Four Seasons’ spokespeople remain, predictably, tight-lipped–which only keeps the gossip going. The series’ team of location scouts has reportedly been sighted in resorts from Krabi to Chiang Mai, and while none have released statements that indicate a possible role in the upcoming season, some have inadvertently dropped (possible) hints. Below are a few contenders, some picked up through the grapevine, others spun from pure fantasy and a pinch of wishful thinking.
If anything, consider it an itinerary for your own White Lotus-worthy trip around the Land of Smiles.
Amanpuri, Phuket
A little internet sleuthing reveals that Amanpuri, the Phuket beach resort that rang in a new era for ultra-luxe hospitality when it opened in 1988, has blocked reservations for its $900-a-night pavilions and multi-bedroomed villas from June through August this year. The maintenance closure in June is an annual affair, but given that Mike White himself was spotted at The Surin next door last January, this year’s three-month hiatus seems fishy. Aman’s public relations department declined to comment, but it’s not hard to imagine the likes of Tanya McQuoid, played by Jennifer Coolidge, prancing around the resort’s giant, black-tiled swimming pool in a breezy sun dress. And with villas featuring up to nine bedrooms each, this hush-hush haven delivers space and privacy in spades.
Rayavadee, Krabi
Chances are that you’ve already seen Rayavadee‘s signature restaurant, as this cave-like dining room with toes-in-the-sand tables under an ancient limestone cliff has been featured on magazine pages and Instagram feeds the world over. Rumors of the The White Lotus‘ location scouts snooping around the property have swirled around Thailand’s hospitality circles for months (and have been confirmed by Rayavadee’s PR representative). It’s easy to picture cinematic magic in the resort’s setting between coconut groves and lush jungle: there are swaying palms, pristine beaches, and potential for jaw-dropping aerial shots of the karst formations jutting out from the azure-hued Andaman Sea on the horizon.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand’s cacophonous capital, is the starting point for most trips around the country. And even though the city with longest name welcomed a Hot List-worthy Four Seasons in 2021, there’s only one hotel with the panache of The White Lotus’ earlier embodiments. Favored by A-listers since opening more than a century ago, the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok is chocolate-box pretty, with long colonnaded corridors, ornate floral arrangements, and suites dripping in crystals, porcelains and silk. Breakfast scenes, of which the previous two seasons featured many, would look brilliant on the hotel’s riverfront terrace, where waitstaff in sharp Thai tailoring zip between tables with champagne bottles and silver platters loaded with tropical fruits. Another possible clue: when this writer checked in for a stay one weekend last April, he spotted Mike White in the hotel’s flower-festooned lobby.
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