Live In This £50m White Lotus Worthy Home

With the world still waiting on tenterhooks for the next series of White Lotus, any information we can source about the new season is as valuable as Tanya’s sought-after inheritance.

Amidst swirling waves of rumours, everyone is eager to discover who will be starring and where. While the full cast has yet to be announced (though British comedian and star of screen Steve Coogan has been confirmed), we do finally have news of the hotel where it will be set.

Once word got out that director Mike White’s had his sights set on France, fans started scouring potential hotels. Though viewers assumed that a Four Seasons offering would once again star (with most bets on its Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat) it was the Château de la Messardière which stole the leading role.

The 19th century palace turned hotel, which overlooks the Bay of Pampelonne in Saint Tropez, will act as the main primary filming location, with other scenes shot across the Riviera. With its dramatic hilltop setting, fairytale pastel pink facade and Rolls-Royce chauffeur service, the castle feels like the perfect setting for the glamorous show.

The property was originally built by a 19th century cognac merchant, Gabriel Dupuy d’Angeac, as a wedding gift for his daughter, before being bought by the five-star Airelles Collection in 2019 and reopened as a luxury hotel, complete with five restaurants and a jaw-dropping spa.

Though you can stay at the hotel (be warned, that filming will start this coming spring), why not set up base along the French Riviera all-year round? Fans of the dramedy can now live the series’ luxurious lifestyle themselves at Domaine de la Belle Étoile. Located on the Cap d’Antibes peninsula – situated between the towns of Antibes and Juan-les-Pins – the estate spans 2.65 acres of glistening coastline.

Inside A Luxurious Mega Villa On The French Riviera

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The estate itself was created on the site of the former Hôtel Provençal Tennis Club. Between the 1930s and 1970s, the club hosted eight tennis courts and a clubhouse, receiving royal and A-list visitors including Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, the Duke of Windsor, Jackie Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin.  

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Completely transformed from its tennis club origins, Domaine de la Belle Étoile now consists of a contemporary villa designed by Nice-based architectural practice Atelier Baraness + Cawker. With 14,2000 sqft to play with, the main villa includes five reception rooms, six bedroom suites, three kitchens (who could live without their family kitchen, chef’s kitchen and outdoor kitchen?), a study, cinema room, glass-walled swimming pool, spa offerings, plus a series of covered loggias terraces. The grounds also hold two guest houses, Villa Céleste (transformed from the original tennis clubhouse) and Villa Capella, with the furnishings and decor of all three villas designed by Monaco-based interiors company Casamanara.

The Gardens

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The series of themed gardens and al fresco spaces are designed by renowned Côte d’Azur landscaper Région Espaces Verts as tribute to the landscapes of Provence and the French Riviera. Overlooking the turquoise waters of the Port de l’Olivett beach, the grounds blend the architectural geometric features of the classic ‘Jardin a la Francaise’ and freer naturalistic planting to create an oasis of greenery. 

The garden rooms each evoke a distinct region of the South of France – the most beautiful of them all being the private ‘roserai’ (or rose garden). This perfume-filled quadrant is a homage to Antibes’ history as the ‘capital of the rose’. Varieties include the double cream and red striped Rosa ‘Scentimental’, the ravishing vivid pink floribunda ‘Leonardo Da Vinci’, as well as the citrus-scented ‘Baide des Anges Romantica’. 

Elsewhere, the organic garden boasts an olive grove interspersed with lavender, an aromatic chef’s garden and a secluded meditation area. The gardens are complete with a breathtaking variety of native trees, shrubs, flowers, fruit trees and culinary and medicinal herbs, many drought-resistant to suit the Mediterranean climate. Other key features of the grounds include 10 25-metre high pines, alongside five cypress trees (a traditional French symbol of hospitality) and three 100-year-old olive trees.

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Adrien de la Rouère, Head of Site Management at Région Espaces Verts says: ‘For the landscaping and planting for Domaine de la Belle Étoile it was important for us to anchor the gardens in its location, creating a connection with some of the region’s most iconic landscapes. We have carefully curated plants that thrive in the Mediterranean climate, such as olive trees, lavender, jasmine, bougainvillea and phormiums, with form, fragrance and dazzling colour throughout the scheme.’

Wine-lovers will also be able to enjoy the three-tiered vineyard, bursting with four different varieties of grape local to the region. With a classical fountain and a boules court, what more could you ask for? Ample space has also been allowed for a helipad and a tennis or basketball court.

Domaine de la Belle Étoile is available for viewings by prior appointment. The residential estate, providing the main villa and two guest houses, is being offered to the market on a turn-key basis. The estate is listed for sale for £51.16 million (€58.95 million or $69.25 million USD). Find out more at domaine-de-la-belle-etoile.com