The White Lotus Season 3: Where Are They Filming? (& How To Visit)
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2 months ago
We know it’s Thailand – but where?
It’s the question on everyone’s lips: where are they filming The White Lotus season 3? Obviously, someone out there is clued up – but all the cast, writers and producers involved have tight lips. (This could feasibly be because filming hasn’t even started yet, with HBO recently pushing the air date back to 2025.) We know Thailand is the nation of choice, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand even chipping in with some hefty discounts to enable filming. Here we delve into the possible hotel filming locations for the third series.
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Where Are They Filming The White Lotus Season 3?
The White Lotus season 3 is being filmed in Thailand, specifically in Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok.
Speculation initially fancied Japan as the far-flung destination of choice after Hawaii in the first season and Italy in the second, but Variety exclusively confirmed that The White Lotus season 3 will be filmed in Thailand. So, where exactly is filming taking place?
If previous seasons are anything to go by, The White Lotus will be filmed at and mostly take place at an ultra luxurious Four Seasons hotel, rebranded under ‘White Lotus’ for the show. In the first season, this was the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea in Hawaii, which was totally taken over for filming during lockdown. In the second season, production moved to the San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel in Sicily, Italy, with a whole new cast to boot (except Tanya and Greg, of course).
Therefore, the third season of The White Lotus is very likely to be filmed in a Four Seasons resort in Thailand. The only problem is, there are four Four Seasons resorts in Thailand. So which will it be?
If You’re Looking For Season 1 & 2 Filming Locations, Click Here
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
‘I figured out exactly where The White Lotus season three is going to be filmed,’ Instagrammer Camille Larmoyeux (@luxurytravelermedia) recently told her followers. ‘And I figured it out all on my own.’ Larmoyeux checked the websites of all four Four Seasons resorts in Thailand, and noticed that the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui is fully booked out from February to March 2024.
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Coincidence? Possibly. February and March make up the peak holiday season in Thailand, so it’s likely that the hotel is simply fully booked. That said, it is suspicious that the hotel is block booked out; our own research finds the hotel is inaccessible to new guests from 29 January–26 March 2024. Not even one empty room in all of this time? Fishy.
Can you imagine daily White Lotus breakfasts (and even dinners) taking place here? We sure can.
Perched on the Gulf of Siam, this beachy resort is extremely secluded, with prime diving and snorkeling and supreme desert island vibes. Private yachts can be chartered, and we know how much Tanya loved boat trips… There’s also a spa amid the coconut groves, and we Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), Tanya’s beloved masseuse and spa manager at the White Lotus Maui, is returning this season. Likewise, it has been confirmed that filming will take place in Koh Samui – so we think we’ve found our White Lotus.
The Verdict: Very likely.
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Hidden between emblematic Thai paddy fields and mountain peaks, the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai is all about slowing down. It’s more of a countryside retreat, which would be a step away from The White Lotus’ first two seaside seasons. In reality, this is a lovely hotel to engage with Thai culture, especially for youngsters, with rice planting, Muay Thai lessons, local handicraft sessions such as pottery, and buffalo scrubbing.
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
We can certainly imagine the White Lotus’ discerning guests enjoying this, especially in the light of the Di Grasso trio’s plot in season two, in which Dominic (Michael imperioli), his father Bert (F. Murray Abraham) and his son Albie (Adam DiMarco) embark on a heritage holiday to Italy. As well as ancestry trips, full immersion in local culture is a burgeoning travel trend amid the ultra elite – and we can envision this making for some awkward comedy in true White Lotus fashion. Plus, the secluded location lends itself to the clientele. But is it the vibe? We’re not so sure.
The Verdict: Possible if there’s a tone shift, but it isn’t the perfect match-up with the vibe of previous seasons.
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River
Don’t be put off by the city location: the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River is like an oasis in the heart of Thailand’s bustling capital. The Chao Phraya River winds through the city, and on its eastern bank sits this idyllic resort, featuring a riverfront infinity pool, bamboo-fringed courtyards and terraced waterscapes.
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River
It’s gorgeous, and lends itself well to the Sicilian exploration we saw in season two, when Daphne and Harper left the confines of the resort to explore nearby Noto. That said, it’s definitely got more of a city-slick vibe, and filming on location in Bangkok would probably be quite tricky. As with Chiang Mai, we’re not confident this is the vibe our White Lotus clientele are looking for; they’re all about fly and flop amid luxurious confines, with a dollop of wellness and very limited exploration beyond the walls of the hotel. (No detriment to this Four Seasons, of course – it looks stunning).
The Verdict: Again, it’s possible if there’s a tone shift, but logistically and thematically, we don’t think the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok At Chao Phraya River will be the filming location of choice. That said, some filming of The White Lotus season 3 is said to be taking place in Bangkok, so maybe this Four Seasons will have a cameo…
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
We’re intrigued by this possible filming location. The Golden Triangle is the area where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, once known for opium production. Just inside the Thai border, right at the northern limit of the nation and just south of the Myanmar border, sits the jungle-immersed Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. With mountain and jungle vistas, the rainforest canopy hotel sits on the banks of the winding Ruak river and offers a location like no other. Guests are invited to explore hidden mountain trails and misty bamboo jungles, as well as meet the 20 rescued elephants that call the property home.
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
If The White Lotus season 3 is filmed here, it will be a step change from the beachy first two seasons. But we think the mysterious jungle setting and opium heritage lends itself to the series’ inherent intrigue – especially if, as we discuss below, season 3 is about power.
The Verdict: It’s not the perfect match to previous seasons, but we would love to see a series of The White Lotus filmed here.
Where Else?
Reports have circulated recently claiming The White Lotus will be filmed in Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, three locations scattered across Thailand. Koh Samui is an island off the eastern coast in the south of Thailand, on the Malay Peninsula, and we think it’s home to the White Lotus hotel we will see in season 3. To get there, however, our probably-American guests will most likely pass through the Thai capital of Bangkok. Will we see a body loaded onto a plane at Bangkok airport as we did in Hawaii in the first season? Only time will tell.
Phuket, meanwhile, is much closer to Koh Samui, situated on the western side of the Malay Peninsula. Taking a five hour car journey or a one hour flight, we can imagine some guests taking a trip here, too.
What Will The White Lotus Season 3 Be About?
With the filming location comes a season theme to match up. ‘The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,’ series creator Mike White told HBO behind-the-scenes after the second season wrapped. These seasons matched up well with their destinations, with Hawaii backdropping themes of wealth, privilege and colonialism, while sex-themed season two drew on Sicily’s amorous mythology.
(L-R) Aubrey Plaza, Will Sharpe, Theo James and Meghann Fahey in The White Lotus, courtesy of Warner Media.
‘I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality,’ White continued. ‘It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.’ Since he said that, the East and Asia have been top of the list for location speculations, bringing those Japanese theories to the fore while scrubbing out ski resort guesses (we maintain a luxury ski-themed season would be incredible).
So that’s death, Eastern religion and spirituality firmly on the agenda. What else? While he was discussing season two, White may have let some season three details slip. Before the second season took shape, ‘Originally, it was more of like a Bilderberg conference, more about getting into some of the bigger power dynamics there,’ White told Entertainment Weekly. ‘But Sicily was a totally different vibe than the idea I pitched. That didn’t seem right.’ So, does a bunch of European and North American politicians gallivanting in a luxurious resort seem right for Thailand?
Steve Zahn and Connie Britton in the first season of The White Lotus
Entangled with this foiled plot is a foiled cameo: Connie Britton, who starred as career-driven matriarch Nicole in season one, was supposed to return for the second season. In July 2022, she told Deadline: ‘[Mike] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character. Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn’t work in the second season, and we’re hoping to [do] that in the third season.’
Meanwhile, White recently told Entertainment Weekly the third series will also be ‘longer, bigger, crazier’ than the previous two. ‘I don’t know what people will think,’ he said, ‘but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing.’ We can’t wait.
WATCH
Catch up with the first two seasons of The White Lotus on NOW. nowtv.com
