The first thing you notice on arrival at the grand, porticoed entrance of the Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui are the monkeys.
They're everywhere: stone monkey statues proffering welcome garlands; cheeky terracotta monkeys giving you the thumbs up from plant pots; laconic stone apes draped over walls; monkey water features filling private pools.
So don't be surprised to find monkeys are a recurring theme in the third series of hit TV show The White Lotus, because the exclusive Four Seasons Resort on the Thai island has become the new fictional White Lotus Hotel.
Monkeys feature throughout the resort
The entire 45-acre resort was closed to guests this week when cast and crew arrived for an almost two-month shoot.
Although the runaway star of the first two series, Jennifer Coolidge, is not expected to be making an appearance (she died in series two), there are plenty of other household names who will be jetting into Thailand's second-largest island.
The new cast includes British actors Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter) and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education), plus Natasha Rothwell, who played beauty therapist Belinda in the first series.
Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of Arnie and Maria Shriver, is set to play a leading role as well as Thai actors Dom Hetrakul and Tayme Thapthimthong.
The inclusion of a gang of some 40 Hollywood actresses including Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Leslie Bibb (The Babysitter), Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible) and indie film actress Parker Posey could suggest they are a group of wealthy American women seeking some high-end spiritual healing.
But if the last two series are anything to go by, the other big star of the show will be the hotel itself.
Just as the first series of The White Lotus was shot in the Four Seasons Resort Maui, Hawaii, and the second at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily, the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui is about to become one of the most famous hotels in the world. And the most expensive.
Not that it isn't top-end already. With prices starting from £1,000 a night for an entry-level villa for two in low season, it reaches £6,900 a night for a family villa in peak season (housekeeper included).
To 'buy out' (i.e. close) the 60-villa hotel to paying guests for almost two months would cost millions, but the Four Seasons group clearly believes the investment is worth it and has struck a deal with The White Lotus backers, including U.S. production company HBO.
The Four Seasons Taormina saw a growth rate of 220 per cent after series two and it now charges between £1,900 and £6,400 for a single night stay in summer. Add to that audience figures from the last series, which reportedly amassed ten million viewers per episode, and it appears to be a win-win situation.
Elegant dining in one of the resorts restaurants
So what can we expect from the real star of the third series? I can confirm that after spending an evening living like the 000.1 per cent at the resort, it is the most spectacular White Lotus of them all. Hidden on a hillside in acres of jungle, the estate has an air of luxurious tranquillity. Each of the private villas, designed by award-winning architect and artist Bill Bensley and his partner Jirachai Rengthong, has been inspired by Southern Thai thatched cottages.
But with polished teak decks, private plunge pools, signature Four Seasons beds, stone baths big enough for three and Thai silk furnishings, they are a long way from your average village hut.
The stilted villas have been built into the jungle, arranged around 856 existing coconut trees which offer a whole lot of privacy.
Mike White, the series creator, has already hinted that while the theme of the first season was about greed and money and the second was about sex, the third would take a satirical look at death and spirituality.
This all makes a lot of sense as the resort hums with spirituality, from the stone monkeys to the menu at the Secret Garden Spa where guests can book Tibetan Singing Bowl Therapy, Reiki Energy Healing and even a cannabis massage using CBD oil finished off with a cannabis-infused tea. (Cannabis was decriminalised in Thailand in 2022, and is clearly crying out to play a leading role in White's twisted plot.)
On arrival we were ferried around in an electric buggy, through towering coconut trees and ferns, down to the star attraction - the private beach. With fine, white sand lapped by the pale blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand, the setting already looks as if it were digitally created in a Hollywood studio.
Guests can while away their day by the beach and the infinity pool, take out kayaks and paddleboards and book private snorkelling and diving trips to the spectacular Ang Thong National Marine Park.
Sunset dining with spectacular views
For supper, we were taken to a candle-lit treehouse to dine at the Michelin-listed Koh Thai Kitchen. Guests can also finish their evening in the Rum Vault, which contains more than 150 varieties of the spirit.
The highlight was watching the sun set from the CoCoRum beach bar's deck. With a Thai-fusion negroni in my hand and a saxophonist striking up a jazz solo, I understood why you'd fork out almost twice the average weekly wage to stay here for a single night.
First published in the Daily Mail - February 2024
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