An agent’s guide to riding The White...

Make the jet-setting trend work for you with our pick of the best resorts in Thailand

With The White Lotus season three airing from 16 February 2025, travel agents in the Middle East can expect a flood of calls from clients desperate to stay in the luxurious hotel featured in the show.

The star of the show, the all-villa Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand, is a stunning beachfront property. Nestled in a hillside jungle on the northwest tip of the island, this 70-key resort offers spacious pool villas, a Michelin-recommended restaurant, a private beach and a garden spa complete with a Muay Thai boxing ring and a yoga platform.

But here’s the catch. The resort is already impacted by what’s become known as ‘The White Lotus effect’, with a deluge of bookings from travellers who want to relive the experiences they see on screen.

Known as ‘jet-setting’, travel inspired by film and TV is currently one of the biggest trends in hospitality, and will mean securing a stay at Thailand’s White Lotus resort (as the Four Seasons Koh Samui will no doubt be referred to, moving forward) will be difficult.

Searches for Thai holidays have rocketed by 412% for 2025, according to Travel Republic, while travel agency Fora says bookings are up 312% for January 2025 compared to the previous year.

However, as Thailand is blessed with dozens of equally stunning and luxurious resorts, in and around Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, destinations all featuring in The White Lotus series, there are alternatives to book.

Here’s Connecting Travel’s pick of the best.

Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort
Set in a lush tropical garden around a pond filled with lotus flowers, Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort is one of three Anantara resorts used as locations in The White Lotus. The resort’s signature Thai-style lobby, security station, resort entrance and jewellery store are all featured in the show. The beachfront property features traditional Thai architecture and décor, an impressive spa with glass-walled treatment rooms and sweeping views of the Gulf of Thailand. anantara.com/en/bophut-koh-samui

Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort

Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort
Tapping the set-jet trend, agents can book The Lotus Awakening Escape package, a four-night Phuket and Koh Samui retreat that includes experiences at all three Anantara resorts featured on the show. This includes the recently reopened 120-key Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort on Samui’s east coast, whose culinary highlight – a restaurant wrapped around a century-old tree – features the Singing Bird Lounge, which was used for bar scenes in Lotus. Here, guests can sip handcrafted cocktails at sunsets to a backdrop of Samui's birdlife. anantara.com/en/lawana-koh-samui

The Singing Bird Lounge, Anantara Lawana Koh Samui

Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas
Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas – the setting for The Wellness Sanctuary, Spa and Belinda’s Room in the TV show – features Phuket’s longest beach and delivers Lotus vibes in bucketloads. Guests can expect three gongs to signal their arrival followed by flower garlands being strung around their necks. The lily-padded lotus-filled lagoon flows through the resort and temples and bridges are dotted throughout. anantara.com/en/mai-khao-phuket

Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas

Samujana Twenty-Seven
This stunning, four bedroom, Koh Samui villa can be booked via Airbnb and, yes, it features in The White Lotus. Guests will love the rooftop infinity pool and sunken lounge area at this high-end hilltop retreat, which also features a gym and TV room. All rooms are ensuite, plus guests can enjoy hotel-standard additional services from driver to private chef, babysitting or spa treatments. samujana.com/villas

Samujana Twenty-Seven, Koh Samui

Six Senses Koh Samui
Another all-villa property, with 67 villas (60 with private pool) offering ocean or tropical landscape views, a Guest Experience Maker caters to guests’ every need, from jungle drives to boat trips. There are four dining destinations, a spa, a library, a fitness centre and daily Thai cookery classes. Families will love the signature three-bedroom Beach Reserve (actually a two-bedroom villa and separate one-bed villa) with its own private pool and direct beach access.
sixsenses.com/en/hotels-resorts/asia-the-pacific/thailand/samui

Six Senses Koh Samui

The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui
Set on a 58-acre former coconut plantation, The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui celebrates that history in the design of the 175 rooms, suites and pool villas, while coconut is tapped at every opportunity. Guests can take a Muay Thai boxing class (they love a good fight on The White Lotus), try their hand at classic Thai recipes, or simply relax in the Spa Village with a treatment no doubt including coconut. There are two secluded beaches, a swim reef and Thailand’s only ocean pool.
ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/usmrz-the-ritz-carlton-koh-samui

The Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui

Vana Belle, A Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui
With a location close to the airport yet surrounded by tropical forests, the clear blue ocean water and with a white sand beach, this resort ticks plenty of boxes. Vana Belle, A Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui is also close to the popular Elephant Sanctuary, Wat Phra Yai (the Big Buddha Temple), and Chaweng Beach. There are 79 pool suites and pool villas, all with large outdoor terraces to take in the scenery. Guests staying in Grand Pool Suites, Tropical Pool Villas and Vana Belle Ocean Pool Suites get personal butler service, too. marriott.com/en-us/hotels/usmvl-vana-belle

Vana Belle, A Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui

The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket
The White Lotus ventures to Phuket, some 350km from Koh Samui, for some of its key scenes, and visitors to Naka Island will understand why. This exclusive boutique resort with rooms, suites and villas is the only one on Naka Yai Island, and is reached only by speedboat. What could be more White Lotus than that? Guests can enjoy lazy bike rides, cooking classes, kayaking through mangroves, or hanging out at one of three beachside restaurants. marriott.com/en-us/hotels/pyxlc-the-naka-island

The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort, Phuket

Keemala Phuket
Arguably the most stunning property on this list, multi-award-winning Keemala is focused on wellness and quality of life. Set in the rainforest, this beautiful retreat offers holistic activities, wholesome food and accommodations straight from the latest style magazines. Choose from cute clay pool cottages, tent pool villas, tree pool houses, or gravity-defying bird’s nest pool villas. keemala.com

Keemala Phuket

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
This riverside hotel in the Thai capital has been a bastion of luxury for 150 years and is rumoured to feature in season three of The White Lotus, with scenes filmed in the lobby and Bamboo Bar. Set on the banks of the bustling Chao Phraya River, the grand hotel offers a wide range of rooms and lavish suites, many with balconies. If those rumours are true then guests will head to the live jazz and blues of Bamboo Bar, which first opened its doors in 1953 but could be welcoming a new breed of clientele. Reservations are not allowed, so drop any notion of trying to secure a table under the name Tanya McQuoid – the main character from seasons one and two. While Tanya was killed off, there is no stopping The White Lotus effect. mandarinoriental.com/en/bangkok/chao-phraya-river

Bamboo Bar, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok