Why these secluded resorts in Mexico are the perfect setting for The White Lotus season four

The White Lotus season three has officially come to an end. We’ve checked out of Thailand and bid sa-wat-dee khà to all its judgmental monkeys, bleeding sunsets and candlelit dinners. Now, in the bargaining stage of our collective grief, we’re all furiously demanding the answer to one question: where the hell is season four going to be set?

Having just spent a blissful, transformative week in the Yucatán Peninsula, I’ve got a clear frontrunner: Mexico, in all its tequila drinking, tostada eating, spiritual ceremony-ing glory. But specifically, one resort brand: Chablé, a Mexican-owned, Mexican-run resort collection that showcases the country’s culture in the most authentic way in a luxury setting.

To get there, Mike White would have to head into the heart of the Yucatán jungle. For Brits, this would involve a three-hour drive from Cancún airport (direct flight from Gatwick) or a 25-minute drive from Mexico’s safest city, Merida (connecting flight, through America) to reach Chablé Yucatán, the first resort in Chablé’s collection. Opened in 2017, Chablé Yucatán is dripping in accolades.

It is currently ranked 16th in The World’s 50 Best Hotels and has a Prix Versailles award for its exceptional architecture, which includes a restored historic hacienda with modern “casitas” as guest rooms.

All 750 acres of the property are colourful, verdant and breathtaking, a beautiful mirage amongst the endless jungle. Its spa is world-class, which I can say safely now, as the recipient of the best two-hour massage and facial that I have ever had in my life. It also has two Michelin Keys and was recognised as Mexico’s Leading Boutique Resort at the World Travel Awards 2024.

In short, it’s good enough for Victoria Ratliff. But it’s the Mexican culture that is infused within Chablé Yucatán that makes it such a perfect pick for The White Lotus season four. Each series plays on local traditions, with a heavy focus on spirituality and ancient legends.

The Yucatán Peninsula was the central location of the Mayan population, which means its roots are deep. Staying at a Chablé property isn’t like staying at any ol’ cookie-cutter resort that feels like it could really be any beach or any jungle, anywhere. Assimilation and respect for the culture are key at Chablé, so even the most unbelieving of guests (your Patrick Schwarzeneggers and Sydney Sweeneys) will come away changed.

I know I did. At Chablé Yucatán, we underwent a traditional “cacao” ceremony, which is a ritual that involves consuming ceremonial-grade cacao (a kind of spiritual hot chocolate) in a group setting to facilitate connection, healing, and self-exploration.

Meanwhile, on the pure shores of Chablé Maroma, Chablé’s fellow Michelin-ranked hotel on the Riviera Maya, we entered a human pizza oven (i.e sweat lodge) to undergo a traditional Temazcal ceremony, where you sit in darkness with your fellow travellers and a Mayan shaman, baking in ever-increasing steam until your soul is eventually said to be cleansed and, according to tradition, you are officially reborn. I cried. Everyone cried. Then we ran into the sea and did cartwheels like children.

As well as its position on the seafront, Chablé Maroma also benefits from being close to local cenotes, the below-ground swimming pools and caves that make up the longest subterranean river system in the world. These peaceful cenotes are some of the most picturesque swimming spots known to man (trust me, I would know, I would swim in a puddle if it was big enough). But they have a spooky past: they were once used for making human sacrifices to the Mayan rain god Chaac. Try and get more White Lotus than that.

And the food. The food! Mexican food is already a contender for the top three cuisines in the world (in my opinion), and Chablé’s properties strike the perfect balance between the elevated and the traditional. In the same day, we ate a breakfast of quesadillas made by local tías (aunts) and a delicate dinner of ceviche cut by the most disciplined of chefs. The latter was at Chablé Yucatán’s flagship restaurant Ixi’im, which has a menu curated by world-renowned chef Jorge Vallejo, from Quintonil in Mexico City, and the former was in an authentic Mayan “nah” (house) in the resort’s gardens.

Chablé Yucatán also offers tequila tasting, which would make for an ideal, season two-esque Aubrey Plaza moment, though Chablé’s resident tequila master Samuel did well to teach us about the tequila (and how it can be paired with a lot more than just salt, lime and a grimace) instead of just letting us neck it. Far from being messy drunk, we were practically high on our own supply, floating around the gardens of Chablé Yucatán like a group of aluxes (Mayan pixies).

Plus, the guests at The White Lotus Mexico wouldn’t have to mingle too much: every Chablé property is made up of private villas (casitas) with a private pool and outdoor “moon” shower, protected from prying eyes by the dense shrubbery or the jungle. And for even more privacy, the third Chablé property, Casa Chablé, is ultra-intimate, including just five beachfront bungalows and a five-bedroom main villa. It’s located in the Sian Ka'an nature reserve, an UNESCO World Heritage Site on an island just south of Tulum.

In place of prying eyes, there are plenty of judgmental and symbolic animals for The White Lotus season four to utilise. Plump iguanas line the hot stone walls of Chablé Yucatán, stingless Melipona bees produce medicinal elixir honey, long-snouted coatis of Chablé Maroma poak about on the beach and the jungle is even home to some rarely-seen jaguars (all the properties have walls and security guards, don’t worry).

It’s also been used as the base for a stunning-turned-scary tale before, with the astounding residence shots of Zoë Kravitz’s hit film Blink Twice filmed just down the road from Chablé Yucatán, at the nearby Hacienda Temozon Sur. Great minds think alike?

One thing’s for sure: I left my seven days of luxury totally transformed by my White Lotus experience. Let’s hope and pray that someone gets Mike White to the Yucatán Peninsula sharpish, because I know he will be too.

Rates at Chablé Yucatán start from $1,019 (approx. £822) per night for a Casita with private pool, including breakfast and taxes. yucatan.chablehotels.com

Rates at Chablé Maroma start from $990 (approx. £799) per night for a Villa with a private pool, including breakfast and taxes. maroma.chablehotels.com