How Much Would a Trip to the ‘White Lotus’ and ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Resorts Cost You in Real Life?

At least on television, exclusive, private resorts seem to be all the rage this summer.( https://www.gudstory.com/moving-local-distance-to-austin/ )

The internet went crazy with HBO’s “The White Lotus,” a show set in a tropical Hawaii utopia that drew 1.9 million viewers for its finale and provided plenty of meme fodder. Meanwhile, in “Nine Perfect Strangers,” Nicole Kidman stars at a hidden, gorgeous Californian resort as a health instructor use car to get loan. The program premiered with three episodes on August 18, and fresh episodes are released weekly on Hulu.

It would be lovely if we could simply watch these programs without worrying about how much a trip like this would cost, but that’s not the case if you’re anything like this Money reporter.

You won’t be able to locate Armond, the White Lotus resort’s manager, or any of the resort’s crazy and obnoxious visitors in Hawaii, sadly (or perhaps for the best), but you can stay at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, where the program was shot.

Suppose you have between $1,000 and $26,000 to spend per night. That’s right: a week in a 3-bedroom suite could cost you around $180,000. Throw in $16,950 for a specialty coffee tour by helicopter, $23,750 for a five-hour whale watching and snorkel photography excursion, or at least $495 for an 80-minute facial, all of which are available at the resort.

Meanwhile, shooting for “Nine Perfect Strangers” at the Tranquillum House, a fictitious California retreat, conducted in Byron Bay, Australia, a famous destination for retreats that seem to offer much of the beauty shown in the Hulu limited series based on internet reviews.

While the initial intention was to shoot in and around Los Angeles, COVID-19 pushed the crew to Australia, where they located Soma, the natural retreat shown in most of the episode, near Byron Bay, New South Wales, according to production designer Colin Gibson.

Soma Meditate is a three-day, two-night retreat that costs 2,500 Australian dollars for one person and $3,995 for a couple, including meditation training, ice baths, guided forest walks, daily yoga lessons, and more.

A brief trip to the local beach will most likely suffice this summer.