White Lotus is returning for a fourth season, this time to the Château de La Messardière – a literal palace-turned-hotel that sits on 32 lush acres of jasmine, cypress trees and parasol pines in France’s Saint-Tropez.
While there is no doubt that the show will continue to dazzle, thrill and surprise on the Mediterranean, the show’s genius creator Mike White has missed an opportunity. There is a resort 300km to the north that offers a far richer tapestry of the historical glamour and new money intrigue that is foundational to the HBO smash, while also providing an excuse to drop a yodelling theme tune. That place is Megève and the specific hotel, the M De Megève.
The small ski resort is tucked 1,400 metres up the French Alps, in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Although the village of 3,000 might be less well known than Tignes or Val d’Isère, it is beloved by the mega-rich and French aristocracy. In fact, Megève’s very monied roots date back to the late 1910s when Noémie de Rothschild – tired of bumping into German arms dealers in Switzerland’s Saint Moritz – decided to put the tiny and rural settlement on the map.
In the 100 years since dozens of ski lifts have popped up across 400 km of interconnected pistes; several Michelin-starred chefs have settled into Alpine life there; and high-end hotels rivaling those shown off in White Lotus have welcomed in the global elite.
This January, I snuck in alongside the international great and good for a weekend at M De Megève, a 5-star joint that is a member of the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels of the World club. It is a truly spellbinding place.
Upon entering, a bellboy whisks your bags away and a drink is provided as you’re led to the roaring fire in the entrance hall. A welcome combination after riding from London on Eurostar’s Snowtrain, despite the smooth and pleasant nature of the journey. Drink downed and luggage hauled upstairs, it’s time to start exploring.
The M De Megève is made up of 42 rooms centred around a long reception area that breaks out into a bar area by the door, a bistro at the back and a fondue restaurant to the side. Cheerful staff, many of whom spend their winters working in the Alps before returning to Cannes or Marseille for the summer season, are on hand to assist, chat or simply smile hello.
In the cosy Grand Crus de Fondue, they’re ready to offer some more specific advice. “How do you like your cheese,” the hotel’s sommelier-like Cheese Chef asked my partner and I, before rustling up a pot of bubbling, gut-bustingly strong fondue that nearly knocked us out there at the table. Who knows what would’ve happened if we’d opted for the Champagne or pear cider base, rather than wimping out with a classic white wine mix.
Equally delicious and more typical fare is served at the bistro, where we gorged on phenomenal dishes of French onion soup, mushroom risotto and sea bream, washed down with a glass or two of Pommery Champagne. M De Megève has a special relationship with the Reims château, as it does with Clarins. Guests are plied with free face creams and balms from the upmarket French skincare brand, and lathered with its whole range down in the spa. I honestly wonder if my masseuse, who had me floating on clouds and fixed a weeks-long spell of bad skin, was performing wizardry.
The magic continued in the wooden alpine lodge-style rooms, where curtains are operated by a bedside button and the toilets are enjoyably interactive. “Our Asian and Middle Eastern guests insist on it,” a member of staff told me.
White Lotus producer David Bernad recently squashed hopes of a ski season when he claimed “Mike does not like the cold”. Luckily for him, the M De Megève’s sauna, hammam and hot tub are plenty steamy enough to warm his joints and, of course, deliver enough ‘actors in swimsuits’ screen time to keep the fans happy.
But it is in a different kind of suit that Megève’s guests are at their best. Head out onto the cobbles of the village and you’ll find high-fashion brands galore. We’re talking Dior, Hermès, Rolex. We’re talking an average month’s salary to deck out each of the piste poseurs in a white ski-suit, label of choice encrusted in diamanté on the back.
“Megève is a place to be seen,” a Canadian heir explained in the queue for a drag lift. And he’s right. What’s so intriguing about the hotel is that, despite sitting just 100m from the Chamois lifts, many guests do not ski. Instead, they come to shop, to parade through the village on horse-drawn carriages, and to telecabin up in platform Uggs to a hillside grill flogging £200 steaks and £9 bottles of Evian.
I love skiing. For the unrivalled physical thrills it delivers on days packed with snow-crisp excitement and breathtaking views. And for the chance to peek into a different world. A world of Brits discussing if they’d get away with expensing a €5,000 club table while digging into the aforementioned steak; of an Alpine village that played host to Emily in Paris; of sharing ski lifts with trilingual families jumping between Italian, French and English. It is a world of glamour and intrigue, simply screaming out to be White Lotused.
Book it
Rooms can be booked at en.mdemegeve.com from £479.
Eurostar Snow train tickets for the 2025/26 season start at £99 each way (£198 return) in Standard class, running weekly from Dec 20, 2025, to Apr 5, 2026, from London St Pancras to the French Alps via Lille. Visit eurostar.com/uk-en/train/ski-train.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
