Tourist haven Thailand is about to experience The White Lotus Effect. The phrase was coined after season one of the HBO series was first released in 2021, prompting a spike in online searches for the hotel in Hawaii where the satirical comedy was filmed.
Season two, set in Sicily, recreated similar fanfare when it came out the following year.
Named after a fictional luxury hotel chain where it's set, The White Lotus focused in season one and two on the lives of its well-heeled guests, as well as its cheerful employees whose dark secrets and lives come undone over the course of a week.
The show has won several Emmy and Golden Globe awards, with both seasons garnering critical acclaim along with its global popularity.
Season three, which premiered on February 16, continues in the same vein, but with different guests, smiling new staff and a brand new location: Thailand.
Set-jetting travellers have already earmarked many of the locations featured in the show, with hotels.com reporting a 40 per cent spike in searches for the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, where a majority of scenes were filmed in the east coast of the country.
The Canadian luxury hotel chain seems to have become a favourite of the show, with both season one (Four Seasons Resort Maui, Hawaii) and season two (San Domenico Palace, Sicily) also filmed at its properties.
But it's not just Four Seasons. A representative for Minor Hotels, whose three Anantara properties also served as filming locations for season three, told The National it recorded a 40 per cent increase in average price per night at its Koh Samui resorts last year, driven by the show's popularity.
So while it may appear to be one resort in the show, The White Lotus was actually shot in different luxury properties across Thailand. Here are all the top locations:
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
Set on a lush hillside, this 17-hectare property comes with 60 pool villas and 11 private residences, each with its own private infinity pool overlooking the resort's private beach and the Gulf of Thailand.
Built on a former orchard, the resort is designed in southern Thai architectural style, with thatched roofs and expansive indoor and outdoor spaces.
A majority of the scenes in season three were shot here. That includes the rooms of the show's main characters, as well as restaurant, pool, beach and gym scenes.
Rooms start at about $1,700 per night
Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort
Located on a stretch of private beach in Chaweng, this striking resort blends modern luxury with Koh Samui’s Thai-Chinese past. It features 122 accommodation types, ranging from deluxe rooms to villas and five-bedroom private residence.
But it's the Singing Bird Lounge that features prominently in The White Lotus. A treehouse-style bar nestled within the branches of a 120-year-old tree, the bar gets its name from Koh Samui's famous bird-singing contests, a tradition that attracts thousands of spectators every year.
Rooms start at about $411 per night
Anantara Bophut Koh Samui
Set along Bophut Beach, this luxury property comprises 106 rooms and suites designed in low-rise shingled buildings overlooking a central lily pond. Occupying a site that was once a coconut plantation, with architecture inspired by Southern Thai heritage, the resort’s landscaping – including its lotus ponds and a spa garden – was designed by renowned American architect Bill Bensley.
Several locations within the property feature in The White Lotus season three, including the signature Thai-style lobby, security station, the resort's tree-lined entrance, jewellery store and the employee car park.
Rooms start at about $490 per night
Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas
Located on the northern tip of Phuket in southern Thailand, bordered by a golden beach on one side and a lush national park on the other, this luxury property features 83 pool villas, 30 pavilions and 70 suites. It is ideal for families and couples seeking the perfect holiday.
It is also the setting for the dramatic opening scene in the season three, as well as a wellness sanctuary and spa and Belinda’s room. Fans of the show will remember Belinda, played by Natasha Rothwell, who was spa manager at The White Lotus Hawaii and also an emotional support for Tanya, one of the show's best-loved characters, played by Jennifer Coolidge.
Rooms start at about $512 per night
Rosewood Phuket
Located along Emerald Bay on Phuket’s west coast, this 17-hectare property comprises 71 pavilions and villas with separate lounge and dining spaces, private terrace pools, gardens and outdoor showers.
The hotel's famed Thai restaurant, Ta Khai, has featured in The White Lotus. Meant to represent a rustic Thai village, Ta Khai, which means “fishing net” in Thai, serves authentic Southern Thai cuisine. Their menu changes with the seasons and all ingredients are locally sourced, including from their own organic herb and vegetable garden.
Rooms start at about $950 per night
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
A riverside property, the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, is the only hotel in the Thai capital to be featured in The White Lotus. A historic property, it is one of the oldest in Thailand, simply known as The Oriental when it opened in 1876. Offering striking views of the Chao Phraya River, one of Thailand's major rivers which runs through the city, the property was refurbished in 2019 by architect Jeffrey Wilkes.
Filming of the The White Lotus took place in the hotel's 376-square-metre Oriental Suite, a two-bedroom penthouse; its jazz venue The Bamboo Bar; and its now-popular lobby, which features a fusion of Thai heritage and contemporary elegance, with handcrafted teak, crystal bells and Bodhi leaf motifs.
The Authors’ Lounge, a 1900-style venue with old-world charm, was where The White Lotus creator and writer Mike White reportedly spent hours writing. His photograph now hangs on the wall of lounge, joining the ranks of literary greats who once wrote there.
Rooms start at about $750 per night
Other locations in Thailand
A number of other locations will feature in season three as new episodes drop weekly.
The now-famous arrivals scene was shot at the Ya Nui Beach in Phuket. Characters arrived by boat in a scene interspersed with gorgeous shots of the Ko Lawa Yai island in Koh Samui and the picturesque Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park, a collection of 42 islands, also in Koh Samui.
Residents of Phuket will also recognise scenes shot at Bangla Boxing Stadium, known for Muay Thai boxing; Cafe Del Mar, one of the city's most popular beach clubs; and the Yacht Haven Marina.
The Wat Phu Khao Thong Buddhist Temple in Koh Samui will also feature prominently. A popular tourist attraction, the temple is known for its intricate Thai architecture.
Another Koh Samui attraction, the Dusit Dheva Cultural Centre, also features, as a set for the garden of a Buddhist monastery. Showcasing the heritage of Thailand, the centre, which also houses a museum, is dotted with intricate sculptures and stands out for its carved roofs and pillars, surrounded by lush manicured gardens.
White Lotus packages
Cashing in on the popularity of The White Lotus, some of the properties featured in the show have launched packages and deals for fans to live their own cinematic dreams.
At the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok for example, guests can sip on The White Lotus cocktail at the 1950s-style jazz venue, The Bamboo Bar, where scenes were filmed. Meanwhile, The Author's Lounge, where writer White reportedly wrote scenes of the show, is known for its traditional afternoon tea featuring finger sandwiches, pastries, freshly-baked scones and home-made jams.
Minor Hotels, whose three Anantara hotels feature in the show, has launched a Lotus Awakening Escape Package. The four-night retreat for two begins at Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, where guests will receive a half-day guided tour of Phuket, including stops at a Muay Thai Stadium in Patong, Phuket Big Buddha and attractions in and around Phuket Old Town. There's also a “Lotus Awakening” spa ritual treatment as well as a “Lotus Season” dinner experience at La Sala.
This is followed by a trip to Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, where guests will take part in a "Passage of the Lotus" experience, which includes a lotus folding class, guided prayer and a visit to the Big Buddha and Wat Plai Laem temples, the Chaweng viewpoint and the Elephant Kingdom shelter. There will be more spa treatments as well as a specially-created lotus dining experience.
Guests will also get to taste themed cocktails at the The Singing Bird bar at Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort, where scenes were shot, as well as experience a themed eight-course dinner.
The Lotus Awakening Escape Package starts at $1,792
