Jasjit Assi, the hotel’s general manager. Although Koh Samui boasts at least two dozen five-star hotels, Assi says that none are up to the Four Seasons’ quality of service. He considers only the Amanpuri and the Rosewood, both in Phuket, as close rivals.

The White Lotus effect could be limited, however, by a few barriers peculiar to Koh Samui. Bankers from Singapore and Hong Kong can spontaneously decide to visit for a weekend by hopping on a direct flight to the island. Yet most of Four Seasons’ guests come from the United States, Britain, Germany, and Switzerland, with a smattering from Israel and the Middle East. For them, a visit to Thailand involves scheduling several months ahead,d and there are no direct long-haul flights to Koh Samui, Assi explains. In contrast, Phuket is served by 22 foreign airlines, including Aeroflot, Air Arabia, American Airlines, and SWISS. At the very least, “more flights are needed in the peak time from mid-December through January,” Schneider says.

A more immediate problem will be White Lotus fans from outside the hotels. Outsiders can already make dining reservations at the Four Seasons Koh Samui and the Anantara resorts. In the cases of the Anantara BoPhut and Anantara Mai Khao, non-guests can easily wander into the grounds from their public beaches. The design of the Four Seasons guards against such unsupervised exploring. Schneider is pondering, however, how to satisfy an upsurge in curiosity:  “We don’t want to be a fortress. We are working on a program that provides an experience for outside guests that doesn’t disrupt in-house guests. They won’t be running around the pool. Inhouse guests will come first.”

Anantara BoPhut: Mingling Near the Fisherman’s Village

The Four Seasons is perfect for couples’ or families’ private time and intensive spa treatments in an all-inclusive resort. It doesn’t feel like a place you choose to meet fellow travelers, though. Seven slow miles east on the north coast from the Four Seasons, the compact Anantara BoPhut emanates a more convivial ambiance. The White Lotus crew was drawn here by the majestic entry driveway flanked by lotus ponds. The library off the airy lobby will appear as well as part of the White Lotus Koh Samui spa.

Throughout the 20-year-old resort, impish monkey statues guard the swimming pool, climb interior bamboo poles, and squirt water into the pool–a reminder of the island’s working monkeys that used to climb coconut trees and pull the fruit from the treetops. For very young guests, there is child care in a well-supplied playroom, a trampoline, and daily activities like “bottle rocket experiment” and batik painting. Older people can work with a trainer on tai chi, power walking, or yoga on the public beach, as I did.

Two three-story wings with a total of 106 rooms, all with a balcony, wrap around the sides of the central courtyard facing the sea. Within are an artificial lagoon cum swimming pool and gazebos for daytime lounging or romantic evening dining. Alongside a seafront bar for cocktails and tapas, the Latin-American-flavored Guilty restaurant includes delicious nods to the continent’s Japanese immigrant cuisine with tuna miso rolls, Himachi tuna with corn tortillas, and salmon sushi rolls with avocado and Jalapeño mayo.

It was the Singing Bird Lounge and Tree Tops restaurant that drew the White Lotus film crew. Conducive to a quiet drink while gazing down at the sea at sunset, the lounge has been the site of marriage proposals and anniversary celebrations. The eight private treehouses of Tree Tops poke up through the canopy of a 120-year-old tree. The vegetarian Garden Symphony menu turned out to be cuisine minceur: six light, delicate courses complemented by refined presentation. The sweetness of the finely layered candied eggplant contrasted with slightly bitter watercress cream sauce and the crunchiness of a rice cracker. The tomato tarte blended savory black truffles with a balsamic tomato foam, which seemed closer to molecular art than conventional food,

Anatara Mai Khao and Phuket Stand in for Koh Samui

In early April 2024, the entire White Lotus cast and crew departed Koh Samui for two months in Phuket, 200 miles away. This is not a prime time to be close to the Western coast and the Andaman Sea. The winds turn, the monsoon rains begin, and the ocean becomes too rough for swimming or boating. The Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas must have been chosen for proximity to Phuket’s longest beach: More than six miles long on the island’s northwestern coast, Mai Khao Beach is part of Sirinat National Park and a protected nesting place for leatherback and green turtles.

About a half-hour to the south by speedboat is another possible White Lotus shooting scene, according to Phuket social media: Banana Beach, an isolated slice of sandy beach with no permanent structures. “Possible site” because there is another Banana Beach farther away on a more developed island off Phuket’s southeastern coast that’s popular for snorkeling.

Scenes shot at the Anantara Mai Khao seem integral to two threads that will run through White Lotus Season 3. The first concern is the spa since spa manager Belinda is returning from Season 1. The second thread revolves around spirituality because White Lotus writer-director Mike White has hinted at “a satirical look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” Of course, in modern-day spa and wellness culture, the two threads are intertwined.

Secrets of the Spa

The financial incentives influenced the White Lotus producers’ choice of Thailand over Japan, but the land of ten thousand spas, massage therapists, and sidewalk foot massage shops seems like the inevitable setting for spa drama. The traditional form of Thai massage is therapeutic but isn’t relaxing. Nor does it involve oils or lotions. It entails a lot of what Jennifer Coolidge’s doomed character, Tanya McQuoid, would call “deep tissue work,” as well as stretching and pulling muscles. Today’s Thai massage therapists, especially those working in upscale hotels and fitness centers, have a repertoire that incorporates and combines Eastern and Western methods.

At the Four Seasons Koh Samui, the spa treatments included lymphatic flow, Gua Sha, Chi Nei Tsang, and CBD. At Anantara Mai Khao, spa offerings include soaking in a bath of cannabis salts or a combination of “Cannabis Foot Ritual” and “Cannabis Foot Massage” accompanied by “Cannabis & Floral Tea.”

When Ying Morkmuang of the Four Seasons Koh Samui spa pushed into my muscles with a compress of coconut, kaffir lime, and ylang ylang, I initially thought she was pressing with a coconut shell. Somehow, the two-hour subsequent coconut oil and the spare instrumental music, the subsequent two hours floated by.

On the edge of a beach pine forest, Anantara Mai Khao’s thatched spa buildings are connected by raised wooden walkways. Some of the White Lotus spa scenes will play out in a one-room building that is normally dedicated to other purposes. Given White’s hints, though, there must be heavier doses of Asia religion or mysticism in the upcoming season. The many Thai Buddhist temples in and around Old Phuket Town are possible sites, although the carvings and statues of dragons and lion dogs at Lim Hu Tai Su, the downtown Taoist shrine, are more photogenic.

Hindu Deities and Land Spirits

It turns out that the Anantara Mai Khao has a cluster of mystical entities closer to home. Walking to the spa along a path flanked by slender swaying common bamboo trees, you may miss the small golden statue of Ganesh on a two-tiered black pedestal. Ganesh is a Hindu deity, but everyday Thai Buddhism is syncretic, a blend of many religious and cultural beliefs. Devout Buddhists still might consider Ganesh intelligent, creative, and a remover of obstacles.

I headed east from the spa buildings to look for a spirit house because the northeastern corner of the property is the auspicious location. If you spend a few days in Thailand, you will soon notice a spirit house on the grounds of nearly all Thai houses. In household gardens, they look something like birdhouses on an eye-level column. Every morning, residents make offerings of flowers, incense, food, and often an open bottle of Red Fanta to honor or appease the spirits (phi) who have resided in the immediate vicinity since long before the arrival of Buddhism.

Anantara Mai Khao isn’t risking the wrath of any moody phi: It has two spirit houses. The hotel’s resident naturalist Nok Hongchiam, who had been my birdwatching guide, later explained the difference. On one pedestal, the small gilded twin-spired Thai temple packed with human figurines was the home of the familiar land spirit, San Phra Bhum. The offerings of flowers and glasses of water and a red liquid were fresh that day. On the other hand, the home of San Ta-Yai, the ancestor spirits, was modest and neglected. Grandpa and Grandma figures were the only occupants of the plain brown-painted house. The marigolds draped on the roof were fresh, but the sole offering that day was a glass of water.

Yet both spirit houses were mere satellites of a more imposing shrine a few yards to the south. At first, I thought there was a golden sitting Buddha image, a flowing white scarf around the neck. It was less than eight inches high, enclosed in a protective spired dome. This, in turn, was set above several gilded ornamental tiers of a pedestal behind a marble altar reached by several steps up on a stone platform.

Circling the shrine, I realized it was the four-faced, four-handed Brahma, the Hindu god who created the universe. Thailand’s best-known tribute to Brahma, the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, is a pilgrimage site for Thais and foreigners alike, especially Chinese ones. Thais tend to have concrete requests of Brahma. They might pray for a baby, wealth, or recovery from sickness. They might need relief from a phi problem. Thai spiritual beliefs are syncretic, so why not a Hindu shrine in Buddhist Thailand? Perfectly suitable for an all-purpose “satirical look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”