The White Lotus season four? This is where it should be set
While many of us are still unpacking the shock finale of The White Lotus season three — the globetrotting HBO drama's most-watched yet— theories about where the next instalment will take place are spreading faster than toxic gossip around a sea-gazing infinity pool. Will we be swapping sarongs for ski pants? Jacquemus dresses for safari jackets? Keeping us guessing is what the writer Mike White does best, but one thing's for sure: a Four Seasons will again double as the oh-so-fabulous fictional hotel, with the ad hoc partnership forged between HBO and the luxury hospitality group in 2020 having been cemented with a multi-season deal in October.
Long synonymous with discreet indulgence in 'big trip'-worthy locations, Four Seasons properties have played a leading role in all three White Lotus outings: in Maui, we saw vast Hawaiian Pacific views mirror a quiet existential drift; in Taormina, baroque Sicilian splendour set the stage for Don Giovanni-esque betrayals; and, most recently, in Thailand's Koh Samui, a symbolism-rich Bill Bensley-designed hotel amplified themes of death, rebirth and spiritual emptiness in paradise.
Next? Well, the Four Seasons outposts in Australia, Egypt and Japan are among the rumoured contenders, but the team has also been scouting in Europe — and White reportedly stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo in Mexico late last year. Was he plotting scenes over breakfasts of huevos rancheros? Or might he instead brave potentially drizzly days to deliver high camp on horseback in the English countryside? An announcement is said to be due soon, so watch this space. In the meantime, these are the Four Season hotels where we think season four of The White Lotus should be set.
• What the hotel from White Lotus season three is really like
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A champagne-fuelled tryst gone wrong? A body in the snow? Four Seasons Megève's Suite Idéal practically writes its own storyline. Perched at 1,850m and accessible only by cable car, this secluded Haute-Savoie eyrie — all cashmere throws, log fires and privileged Mont Blanc views — is ripe for an icy White Lotus narrative exploring themes of isolation and introspection. And the rest of the hotel more than holds its own. A collaboration between Four Seasons and the Rothschild family (whose wealth has contributed to the chocolate-box town), the 55-room property combines traditional chalet style with sleek, state-of-the-art amenities, including one of the largest spas in the French Alps: a 900 sq m white-marble sanctuary home to six treatment rooms, a sauna, hammam, gym, hairdresser, herbal tea bar, relaxation zone and heated indoor-outdoor pool. There's also a Michelin-starred restaurant for fireworks over fancy fondue and ample room on the surrounding slopes for collisions — literal and emotional. Details B&B doubles from £533 (fourseasons.com/megeve). Fly to Geneva
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Snake charmers … Vigorous scrub-downs in the hammam … The muezzin's call to prayer echoing in the distance … Marrakesh is a frontrunner for season four, and it's not hard to see why. The Red City serves up countless opportunities for intrigue in the souk and surrounding Atlas Mountains. If the yet-to-be-announced cast is indeed set for western Morocco, it will be to this opulent 141-room oasis — a red-stone hideaway bookended by the ancient medina and the cosmopolitan neighbourhoods of the Ville Nouvelle. Set within 40 acres of fragrant rose gardens, fountains and sun-dappled walkways, its mosaic-clad courtyards might have been made for stolen kisses. After spending days around the palm-lined adults-only pool and in the spa's steamy marble chambers, lamé-clad characters could sip sunset cocktails in the white-tiled rooftop bar, where, against 360-degree views of the city and mountains beyond, a dramatic finale would easily play out in the flickering lantern light. Details B&B doubles from £463 (fourseasons.com/marrakesh). Fly to Marrakesh
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You couldn't get much further from the 'crashing waves on rocks vernacular' White has said he wants to leave behind than at this red-brick Georgian manor house that is about an hour's drive southwest of London and Heathrow airport, where, this being the UK, the vernacular is often more 'crashing rain on brollies'. But who cares when pursuits including horse riding, clay-pigeon shooting and falconry are on the cards — the birds of prey perhaps taking over where season three's ominous monkeys left off. American stars would swoon over reports that British royals stay here, but fail to glean any gossip from the discreet staff while viewers would thrill to watch tensions simmer against the patrician elegance of the hotel's 133 rooms and suites — all decked out in colours chosen to emulate the wildflowers and woodlands found in the hotel's 500-acre grounds. Plot twists could play out across the spa, glass-roofed infinity pool and flagship Wild Carrot restaurant, and if a genteel game of croquet were to take a dark turn, who knows what might ensue?Details: B&B doubles from £614 (fourseasons.com/hampshire)
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Could wallowing hippos be seen as a metaphor? Would the leopard print be modelled by its rightful owner? If season four were to unfold deep within Serengeti National Park, it would mark a tonal pivot for the series, leaving beachy ennui for African dust. And vying with those golden, elephant-and giraffe-grazed plains for our attention? This extraordinary Four Seasons lodge, which blends a cool, eco-conscious design with lashings of safari luxe: mosquito-netted four-posters; well-stocked minibars and private plunge pools overlooking the watering hole. It's prime terrain for a cast of wannabe conservationists and multigenerational family groups, with a new baddie possibly taking the form of a suspiciously well-dressed wildlife photographer with sociopathic tendencies. Could it happen? 'We're exploring a few locations that feel completely unlike anything we've done before,' White has said, and industry chatter has it that scouts were in northern Tanzania this year. Yes, guests will have a spear-wielding Masai guard to escort them safely to and from their rooms after dark, but what if a tech bro with control issues decided to go it alone? Will, in future, The White Lotus be what springs to mind whenever Maneater comes on the radio. We'd like to think so.Details: B&B doubles from £896 (fourseasons.com/serengeti). Fly to Seronera via Kilimanjaro or Arusha
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The Athenian Riviera is no stranger to gods, scandals and impossibly chic bikinis. In its 1960s heyday, the Astir Palace welcomed such stars as Brigitte Bardot, Jackie Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, making it a mischievous proposition for a new White Lotus ensemble composed of trust fund philosophers and social media influencers claiming Dionysian bloodlines. Reimagined as a Four Seasons in 2019, the 74-acre compound delivers a crisp, minimalist take on Hellenic luxury, with highlights including 61 sea-facing bungalows, a glittering spa complex, sandy, white-parasol-studded beach and waterfront dining under the stars. As HBO exec Francesca Orsi teased: 'Chances are [the next season is set] somewhere in Europe.' Somewhere steeped in myth and dripping in modern money? We're crossing our fingers for a Mediterranean fever dream packed with day trips to ancient ruins and Oedipal complexes unravelling over shots of ouzo.Details: B&B doubles from £482 (fourseasons.com/athens). Fly to Athens
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Fiery Buenos Aires happens to have more therapists per capita than anywhere in the world, so if season four were to relocate to the Argentine capital, the scope for characters airing their neuroses on velvet couches between late-night visits to backstreet tango halls would be huge. Not to mention mortifying attempts at mate etiquette by a guest whose Spanish begins and ends with a Duolingo streak. And can you imagine the dramatic potential for the theme tune? If it were to pan out, there could be no better base camp than this devilishly handsome Four Seasons in the city's ritzy Recoleta district. Straddling a belle époque mansion and a sleek modern tower, it would spell carte blanche for juicy parallel storylines involving high-society meltdowns and nouveau riche debauchery: picture puffy-eyed polo players at the breakfast buffet, melancholic poets mooching around the spa and one (vegan) chef who's definitely not the parrilla kingpin they claim to be. All 165 rooms and suites come in the soothing blond of a good Torrontes, and the Roman-style heated outdoor pool would impress even Eva Perón (the Latin archetype for season two's Daphne). Nevertheless, this is still 'the Paris of South America', where every glance could ignite a grand scandal. Mike White, are you reading?Details: B&B doubles from £499 (fourseasons.com/buenosaires) Fly to Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini
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