Behind the Velvet Rope: A Stay at the Riviera Hotel Becoming 'The White Lotus'

The guests checking into the next season of 'The White Lotus' are trading tropical beaches for film festival glamour. HBO has confirmed the show’s fourth installment will unfold on the French Riviera, set against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival. The plot will reportedly split its time between two fictional hotel properties, each with a real-world counterpart.

One is the White Lotus du Cap, filmed at the hilltop Airelles Château de la Messardière overlooking Saint-Tropez. The other, where much of the festival intrigue will likely center, is the White Lotus Cannes, played by the legendary Hôtel Martinez. This marks a departure from the show’s exclusive partnership with Four Seasons, which hosted the first three seasons.

I visited the Martinez a few years ago, just as a major renovation unveiled lavish penthouse suites and a sleek new spa. My initial surprise at its selection gave way to recognition: it’s a perfect fit. The hotel is a Cannes institution, an Art Deco palace where the valet-parked sports cars and guests in head-to-toe designer wear are simply part of the scenery. The staff maintains a discreet, formal efficiency, cultivating an atmosphere where everything appears perfectly controlled—the ideal setting for a 'White Lotus' story to unravel.

With a cast including Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Coogan, the series will weave its signature web of scandal among the festival’s champagne parties and red carpets. The Martinez, with its decades of hosting real-life drama and celebrity, isn’t just a setting; it’s ready to be a central character.