The White Lotus season three may have only ended last night, but here at Vogue, we’re already thinking about season four. Specifically: the location. If the first season explored Hawaii, the second season shone a light on Sicily, and the third season doubled as a tour of Thailand, the fourth season will no doubt embed its viewers in another glamorous, intriguing locale.
And it may even inspire a vacation of your own: Thailand, after all, is in the middle of a White Lotus-inspired tourism boom. “Where we choose to go next could be hugely impactful,” creator Mike White told The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s why it was so cool to shoot in Thailand. It’s hard to go backward. Like, ‘Oh, we’ll do it in Paris!’ That feels like a cop-out.”
And while we’d never, ever dream of telling the television maestro where to set the next season, we did take it upon ourselves to scour the Four Seasons website—the luxury hotel brand whose resorts double for the fictional The White Lotus—to see what properties piqued our interest. Below, our guesses on the hotel shortlist for season four.
Marrakech, Morocco
Photo: Getty Images
The White Lotus’s first season took place in North America, its second season took place in Europe, and its third season took part in Asia. While there’s no hard and fast rule that they can’t return to those continents, it does seem plausible that it would be more interesting to creatively explore a new one. So what’s still an unchecked box?
This leads us to our first guest: Marrakech, the vibrant North African city that’s culturally linked to the Middle East, but sits on the top of the African continent. It has long been a tourist mecca thanks to its sites like the Bahia Palace and the souk markets, as well its position as a global port: “It’s a cliché, of course, but there’s truly nowhere quite like Marrakech. Sitting at a historic crossroads between Europe, Africa, and the Arab world, the city’s blend of cultures remains as complex and dazzling as one of the spice blends you’ll find stacked into pyramids within its labyrinthine souks,” wrote Vogue editor Liam Hess while visiting the city. Such a dynamic, multi-cultural setting feels like a rich one for White to mine.
The Serengeti, Tanzania
Photo: Getty Images
Also uncharted territory for The White Lotus? The plains of Africa. The Four Seasons has a lodge in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, which regularly attracts a moneyed cohort of families and honeymooning couples seeking a five-star African safari experience. There’s a lot to say about filming here: the location is one of the last truly wild places on earth, making it both a place of peace, adventure… and even a bit of the lawlessness that’s associated with somewhere so remote. Plus: lions.
Napa, California
Photo: Getty Images
Although the region of Napa has already been creatively skewered in the 2004 film Sideways, we’d love to see the White Lotus take on the luxury region known for its wineries, Michelin-starred restaurants, and California lifestyle. As the ancient Romans once said: in vino, veritas.
Megève, France
Photo: Getty Images
We’re going to start off by saying Megève is an unlikely option: “I’d bet $100,000 we don’t end up in the cold next. Even if we flirted with the idea, Mike [White] just wouldn’t want to be in the cold. He hates it,” The White Lotus producer David Bernad told The Hollywood Reporter. But if the creator could stand the temperature drop, an Alpine season at the French resort town would make for a snowy—and scandalous—setting.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Photo: Getty Images
The Four Seasons has a ski-in-ski out property on the base of Jackson Hole Mountain that could work as a cold-weather season just like Megève. But it could be a summer backdrop, too: the Wyoming town is also known as the gateway to Grand Teton National Park and the grand splendors within. Plus, there’s a fascinating element of both cowboy and Native American cultures… as well as Jackson’s reputation as a tax haven for the super-rich.
