White Lotus takes over Saint-Tropez, guests watch filming

In Saint-Tropez and Cannes, “The White Lotus” is filming its fourth season at Château de la Messardière and Hotel Martinez while those properties keep operating for real guests. From poolside scenes with Laura Dern to hush-hush set rules and last-minute bookin

By the time Kat Jamieson slid open the doors to her poolside hotel room in Saint-Tropez, it already felt like the day had turned strange.

Cameras and a film crew surrounded actor Laura Dern at Château de la Messardière. Dern stood out not just for who she was, but for what she wore: a Missoni caftan that Jamieson recognized instantly—because Jamieson had bought the exact same one the day before in the hotel’s on-site boutique.

“I was going to plan on wearing it that day, and then I saw her wearing it by the pool, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re twins.’”

The moment encapsulated the odd reality of “The White Lotus” fourth-season production on the French Riviera: the show’s fourth season is filming at luxury properties that are still functioning as hotels for paying guests. And when the cameras roll—poolside. in hallways. on terraces—visitors can end up watching a major scene play out from just yards away.

Filming is currently underway for the fourth season of the HBO series. which previously immortalized other impossibly chic. highly luxe properties. including the Four Seasons’ San Domenico Palace in Taormina. Sicily and Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand. This time, the base is the Côte d’Azur. Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez is the show’s principal filming location this season. and Cannes’ Art Deco Hotel Martinez is also set to be part of the production.

Before the Riviera decision fully landed, rumors moved quickly. Only the Alps were ruled out because creator Mike White hates the cold. At different points. reports placed White at Nice’s Hotel Negresco and suggested Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. a Four Seasons property. as a likely match given the franchise’s past preference for Four Seasons locations.

Eventually, earlier this year, Airelles’ Château de la Messardière was confirmed as the principal filming location. HBO also announced Cannes’ Film Festival will serve as the backdrop for the season. Reports suggest the Mandarin Oriental Lutetia in Paris is also set to star. but HBO has maintained the action will remain set on the Riviera.

Jamieson’s stay became part of the schedule in a way she didn’t expect. When she arrived at the 19th-century palatial estate turned resort—run by exclusive French hotel company Airelles—she assumed filming would be finished before she checked in. It wasn’t.

“They didn’t contact us, and I don’t know if it’s because they didn’t know this exact schedule,” Jamieson said of the hotel. “I know they were reshooting some of the scenes because they had an actress change-up, so maybe it was just luck that we got to see the reshoots.”

The change-up Jamieson referenced was Laura Dern replacing originally cast British star Helena Bonham Carter.

Jamieson said she didn’t sign NDAs. Still, the crew asked that active filming not be recorded. Photos and videos were allowed when cameras weren’t rolling. What she could read—without being told—came through in the energy of the scene.

“We could see the entire filming taking place and Laura Dern in her pool scene from our private patio,” Jamieson said.

From her terrace, Jamieson described walking between takes as the set unfolded around the pool. “There seemed to be a tense conversation that Laura was having at the pool with the other actor. They were very deep in convo,” she said. “They filmed for probably about five hours by the pool. but we were able to walk through the whole set in between takes. and it was very exciting.”.

Even the disruptions had a familiar “White Lotus” rhythm. Some guests might expect frustration if a pool is closed during a pricey stay. since room rates fluctuate seasonally—with suites in peak season often around $3. 000 to $6. 000 a night. But Château de la Messardière has three large outdoor pools and one indoor pool. meaning one pool being off-limits due to Hollywood stars did not become the kind of problem that would derail a vacation.

Jamieson said she didn’t mind. “It was just fun to be able to observe such a unique show that we’ve been watching for years.” Her husband even asked if he could be an extra in the show. The answer: they were already cast “a bunch of French people.” Even so. Jamieson described the experience as “so fun to be in the mix and observe.”.

What guests could see, they also could feel in the details. As the set was prepped. the hotel’s luxurious orange Airelles pool pillows were replaced with blue. “White Lotus”-branded pillows. Protective carpet and other materials were laid out as well. Jamieson said. to keep the resort’s pavements and grass pristine.

The property itself helps explain how filming could be so present and still so easy to miss. The hilltop Château de la Messardière spreads across roughly 32 acres. with hidden corners. private-feeling terraces. picnic-table nooks with cushions. and flower-filled gardens overlooking Saint-Tropez’s rolling hills. In the distance, the Bay of Saint-Tropez is visible.

During one visit in May, the Orient Express Corinthian—a world’s largest sailing yacht, with rooms going for roughly $5,300 a night—was in port and visible from the resort. Trampolines, tennis courts, and an outdoor gym sit within the grounds.

Jamieson said the filming team appeared to work with the grain of that privacy. “They did a nice job of being really quiet and respectful,” she said. “Because the hotel, again, didn’t announce anything—you probably wouldn’t have known if you weren’t invested or watching the show.”

The production isn’t confined to Château de la Messardière. Jamieson said the “White Lotus” crew also filmed at Pampelonne Bay. known for its pristine golden sand. warm azure-blue water. and rows of exclusive beach clubs. She noted that many Saint-Tropez hotels sit around the village and nearby hills—about a 15-minute drive from the waterfront—but often run satellite beach clubs at Pampelonne.

Château de la Messardière transports residents to its beach club, Jardin Tropeziana, via Rolls-Royce. Jamieson recounted an evening when she asked their driver about being close to the show. He told her he had been able to be an extra. “He’s like. ‘I didn’t say anything. but they filmed me opening the door and driving the Rolls-Royce.’ So that’s really fun. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”.

Pampelonne Bay’s beach clubs include celebrity hotspot Le Club 55. originally a 1950s venue whose history connects to the filming of the 1956 French classic “And God Created Women.” Sun loungers at Saint-Tropez’s beach clubs are priced by the hour and by row. depending on proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.

On the day Jamieson visited Pampelonne, she said most guests were sipping rosé and lounging rather than swimming. And she added one darker thought that anyone watching “The White Lotus” might recognize instantly.

“The only negative? The intrusive thought that on ‘The White Lotus,’ this is exactly the moment the body would wash up on the sand.”

“The White Lotus” was conceived by director Mike White during the pandemic. using the claustrophobia of a Covid “bubble” to create must-watch television. In the first season—filmed at the Four Seasons’ Maui at Wailea. Hawaii—White. his crew. and his cast (including Jennifer Coolidge and Sydney Sweeney) took over a resort emptied of paying guests due to the pandemic and filmed entirely within the confines of the property.

Even as restrictions faded and later seasons expanded beyond hotel grounds. Jamieson’s experience still reflects the show’s lasting working rhythm: actors often enjoy an extended stay at the same luxury hotels where filming is happening. Season three actor Jason Isaacs described the experience as “a cross between summer camp and ‘Lord of the Flies’ but in a gilded cage. ” and his co-star Aimee Lou Wood told Variety that living and working on set is “basically a reality TV show.”.

Jamieson said she slowly realized several fellow hotel guests were actually cast and crew. “We did get to see some of the actors off-duty one night. and they were all laughing and having fun. ” she said. She described how younger cast members moved through the resort unannounced and without fanfare—“mingling with the guests. kind of in an unassuming manner.”.

The show’s meta design is part of why that feels so seamless. Jamieson said she was struck by how naturally it fit the story. Laura Dern’s character, in Jamieson’s words, could plausibly have bought the caftan at the hotel boutique just the way Jamieson did.

“As a guest, you go into the boutique, try a couple things you gravitate towards. I gravitated towards the caftan, and it really was a natural move for her to wear that,” Jamieson said. “It really shows that they were inspired by the setting, because it also was this season’s Missoni. And Missoni and Saint-Tropez is iconic.”.

One evening, she said she ended up poolside with the show’s director of photography. “She was so excited to chat with my husband and I, because she said, ‘Finally, new people. I’m getting bored of the same people. because we literally see each other every day. we work together every day.’ She was so sweet. just chatting to us about our life and our travels. ” Jamieson said. She added that the Airelles property was their “home base for a whole month. ” which Jamieson called “a dream to be able to stay there for a month.”.

Hosting a film crew for that length of time can be a logistical headache even for hotels that thrive on excess. Many Riviera resorts close during winter months. and filming during the off-season is tricky because the show’s brand leans on sun-drenched visuals—viewers want to see scenes built around warm. bright pools rather than cold-weather hedging.

There’s also another complication: Riviera hotels are summer homes for wealthy repeat guests. Karin Perrault. guest relations manager at five-star Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez—where Mick and Bianca Jagger celebrated their wedding in 1971—said Byblos has regular visitors staying up to two months in the summertime and “even a little bit more.” She said filming requests come in. and the answer is often no.

“They need certain dates, which are difficult for us to manage and welcome back our return guests,” Perrault said. “We cannot say ‘yes.’”

Château de la Messardière, meanwhile, may have had to adjust around competing schedules. Irish couple Gabby Seputyte and Ben Hauer were booked to stay at the hotel in late April. They later spoke in May from Château de la Messardière’s Bar 1904 over Aperol spritzes and rosé. They said their booking was canceled by email shortly before arrival. with no exact reason given—though they suspected a combination of bad April weather and filming disruptions.

“Our booking got canceled,” Hauer said, explaining that an exact reason wasn’t given but they suspected it might relate to “a mix of bad April weather and ‘the filming of the show.’”

The couple was offered a stay at Airelles Pan Deï Palais, the hotel’s boutique sister property in the center of Saint-Tropez, or an upgrade and rebook for the end of May. They chose the latter.

Seputyte said she is a longtime fan. Hauer said he was glad he booked before the show was even announced, adding that the property’s popularity spikes after filming—“they quadrupled in popularity after the show,” he said, referencing other hotels featured in earlier seasons.

For guests, the show’s magic has a real cost: the vacation stops being only theirs. But in the Riviera luxury bubble, even interruptions can feel like part of the experience.

The humor at the heart of “The White Lotus” comes from rich guests’ entitlement. outrageous requests. and out-of-touch perspectives—paired. often. with the threat of something going wrong. During reporting around the French Riviera. conversations were described as feeling tailor-made for the series. from Byblos residents discussing helicopter rides above Saint-Tropez to a guest at a new Saint-Tropez addition. AREV. explaining to staff in detail what he liked about the hotel’s Japanese toilets.

At Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat’s Club Dauphin—built into the cliffs overlooking Cap-Ferrat’s infinity pool—two women reportedly ordered glasses of local Provençal wine and then rejected them because “2022 was a terrible year for rosé.”

The Riviera’s ultra-luxury world is already designed to impress. which is part of what makes filming there feel so fitting. Many of the region’s hotels. including Château de la Messardière. Hotel Martinez. and Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. scored a coveted spot on France’s official “Palace” list reserved for hospitality levels that exceed even traditional five-star property.

Service, staff, and gifts arrive as a normal part of staying. The report notes examples: sportswear-clad guests at Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat carrying Four Seasons-branded water bottles inside large. gifted straw beach bags. with those bags given designated seats at terrace tables. The gifts described go beyond cheap items—luxurious pajamas, scented candles, leather pouches, and straw hats.

Hauer described a proposal at Château de la Messardière that came back decorated and immediate. When he proposed to Seputyte during their stay. they returned to a hotel room filled with heart-shaped balloons. a bottle of 2015 Veuve Clicquot champagne. a cake. and a framed photo of them post-proposal. snapped by staff that lunchtime—even though Hauer hadn’t alerted the hotel.

“The five-star Riviera lifestyle is an easy one to adapt to,” he said. “Consequently, when something doesn’t go entirely to plan, the mishap stands out far more than they would anywhere else.”

The story of how “The White Lotus” finds comedy in small failures is tied to how it chooses locations and how it uses them. Mike White has been described as an expert at mining humor from moments that don’t go smoothly. and series producer David Bernad has hinted the writer settled on the French Riviera setting after “a really specific experience with a waiter and a maître d’. and it was the stereotype. It was a very funny moment.”.

The coming season adds another layer: celebrity and fame. Saint-Tropez became the center of French filmmaking in the 1950s and 1960s. shifting from a sleepy fishing village into a global celebrity hotspot. Perrault at Byblos said every hotel in the area is used to accommodating stars and their specific needs. and that security agents are always walking around. with Saint-Tropez authorities working hard to keep the place secure.

During the Cannes Film Festival, celebrity presence is thrust into the spotlight. HBO confirmed Hotel Martinez in Cannes will play the fictional “White Lotus Cannes,” and it is described as a major hub for celebrities thanks to its proximity to Boulevard de la Croisette.

Thomas Page. who has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2017. called Hotel Martinez the “perfect choice” for a season filmed around the festival. pointing to the hotel’s famous staircase with its “beautiful geometry” as an obvious filming location. Page also suggested Cannes beach clubs could provide the stage for typical “White Lotus” theatrics. with parties spilling over late into the night and leading to the kind of danger the show is known for.

The rumored structure of the season’s story also stretches the Riviera idea into competing worlds. With Château de la Messardière’s confirmed fictional name. “White Lotus du Cap. ” the resort could be a fictionalized version of Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat—or possibly Antibes’ Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. where celebrities often stay during the festival. dubbed by Vanity Fair as “the glamorous power center of Cannes.”.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the season could revolve around two rival film crews, one staying at “White Lotus Cannes” and another at “White Lotus du Cap.” Filmmakers were reportedly spotted recreating the Cannes atmosphere post-festival in late May.

That Cannes buzz also reached real-life visitors. During his French Riviera vacation. US real estate developer and film enthusiast Michael Banovac found himself dining al fresco at Cannes’ Ristorante Federal and sitting next to season four actor Steve Coogan. Banovac said he struck up a conversation and asked about “White Lotus.” He told that Coogan was filming the past week on a yacht in the Côte d’Azur near Cannes. with the production integrating between Saint-Tropez. Cannes. “a very little bit of Paris. ” and potentially some filming in Monaco.

Coogan reportedly refused to share exact plot points, but Banovac said he was still excited to get some insight into the show’s direction. He said he has seen all the seasons and visited most of the hotels, except for those in Thailand. He described the settings as “so lavish and elegant.”

Banovac also had his own theory for why Château de la Messardière was chosen instead of Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. He suggested Mike White needed a place they could rent out, have privacy, and involve lots of local extras—making Saint-Tropez’s hotel, more remote, a better fit.

Over 10 days touring, Banovac said the show’s name kept coming up in conversations across the Riviera. He suggested the region is a perfect fit because the theme—based on what he was gathering—is fame and relevance, and the hotels are already famous.

For Jamieson. the fame part was less about plot and more about what she actually saw with her own eyes: a world-class Oscar-winning actor filming poolside as regular guests lounged nearby. the show’s brand pressed into the hotel’s décor. and a luxury resort quietly reshaped to look like an even more polished version of itself.

It’s the most “White Lotus” kind of magic: the distance between fantasy and reality shrinks just enough that you start to wonder what, exactly, you were meant to notice.

The White Lotus season four HBO Laura Dern Château de la Messardière Saint-Tropez Hotel Martinez Cannes Mike White Airelles filming Riviera celebrity tourism