With the new season of the hit HBO series set to arrive on our screens in February, Annabel Grossman gets a taste of what it’s like to holiday like the one per cent – and uncovers a few hints of what we can expect when the White Lotus opens its doors in Phuket and Koh Samui.
![[The new season of The White Lotus was filmed at several hotels across Koh Samui and Phuket]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/25/13/569627-Anantara-Bophut-Koh-Samui-Resort_Lily-Ponds-Dusk-b7c5eb-original-1736159205.jpg)
Looking out over a sleepy bay from my hillside villa at Layan Life on the north coast of Phuket, I’m feeling just like Jennifer Coolidge. Or perhaps more accurately like Jennifer Coolidges’s White Lotus character, the wildly wealthy and hopelessly clueless Tanya McQuoid (RIP).
![[Season three of The White Lotus will debut on 16 February on HBO Max]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/16/19/newFile-1.jpg)
My skin still carries a light sheen of coconut oil from my morning massage, my muscles gently ache from the posture realignment in the afternoon and my stomach feels pleasantly – but not overly – full from the carefully curated meal just prepared by my private chef, taking into account my specific dietary requirements.
![[The spa at Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort looks like it could have come straight out of a White Lotus hotel]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/25/13/569640-Anantara-Bophut-Koh-Samui-Resort_Spa-b6e7b0-original-1736160869.jpg)
I had come to Thailand as part of a mission to uncover what we can expect from the new season of the hit HBO series – and it all seemed to be going rather well. By the time I reached Phuket after a spin through Koh Samui, it had very much been a non-stop array of extravagant meals, golden beaches, sprawling villas and impeccable service. So far, so White Lotus. Fueled by a desire to see this part of southeast Asia before the White Lotus crowds descend and make the islands even busier, along with a borderline obsession with the first two seasons, the plan was to snoop my way around the hotels where the show was filmed and dig out some clues as to what will make season three different – while getting a taste of holidaying like the one per cent.
![[Spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) returns to the White Lotus for season three]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/25/13/dom-hetrakul-natasha-rothwell.jpg)
