Few experiences can match the thrill of arriving at the Hotel Martinez during the Cannes Film Festival, the kind of scene that seems ripped from the arrival sequences in any of the past three seasons of the film. White lotus. It’s a descent into organized, performative chaos under the watchful eyes of an unwavering staff and a five-star, white-gloved coach.
Ferraris and Mercedes AMGs snake through the small gate as photographers shout celebrity names from behind the barricades lining the Croisette. The ropes keeping score and appearances — and the celebrities and scene-makers — go up days before the event actually starts, with enough distance between the two groups to keep it interesting. Towering campaign images of Bella Hadid covered in Chopard diamonds cover parts of the aisle, turning the arrival itself into a luxury ad campaign. Security teams occupy key corners of the lobby while assistants pass bags of clothing through sliding doors. Somewhere in the chaos, a hairdresser is balancing an iced latte, three phones and an elegant dress worth more than an apartment on the Riviera.
It all goes down before a Louboutin even touches the surgically clean white marble floor or the plush blue Yves Klein rug inside the massive foyer.
When HBO announced that director Mike White’s Emmy Award-winning satire would officially head to Cannes for a fourth season — with Martinez playing “White Lotus Cannes” — the scene featured perhaps the series’ best cast yet: a gorgeous leading lady who’s no stranger to the spotlight and an expert at checking in and unpacking a lot of luggage.
Martinez has spent nearly 100 years preparing for this role.
Unlike previous hotels that served as… White lotus Locations Based largely on vacation resorts under the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts brand, Hôtel Martinez is part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection, a group of independent luxury lifestyle hotels that retain their distinct identities. It could be said that Martinez was already a key player without him Tulle.
“Martinez was a star long before that,” says Tamara Lohan, Hyatt’s global luxury brands leader. “This is just another pin in the hotel’s history. Martinez became the ultimate French Riviera beach club decades before beach clubs became a global trend.”
It’s said on the Croisette that Martinez will eventually get the lion’s share of screen time and production days, though the Airelles Château de la Messardière — reimagined on screen as the “White Lotus du Cap” — serves as another major hotel anchor for the season.
Opened in 1929 by Emmanuel Martinez during the 1920s, this Art Deco hotel now has more than 400 rooms and quickly became one of the premier social venues on the French Riviera. Through wars, movie star eras, yacht booms and influencer takeovers, Cannes has remained the unofficial headquarters of glamor and spectacle.
The actresses descend the seven-story staircase with the camera crews as if they were already on the red carpet. Influencers photograph porches with their breakfast trays, echoing the curated vacation narcissism that characterizes nearly every White Lotus guest. Jewelry couriers carrying armored suitcases disappear into the famous mini-elevators. Even a few days before the festival officially began, the hotel looked like an efficient production set.
One afternoon, the penthouse apartments on the roof were converted into a temporary complex for Chopard, which buys the entire top floor every year. Below, L’Oréal Paris teams moved through a beauty studio building with a large photo opportunity overlooking the ocean, while on the beach, crews created a pop-up Air France lounge.
Beach, pool and boat are the holy trinity in the White Lotus world, and Martinez has them all.
The hotel’s L’Oasis pool garden—slightly hidden inside the property away from the craziness of the Croisette—mimics poolside power plays. Surrounded by palm trees and huts, you can unload whoever’s sitting there as juicy as the plates of perfectly cut fruit that appear on every table. The lounge chair’s status doubles as a social pyramid scheme.
This is guaranteed too Tulle You will benefit from Martinez’s legends. The hotel’s corridors are filled with black-and-white celebrity photos documenting nearly a century of Cannes’ history. Greek-inspired murals stretch across the walls. Decorations flourish while the painted sky creates moments that seem a bit surreal, as if they could come to life at any moment.
The hotel’s tiny elevators, as ludicrously ill-equipped for modern Cannes realities as couture gowns and glitzy ensembles, routinely force strangers into uncomfortably close proximity. The guests find themselves side by side with celebrities, all pretending not to notice each other.
General manager Michel Cutray says some of his favorite moments happen in the elevators as he discreetly escorts the stars through the property.
“We shared the same elevator for 20 seconds,” he says of accompanying countless celebrities. “So we already have history.”
Cutray, who is leading the hotel during the fourth annual Cannes Film Festival, says the hotel’s existing infrastructure made it a unique fit White lotus– Level of production requirements.
“We provide a safer and more protected environment, making stars and VIPs more comfortable,” he says.
Tulle Filming has not officially begun on Martinez yet, though Cutray confirmed that discussions have been underway for more than a year. Hotel staff have already visited the active Saint-Tropez location at Airelles Château de la Messardière to observe how HBO production works on site.
“They will transform the property to their needs,” says Cutray. “But they are very professional.”
As in previous seasons, the production is expected to purchase all or part of its hotel locations while immersing itself deeply in the surrounding destination. Although there’s no word yet on when the new White Lotus guests will arrive, several weeks appear to be blocked out in Martinez’s booking calendar in both June and September.
Although the Hotel Martinez has survived a world war and nearly 80 years of the Cannes Film Festival, one thing is certain: in the world of cinema. White lotusMaybe someone won’t survive the flight.
