To avoid spoilers, this story only covers locations in season 3, episode 1 of The White Lotus.
The White Lotus in Thailand holds more secrets than viewers might think.
The stunning fictional hotel where the HBO drama’s third season is set can be visited by fans in real life, but they might have to take a flight to go from breakfast to dinner.
Unlike the first two seasons, which were filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea in Hawaii and San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily, respectively, the Thailand edition is actually four hotels combined into one seamless setting, the show’s executive producer David Bernad tells PEOPLE exclusively.
The Four Seasons Koh Samui, Anantara Bophut Koh Samui, Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas and Rosewood Phuket were all used as different parts of The White Lotus Thailand.
In reality, two of the luxury properties are located on Koh Samui, an island in the Gulf of Thailand off the peninsula’s east coast, while the other two are about 200 miles away off the west coast on Thailand’s largest island, Koh Phuket, located in the Andaman Sea.
“When we scouted Thailand, we looked at Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai.” says Bernad. “We didn’t go to Koh Samui because [director] Mike [White] was like, ‘We’re never going to shoot in Ko Samui.'”
The show’s creator, it turns out, had a negative personal association with the popular island. “Mike was twice on the Amazing Race,” says Bernad. “And twice, when he was eliminated, he went to Koh Samui and had to stay in the elimination station.”
But the pair, who also worked together on the show’s first two seasons, had heard about an amazing Four Seasons property there, so they sent another member of the team to see it, just in case.
“The hotel was just so perfect. It called our name, and I think it’s fair to say that Mike has avenged his Koh Samui demons after shooting there,” says Bernad.
However, the stunning property, which is comprised of a collection of villas set into a cliffside overlooking the sea, didn’t provide every type of space the script required, so the showrunners set out to find some equally lavish supplementary shooting spots in the region.
“The Four Seasons in Koh Samui is an A-plus vacations destination, but it didn’t offer us certain things we needed for our show to work visually,” explains Bernad. “So we augmented some of the show using the spa at the Anantara Phuket,” which he says, “made more sense for filming.”
The dining areas are also a mash-up of real-life locations. The show’s characters eat breakfast at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, but “at night, we couldn’t shoot the restaurant area. It was too dark,” says Bernad. “So all the dinner scenes take place at the Rosewood actually in Phuket.”
The hotel’s reception area is yet another location. “The reception center at the Four Seasons Koh Samui is built for the shock and awe of the view. It’s not built for an HBO drama series about guest checking into a hotel,” says Bernad. “So we augmented that with the reception area at the Anantara Mai Khao, which is a much bigger space.” The resort, located at the north end of Phuket, allowed for them to accommodate all the necessary cast, crew and equipment inside.
The third season’s opening scene featuring Belinda’s (Natasha Rothwell) son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) in a session with Amrita was also shot at Mai Khao. “Mike had scripted it that he jumps in the water. That didn’t exist at the Four Seasons, so we had to go and find it,” says Bernad.
Viewers hoping to be welcomed to any of the four resorts by waving staff members standing on a sandbar, as the shows stars are, may be disappointed. The actual sandbar is not at any of the luxury properties. Instead, it’s just an isolated spit in the sea on one of the small islands north of Phuket.
Bernad and White’s original draw to Thailand was a practical one.
They needed something that “worked weather-wise” for the always tropical-set series, and that was film friendly (with tax breaks). “It was just only Thailand in that region,” Bernad says, So they started their search there without much passion, thinking they’d visit more countries after, but it didn’t happen.
“I get emotional talking about. We really love the people and the culture,” he adds, “It’s hard to put in words, just the warmth you feel as you travel through Thailand. We just fell in love.”
This story will be updated as more locations are revealed in each new episode.
The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
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