He only took 20 seconds for Mike White, the creator of “The White Lotus”, to launch the Four Seasons Koh Samui Resort The star character In the third installment of its successful HBO series.
“Upon arriving at the complex, you are standing at the top of a beak and you can see 43 loss of lush land [and] The Gulf of Thailand, and is simply beautiful in general, “said Jasjit Assi, general manager of the resort, to TPG in a recent visit to New York City. “And when Mike entered, he was silent for 20 seconds, and said: ‘this is all'”.
In the three seasons of “The White Lotus”, the fictitious general manager plays a key role: attending to the haughty guests, administer to staff members who see and listen to everything and, sometimes, enter their own sticky situations.
For Assi, who has worked with Four stationsThe luxury hospitality brand “The White Lotus” is based on the unofficial office in, for 18 years, it is easy to separate the general television managers, such as Armond in Maui and Valentina in Sicily -Some real life as the main leader in the Koh Samui resort in Four Seasons.
“Look,” said Assi, who does not resemble the uncomfortable general and fool of the Koh Samui white lotus in the program. “‘White Lotus’ is destined to entertain. There is a bit of exaggeration. It is a satire; it is a fictitious dramatic series.”
But the real, he insists, is the beauty of the complex and the exceptional Thai hospitality that you see throughout the season.
“You are seeing that the resort plays a character,” he said. “To maintain the beauty of this complex, that is my role in this.”
After White “reserved” the complex for the show, a stay for him was reserved and “experienced everything as a guest,” said Assi. He added that the two, together with White’s crew, “opened all the doors that could open,” since Assi helped the team plan the perfect locations for different types of scenes.
Then, in February and March 2024, the complex closed the public to transform into “the white lotus.” However, he remained completely open for the cast of the program.
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“Actually, it was like executing an adequate resort every day,” said Assi, even though the sessions occurred from Monday to Friday.
In the days of filming, Four Seasons staff adjusted to meet the needs of the wild filming program of the cast and the crew.
“Which [the crew’s] The needs were, wherever they moved around the resort, the staff were helping them move and establish locations, “he said.
On weekends, the stars of the show “hugged the true life of the island of Thailand.” And, after five days of shot, he explained, they needed to relax.
“We treated them as normal guests. They went to the beach. They were asking for cocktails. They were in the spa,” said Assi, and said they also spent time on another part of the island, as local restaurants, “hugging real life.”
He really said, “they felt as part of the family.” So much so, in fact, that actor Parker Posey, whose trip to film the program marked his first visit to Asia, “returned to the resort to thank the people who took care of her” while returning to the island for a well -being retirement.
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui staff could have tried to make the resort experience as normal as possible for the cast and the team, but for them, the host of one of the most popular television programs in the world required some changes.
“We had to educate them, to be honest,” Assi said about their staff, many of whom did not understand how big the program is, or that the satirical look of the program to their staff did not necessarily represent them, the people of real life that make the resort so wonderful.
Assi’s staff had to be agile, adjusting meals adapted to diets in the cast of the cast or helping them plan free days. They also had to promise a secret.
“We had to sign many NDA and confidentiality agreements,” he said, explaining that his staff learned to be shy when the guests asked them if they were going to film “the white lotus” there.
Now that people know Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui as the property ownershipThe questions have changed. People want to know what Villa the Ratliff family (a three bedroom villa that begins at $ 8,000 per night) or where actor Patrick Schwarzenegger left the pool without a shirt.
“The guests want [have] His own experiences of ‘White Lotus’ “emphasized Assi, noting that his team completely anticipated the impulse in the reserves that the program would cause, as well as the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea in Hawaii and the Palace of San Domenico, Taormina, a four -seasons in Sicilia, Italy, experienced after its seasons as invited stars.
And that is why Four Seasons has been, and will probably continue to be, a great partner for the show.
“Four Seasons philosophy has always been ‘inspiration through trips’,” said Assi, “and I think the cinema in this era has [taken] It is the next level. [Four Seasons] It is based on the pillars of an excellent location, a great resort and an excellent service … [and with the show,] You can see it. “
Now, with the third season coming to an end, do not ask Assi his thoughts about where the fourth season should take place. With a laugh he said: “Let me survive.”
How to book: Rates of Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui Start at $ 1,800 per night for a pool villa.
Reserve through a program like American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts either The Chase Travel edition To qualify the advantages of Elitelike, such as room updates (when available), free breakfast, late payment and property credits.
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