Spectator by Seema Goswami: White lies. Lotus pocus
The White Lotus is great TV. But it’s not an accurate portrayal of how the super-rich vacation or how the staff treat them
Like most of the world, I have been hooked on the third season of The White Lotus. But with one added attraction: Having stayed at the Four Seasons Koh Samui (where the show is mainly set), I take particular pleasure in identifying familiar locations. For instance, the villa I stayed in with my husband is featured, as is the restaurant where we ate most of our meals.
But as I watched the third episode of the third series, I couldn’t help but reflect on all that the series gets wrong about luxury properties like these and the people who holiday in them.
First up, no millionaire — or more accurately, billionaire — would dream of arriving at a resort like this in a communal boat that he or she has to share with other guests. The one thing money buys in these quarters is absolute privacy. So, if there wasn’t a private plane in the mix, there would most certainly be a private boat for transfer to the hotel.
I guess it is important when it comes to advancing the plot to make the guests gather around the main swimming pool, where they can interact with and irritate one another. But in my experience, the main swimming pool in properties such as those featured in The White Lotus tends to remain empty, because all the guests are living in villas that have their own private pools. And they would not dream of venturing forth to share a swimming pool with strangers when they could be happily skinny-dipping in complete privacy.
One of the more jarring inconsistencies revolves around the character of Belinda, the spa manager who features in the first season and makes a reappearance in this one. Even though she is a member of the staff and is only here for training purposes, she gets to stay in a guest villa rather than in staff quarters — which would never happen in real life. And what’s more, she also gets to eat in the restaurants (again an absolute no-no for staff members) with other paying customers. I guess that was the only way to ensure she bumps into a character from a previous season (Don’t worry; no spoilers here) to potentially blow his cover. But nonetheless, the inconsistency jars, given the strict no-fraternisation-with-guests policy in most such resorts.
What the show does get right is how loath guests at these hotels are to interact with one another. There is an excruciating scene where one female character reminds the other that they met at a baby shower some years ago, only to be met with steely indifference and a studied lack of recognition. And the resident Lothario at the property spends all his time getting snubbed by the women he tries to hit on.
But I guess when it comes to shows like The White Lotus, they are not looking for verisimilitude. Instead they are offering us the chance to escape into a world that bears no relation to our day-to-day reality. The truth, however, is that our escapist fare is the reality of the .01 per cent who populate resorts like The White Lotus. And that’s what makes shows like this so fascinating, despite the minor discrepancies.
From HT Brunch, March 15, 2025
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