The White Lotus is one of my favorite TV shows in recent times, and so far, there have been three seasons. Mike White does such a brilliant job with the plot, but my favorite thing is that the show is always filmed at luxury hotels, so it has a fun travel angle.
So far there have been three seasons of The White Lotus, and we know that a fourth season is expected to film later this year. Up until now, there have been rumors that the next season will be filmed in the South of France, but we haven’t known at which hotel… until now.
The White Lotus will be filmed at Airelles Saint-Tropez
Variety reports that Season 4 of The White Lotus will be filmed at Airelles’ Chateau de la Messardiere, in Saint-Tropez, France. Filming is expected to take place between the end of April and the end of October 2026, though won’t take place exclusively at the hotel. As always, the show is expected to be filmed across multiple venues, including filming at an unnamed Paris hotel.
For context, Airelles is a small French hotel group owned by entrepreneur Stephane Courbit, and it’s one of my favorite hotel groups in the world. I’ve stayed at all of the brand’s properties, because they really are spectacularly good. I’ve reviewed Airelles Chateau de la Messardiere, along with Airelles Chateau de Versailles, Airelles Courchevel, Airelles Gordes, and Airelles Val d’Isere.
While the properties are expensive, they really offer an incredible experience, with amazing sense of place and inclusions. For the most part, Airelles properties fly under the radar, though Chateau de la Messardiere is an exception, and it has very much become the “it” place in Saint-Tropez.
For those of us who just appreciate great luxury hotels rather than a huge social scene, that kind of sucks. As you’d expect, rates have gone way up (if you can even get a reservation), and it has basically become the place that hundred millionaires and billionaires from New York and London want to see and be seen in July and August of every year.
It is a stunning property, though, so I can understand why it has become so popular (not that scene and quality always go hand-in-hand).
The plot of Season 4 remains under wraps, so all we know is that the show will once again follow a group of hotel guests and employees over the course of a week, and rumor has it that the Cannes Film Festival could be part of the storyline (which makes sense geographically). Airelles Chateau de la Messardiere propertyAirelles Chateau de la Messardiere propertyAirelles Chateau de la Messardiere designAirelles Chateau de la Messardiere house car
Are The White Lotus and Four Seasons breaking up?
What’s interesting here is that the first three seasons of The White Lotus were all filmed at Four Seasons properties — Season 1 was at the Four Seasons Maui, Season 2 was at the Four Seasons Taormina, and Season 3 was at the Four Seasons Koh Samui.
This was part of a partnership between the two brands, since obviously there was a ton of upside for Four Seasons as well. While the TV show is set at the fictional “The White Lotus” hotel group, people would of course seek out these properties, even if they looked a little different than in the show. After being featured in the show, hotel popularity would skyrocket, and rates would go way up.
What’s interesting is that with Season 3, Four Seasons and The White Lotus actually expanded their partnership. So it’s a bit surprising to see The White Lotus now seemingly going with Airelles, and no longer maintaining Four Seasons exclusivity. Four Seasons also has an excellent property in the South of France, in the form of Four Seasons Grand-Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat.
So I’m curious what the story is here. Was The White Lotus not willing to pay what it would cost to shut down the hotel for the summer? Were the owners of that Four Seasons not interested in having the show hosted there? Was Four Seasons not willing to pay the rate for the partnership? Or does Mike White just love this Airelles property?Four Seasons Grand-Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat exteriorFour Seasons Grand-Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat pool
Bottom line
The White Lotus Season 4 is reportedly going to be filmed at Airelles Saint-Tropez, Chateau de la Messardiere. This is interesting, because up until now, The White Lotus has exclusively been filmed at Four Seasons properties.
Airelles is an incredible hotel group, and for their sake, I’m happy to see them probably getting some great publicity. However, selfishly, I’m not too excited about their rates likely skyrocketing even more, and the brand becoming even more mainstream.
What do you make of the reported filming location for The White Lotus Season 4?
