Over theatrical high teas and banana-flavored cocktails within the elephantine, Zen-garden ground floor of the 4 Seasons Bangkok, the people sleuth and speculate: “Is the hotel a location in the brand new season of ‘The White Lotus,’ or ain’t it?”
Perched on the potent Chao Phraya, the flowing, highly poised urban resort definitely looks a stage for HBO’s dark satire of elite travelers. However the likely answer is “ain’t.” Rumor has it that the hotel will get a cameo — at best — and that the 4 Seasons Resort Koh Samui, a southern island beach resort off the Malay Peninsula, will get the majority of screen time. Bloomberg reported that episodes can even be filmed in Phuket at Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, in addition to at a “not-yet-named hotel in Bangkok.” Could it’s the 4 Seasons?
The actual fact is that it doesn’t matter, the 299-room, white-glove hotel is already the beneficiary of the grapevine — as is the complete nation of Thailand, which is within the strategy of rebranding itself from backpacker bastion to five-star wellness polestar.
The so-called “White Lotus effect” is now well documented. The 4 Seasons Maui at Wailea, featured in Season 1, is synonymous with the show and the hotel’s general manager told The Post that because the premier three years ago, the resort is bursting on the seams. It’s an identical story on the 4 Seasons’ San Domenico Palace, Taormina, in Sicily, which was the setting for Season 2. Overnight, it became a nigh-impossible booking. Your entire 129-property 4 Seasons portfolio, owned by Bill Gates and Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, with locations from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to Johannesburg, South Africa, stands to profit for its exclusive association with the show.
Back in 2007, The Post coined the word “set-jetting” for this type of thing. However the history of destination marketing via screen goes back to the beginning of cinema. Tourists, pockets stuffed with nickels, were already heading to Hollywood to gawk at their favorite picture sets within the silent era. Proto-set-jetters built Hollywood as we realize it. Now have a look at what “Lord of the Rings” did for Latest Zealand, or what “Harry Potter” did for England.
It’s practically inevitable that Mike White, the creator of “WL,” has now unleashed the TV masses on what was already quite the tourism hub — 28 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 2023. If all goes in line with plan, numbers, including prices, only go up from here.
All of the more reason to pack your bags now — HBO boss Casey Bloys has given you until sometime in 2025, when the subsequent installment of the show premiers, to make your arrangements.
Unfortunately, you’ll already need a reservation for the 4 Seasons Bangkok’s cocktail lounge BKK Social Club. It was ranked the No. 1 bar in Thailand by an internet site that professionally ranks this stuff … and the world noticed. We recommend the Bananzo — Michter’s bourbon, salted banana, chocolate bitters with a side of caviar; all for about $15.
Dining generally is the new ticket here and the Chao Phraya Terrace is the 4 Seasons’ newest offering. The scenic riverfront restaurant — from which the hotel can whisk you back and forth via a wood Venetian motorboat — offers an all-charcoal-smoked menu. Also in-house are Yu Ting Yuan (Cantonese fine-dining), Palmier by Guillaume Galliot (a surprisingly authentic French brasserie) and Riva del Fiume Ristorante (open-kitchen Italian).
The spa is one other major “White Lotus”-esque emphasis of the Bangkok hotel which, in 2023, reshuffled its offerings into the Urban Wellness Centre. It now hosts a rotating group of visiting practitioners on top of its more traditional Thai messages. Rarer still is the presence of a standalone men’s salon.
However the rooms here — facing either the river or a tree-filled courtyard — are where things get interesting. At time of printing, you’ll be able to book a deluxe room for the weekend in most months of the 12 months starting at $410 per night. Not only is that rattling low cost for any five-star, it’s rattling, rattling low cost for a 4 Seasons. The identical weekend on the 4 Season Downtown in Manhattan costs $1,330 an evening and on the “White Lotus”-approved 4 Seasons Resort Koh Samui, an evening already costs about $970. But that’s Bangkok for you — a minimum of, for now.
