The series takes place in exotic holiday destinations, with season three set in Thailand. Photo: HBO
The series takes place in exotic holiday destinations, with season three set in Thailand. Photo: HBO
The series takes place in exotic holiday destinations, with season three set in Thailand. Photo: HBO
The series takes place in exotic holiday destinations, with season three set in Thailand. Photo: HBO

Four Seasons launches $188,000 White Lotus package, including private jet experience


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Set-jetters take note. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the only property featured in all three seasons of hit show The White Lotus, has launched a holiday package for the ultimate fan.

Set to take off in May next year, the 20-day journey, dubbed World of Wellness, will begin aboard the custom-designed Four Seasons Private Jet Experience. Only 48 spots will be made available, with prices starting at $188,0000 per person. The lucky ones (who can afford it) will then set off to explore eight Four Seasons properties, including three featured in the show: Four Seasons Resort Maui in the US (season one) and San Domenico Palace in Italy (season two) and Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand (season three).

Other stops include stays at Four Seasons properties in Singapore, the Maldives, Morocco, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Mexico.

“We’ve experienced firsthand how The White Lotus has fuelled the set-jetting trend, inspiring travellers to explore the breathtaking Four Seasons properties that served as backdrops for this beloved series,” says Marc Speichert, the executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Four Seasons.

Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui featured in The White Lotus season three. Photo: Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui / Instagram
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui featured in The White Lotus season three. Photo: Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui / Instagram

"Now, with the third season captivating audiences, we are thrilled to provide guests with the opportunity to experience their own version of The White Lotus aboard the Four Seasons Private Jet Experience, blending their love of the series with the bucket-list journeys we offer in the sky.”

A satirical comedy, the first season of HBO's The White Lotus debuted in 2021 to wide acclaim, spurring online searches for the hotel in Hawaii where it was filmed. The second season, set in Sicily, recreated similar fanfare when it came out the following year, a phenomenon that has been dubbed The White Lotus Effect.

Created by actor Mike White, who also serves as writer and director, the show has also won several Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Each season, it focuses on the lives of well-heeled guests who check in at the fictional The White Lotus, where their lives, as well as the lives of the hotel's cheerful employees, unravel over the course of a week.

From left: Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, Parker Posey as Victory Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff, Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff and Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff in season three of The White Lotus. Photo: HBO
From left: Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, Parker Posey as Victory Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff, Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff and Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff in season three of The White Lotus. Photo: HBO

Season three, which premiered on February 16, continues in the same vein, but with different guests, smiling new staff and a brand new location: Thailand.

World of Wellness will take off from Singapore, before journeying onwards to Koh Samui, the Maldives, Taormina, Marrakesh, Nevis, Mexico City, and completing the journey in Maui.

Highlights include three nights at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand, a lush hillside resort featured prominently in season three. Here, guests will have the opportunity to snorkel with guidance from an expert marine biologist, take part in Muay Thai training at the property’s boxing ring set in the hills with 240-degree views of the ocean and jungle, and enjoy spa treatments.

San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel, is located in Sicily, Italy. Photo: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel, is located in Sicily, Italy. Photo: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

In Taormina, Sicily, which served as a setting in season two, guests will enjoy three nights at the San Domenico Palace, Taormina. Activities include cycling to picturesque wineries around Mount Etna, morning yoga in the Belvedere Gardens, and strolls through the pebblestone streets and back alleys of the historic town.

The trip will conclude where the The White Lotus began, with two nights at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Here, guests will have the opportunity to explore the coast on an outrigger canoe and unwind through the traditions of Hawaiian culture.

The Four Seasons Private Jet Experience is a custom-designed Airbus A321 featuring 48 luxury seats. Photo: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
The Four Seasons Private Jet Experience is a custom-designed Airbus A321 featuring 48 luxury seats. Photo: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

They will enjoy all this as they travel aboard Four Seasons' own private jet, a custom-designed Airbus A321 featuring 48 luxury seats, each with two metres of private space. The jet also features “lounge in the sky” where guests can socialise and experience the brand's wellness and culinary offerings.

The White Lotus season three is streaming in the Middle East on OSN+, with new episodes being released weekly

The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars

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SPECS
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro
Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Studying addiction

This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.

Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.

The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8

Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Price: from Dh850,000

On sale: now

Fund-raising tips for start-ups

Develop an innovative business concept

Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors

Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19

Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.) 

Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months

Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses

Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business

* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

Dunki
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Teaching your child to save

Pre-school (three - five years)

You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.

Early childhood (six - eight years)

Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.

Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)

Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.

Young teens (12 - 14 years)

Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.

Teenage (15 - 18 years)

Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.

Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)

Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.

* JP Morgan Private Bank 

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

HAJJAN
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Updated: February 28, 2025, 9:57 AM