Where to stay for a luxury ‘White Lotus’ experience: from Thailand to Sicily
The third season finished with a bang, several in fact, but don’t let that put a dampener on holiday plans. Try these on-location lodgings without the killer price tag or murderous plotline.
The wait is over. The White Lotus has finished and we all know who survived and who didn’t. The sun-soaked social satire TV series shifted this season to the heady shores of Thailand to serve up its signature cocktail of dark secrets, personal dramas and moral dilemmas against a backdrop of pristine, hand-raked sand. While the eponymous hotel is fictional, the franchise’s impact on travel is real. Online searches for holidays in Koh Samui rose by 88 per cent in the run-up to season three’s February release.
With a greater focus on wellness than the previous two iterations, filmed at Four Seasons hotels in Hawaii and Sicily respectively, the latest HBO outing was shot primarily at the Bill Bensley-designed Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui off Thailand’s east coast, where villas start at about $2800 a night. But you don’t need to be in the 1 per cent club – or one of the season’s latest cast members, who include Walton Goggins, Aimee Lou Wood and Patrick Schwarzenegger – to check into somewhere suitably fabulous and equally atmospheric. With a rollcall of infinity pools, starry restaurants and jungle-ensconced yoga pavilions, these killer stays are the glamorous White Lotus alternatives worth packing your most outrageous kaftan for.
SEASON THREE
Thailand
Kamalaya Koh Samui
* Best for health retreat fans
The “wellness guardians” at this legendary, health-focused sanctuary in the island’s southeast leave their White Lotus counterparts in the shade, overseeing tailored programs designed to make every stay genuinely transformative. Whether the aim is to optimise gut health, vanquish burnout or hone a daily meditation practice, guests receive support before, during and after their retreat. Built on a hillside around a sacred Buddhist cave, 76 pared-back guestrooms, suites and villas overlook either the jungle or sea, while a warren of paths provides access to a granite boulder-lined infinity pool, yoga pavilion, aromatic steam rooms and hot and cold plunge pools. Meals can be taken at individual or communal tables, with vibrant, nutritionally balanced cuisine to suit all dietary requirements. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $475.
Cielo Samui Boutique Hotel & Spa, Koh Samui
* Best for family breaks
While this family-friendly boutique’s lime-washed walls, beamed ceilings and blond sunbeds would co-ordinate effortlessly with a season three storyline, its bungalow-style rooms and villas, most of which have private pools, come in at less than the price of one of the Valentino swimsuits spotted on the White Lotus beach. Guests also have at their disposal free-to-use paddleboards and kayaks, and complimentary yoga and pilates classes, plus a gym, infinity pool and sea-facing restaurant renowned for its Asian and Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Treatments at the tranquil spa cover everything from manicures and pedicures to full-body Thai massages, while the Fisherman’s Village’s buzzy cafes, market stalls and bars are all just a short walk away. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $405.
Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort
* Best for spa devotees
It’s less talked about, but season three scenes involving the entrance, grand lobby and jewellery shop, among others, were shot at this discreet north coast beauty built on the site of a former coconut plantation. The only monkey business in evidence here, though, appears in the local folk tales that Bensley has woven whimsically into the design of the showstopping spa. Ringed by glossy leaves and lily ponds, six glass-walled treatment rooms take the cosseted luxury up a notch, offering therapies based on indigenous botanicals: think soaks in frangipani petal-filled sunken tubs and moringa-powered facials. Flit between your boudoir, the palm-fringed infinity pool and sandy beach, making regular pit stops at the resort’s three restaurants. Twin-share rooms from $658.
Iniala Beach House, Phuket
* Best for foodies
It’s hard to imagine tantrums over the sun loungers at this five-star Phuket hotel on Thailand’s west coast. Comprising a clutch of 10 serene residences with serious design chops, its pale palette complements the property’s cool, clean symmetry, with soft curves in the form of sweeping woven headboards and, in the penthouse, an undulating carpet designed to emulate the feeling of walking on sand. If you get lost en route to either of the hotel’s restaurants – the new beach barbecue joint Anaala Thailand and Michelin-starred 15-seat chef’s table, Aulis Phuket – just ask one of your entourage to point the way. Guests get their own butler, driver, private chef and spa therapist. From unwinding in the herbal steam room to galloping across Natai Beach’s cocoa butter-coloured sands on horseback, this place promises pure cinematic escapism, minus the serial drama. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $1134.
SEASON TWO
SICILY
Atlantis Bay, Taormina
* Best for romantics
Celebrated for its knockout views of the ridiculously blue Baia delle Sirene (Bay of Mermaids), this 83-room escape will thrill season two fans who were as hooked on the Dolce & Gabbana-esque Sicilian backdrops as they were on the plot twists. Gardens as blowsy as one of Tanya’s dresses and a glorious private beach make the property a great base for sunbathing or sailing, while a handy cable car means exploration of Taormina’s ancient ruins will be a breeze. The hotel’s huge infinity pool and spa, Hyd’Or, bring main-character energy, and its al fresco terrace restaurant, Nui, serves dishes with a contemporary take on Mediterranean classics. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $535.
Hotel Villa Carlotta, Taormina
* Best for maximalists
Dripping with more Sicilian charm than season two’s Daphne did in jewellery, this family-owned 29-room bolthole makes for a super-stylish Taormina stay at a good-value price. Housed in a restored 19th-century residence with an exterior that looks like something Wes Anderson might have dreamt up, interiors reveal a zeitgeisty riot of rich fabrics and bold colours evocative of the swaying palms, tumbling bougainvillea and seductively scented jasmine in the hotel’s lush gardens. Enjoy hypnotic views of the Ionian Sea, Mount Etna and the town’s ancient Greek theatre from the pool, savour standout Sicilian cuisine and cocktails in rooftop restaurant Euphoria, and detox at leisure in the spa’s Turkish bath and sauna. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $518.
Therasia Resort Sea & Spa, Vulcano
* Best for couples’ escapes
More about the sensational views than steamy plot lines, this five-star clifftop eyrie overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea and Aeolian island of Stromboli, where an active volcano emits regular nocturnal eruptions. Sporting a modern Mediterranean design and using local materials such as cedarwood, terracotta and majolica tiles, the 90 guestrooms feature soft hues; book one with a sea view and balcony for maximum White Lotus pizzazz. Volcanic minerals are also at play during spa treatments, and guests enjoy private access to the sea. Star billing, though, goes to the hotel’s culinary offerings, with two Michelin-starred restaurants among the four on site. Slip into something silky then head to Il Cappero for exquisite Sicilian fine dining, or the plant-based I Tenerumi to experience a more experimental approach. You can’t fix your life by just going on holiday, says who? Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $550.
SEASON ONE
HAWAII
Wayfinder Waikiki
* Best for tropical nostalgia
Like the rebellious Paula in the show’s Maui-set season one, this 228-room Honolulu rule-breaker proves that you don’t need to be obscenely rich to have a good time. Opened in 2023 by hospitality group Dovetail + Co, the hotel sits two blocks back from the beach, but what it lacks in direct Pacific Ocean views it makes up for with its retro-surf-town interiors, dreamy courtyard pool and in-the-know vibe. You’ve got the B-Side Coffee Bar for daytime pick-me-ups, Redfish Poke for arguably the best poke in Waikiki, and the speakeasy-style Lost + Found bar for when you don’t want the night to end. Extra points are awarded for activities that include live DJ sets, sunrise yoga sessions and the chance to volunteer at a nearby community farm. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $320.
The Royal Hawaiian
* Best for timeless appeal
The so-called “Pink Palace” has been welcoming guests since 1927, its distinctive Spanish-Moorish facade peeking through a lush cascade of palms and tropical blooms. Set on a prime slice of Waikiki Beach, its sprawling grounds are punctuated by meandering pathways and hidden courtyards festooned with plumeria. Inside, old-school glamour takes centre stage; those soaring ceilings, dark wood accents and opulent fabrics having wowed former guests including Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. The Mai Tai Beach Bar is a local institution and, while modern Waikiki buzzes beyond the gates, this remains a place to revel in timeless elegance, be it beneath a beach cabana with a good book or over a languid dinner a deux at the oceanfront Azure Restaurant. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $826.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, Kauai
* Best for all-out Zen
Swap paradise noir for playful enlightenment at this 252-guestroom feat of biophilic design on the North Shore of Kauai Island, with mixology classes, island golf and ukulele lessons among the enriching diversions. Interiors feature reclaimed teak ceilings, basalt stone bathrooms and a Babylonian profusion of hanging plants, while private lanai (open-sided verandas) provide front-row seats for theatrical island sunsets. When hunger strikes, your options include tacos packed with local seafood at 1 Kitchen and Japanese-inspired sharing plates at Welina Terrace. And then there’s the scene-stealing Bamford Wellness Spa, where oxygen therapy chambers, meditation pods and Hawaiian Lomilomi massages balance body and soul. Twin-share rooms with breakfast from $1103.
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