Where was ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 filmed? Inside the real hotels in Thailand
During its first two seasons, “The White Lotus” opened a window on some truly spectacular locations around the world, sharing with viewers incredible natural scenery, luxurious resorts and exotic culture.
Now, for Season 3, which premieres on HBO on Feb. 16, the bar has been raised to show off Thailand.
Thailand is a great location, says John Rees, owner of J5 Travel, a luxury boutique travel agency.
“It’s a different culture but it’s easy to be there; the people always have a smile on their face; and most of them speak English. A lot of people love Thai food. It’s one of the best value countries in the world, for luxury especially,” Rees tells TODAY.com.
Here’s what to know about the filming locations for Season 3 and beyond.
What are the real hotels seen in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3?
Season 3 was filmed in the following resorts:
- Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
- Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas
- Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort
- Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort
- Rosewood Phuket
Executive producer David Bernad told People why the show had to film across various resorts.
“The Four Seasons in Koh Samui is an A-plus vacations destination, but it didn’t offer us certain things we needed for our show to work visually,” executive producer David Bernad told People. “So we augmented some of the show using the spa at the Anantara Phuket which made more sense for filming.”
Bernad said that the dining scenes are also a mashup of different resorts, with breakfast scenes taking place at the Four Seasons, but dinner scenes filming at Rosewood Phuket as lighting was better.
Bernad says the show’s reception area and the opening scene of Episode 1 that includes a pond, meanwhile, is was filmed at the Anantara Mai Khao. The hotel bar was filmed at Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort.
The series also filmed in the cities of Phuket and Bangkok, per the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
What hotels and locations were past seasons of ‘The White Lotus’ filmed in?
Season 1
Location: Hawaii
Main hotel: Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
Destination details: The first season was shot in 2020, during the height of COVID-19 precautions, meaning the cast was quarantined at the hotel during the entire shoot, as the cast recalled in interviews. That meant most of the story was told within or directly around the hotel — including offices, restaurants, lobby, spa, pools and bars. The hotel rooms were designed to reflect the characters’ stories and given Hawaiian names like The Pineapple, Hibiscus and Tradewinds Suites.
Season 2
Location: Sicily, Italy
Main hotel: Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina
Destination details: This Four Seasons hotel is a former 14th-century Sicilian convent, per its website. It now has 108 rooms, a spa, courtyards and gardens, along with dining in a restaurant and alongside the pool. It’s also famous for an outdoor infinity pool, which received a lot of coverage during the season.
Season 3
Location: Koh Samui and Koh Phuket, Thailand
Hotels: Season 3 used five different hotels to film the show: Four Seasons Koh Samui, Anantara Bophut Koh Samui, Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort and Rosewood Phuket
Destination details: Unlike previous seasons that used one hotel for shots, Season 3 rotated through multiple hotels to meet the scripts requirements.
Four Seasons Koh Samui blends “stunning ocean views with elegant Thai-inspired design,” per their website. With private infinity pools, terraces, and restorative spa treatments, some spots make it into the show.
Anantara Bophut Koh Samui has 106 rooms with a garden spa amid lilies and monkey statues.
Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas features 83 pool villas, 30 pavilions and 70 suites, per their website.
Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort has 122 rooms, an infinity pool and four beachfront dining venues — including the only tree top dining restaurant in Koh Samui, per their site.
Rosewood Phuket has 71 pavilions and villas and heavily features the wellness concept that “The White Lotus” has embraced in Season 3, including the wellness consultation and body composition testing that characters participate in.
What is the ‘White Lotus’ effect?
While the stories on “White Lotus” are full of misdeeds and murder, that hasn’t taken the shine off making the properties bucket-list destinations for fans — who have poured into Hawaii and Italy after each season.
Four Seasons Resort Maui’s general manager Ben Shank told The Guardian, in 2021, the hotel had experienced a surge in interest following ‘The White Lotus.”
“It’s taken on a life of its own. You couldn’t imagine the amount of calls we’ve gotten,” Shank said.
Rees says the “‘White Lotus effect” is “a real thing.”
“But a lot of times when people get the price quote they balk a bit. These are fantastic destinations,” he says.
After the Season 3 premiere drew 10.2 million U.S. viewers over the first week, a spokesperson for the Four Seasons Koh Samui told Business Insider that they believe an increase of tourism in Thailand will occur.
“There is also increased interest in Thailand itself as a travel destination, and the Director of Thailand’s Tourism Authority has said they expect about 20% rise in tourism as a result of the show,” the spokesperson said.
