The White Lotus | Hotel Tour | Four Seasons San Domenico Plaza in Italy

If you're tuned in to the second season of HBO's hit series The White Lotus, you're likely also noticing the stunning backdrop. The Italian coastal spots shown make for a dreamy vacation to say the least, and no doubt the location we see the most of is the resort, part of the fictional White Lotus luxury hotel chain. In reality, this property is a four season San Domenico Plaza located in Taormina, a city on the east coast of Sicily overlooking the sea. Of course, while watching season 2 of the White Lotus, there's so much drama going down with the on, but that lavish hotel is too hard to miss. The real life space, the San Domenico Palace, offers up 111 suites, courtyards, historic gardens, a spa, fine dining, and an outdoor infinity pool – a pool which we've seen on the HBO show quite a lot. When choosing the location to shoot the show at, The White Lotus creator Mike White said, I think Sicily is the perfect place for romance and sexual politics. When we saw the four seasons in Taormina, it was just such a beautiful location, and it just sold this kind of old world European summer vacation. Well, I think as we watch this season of the show, we can see that he was right. While The White Lotus was originally envisioned as a limited series due to the fact it was created during the pandemic times and needed to be shot in one controlled location originally, that all changed once the show was a major hit. This time, the mostly new cast, aside from Jennifer Coolidge and John Gris characters, include humorless attorney Harper Spiller, played by Aubrey Plaza, womanizing businessman Dominic Di Grosso, played by Michael Imperioli, and a handful more. Well, with the impressive cast comes a new setting as well, and while season 1 of the show utilized the four seasons resort Maui at Wailea, this time the cast went to the four seasons San Domenico Palace Taormina, a stunning property overlooking the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna volcano on the east coast of Sicily. Before we get into checking out the resort grounds and interiors, let's get some background on the San Domenico Palace. The upscale hotel was first built during the 14th century, but back then it was a private home for a wealthy local, Baron Damiano Rosso d'Altavilla, and 1430 after his death, the massive estate was briefly used as a convent, and it continued to operate as one for over 400 years, until one of the original owner's ancestors took back possession of the property. During his ownership, he added a large wing to the estate and transformed it into a luxe hotel. The hotel opened its doors to the public in 1896, and though it may have once been a convent, it was perfect for vacationing guests. In a 1907 news article, the San Domenico Palace was spoken about. The old monks would no doubt be surprised could they look in on their old home and see the commodious cells comfortably furnished, heated by steam and lit with electricity and gas. The large refectory makes a fine dining room with loggia where on fine days breakfast is served. The cloisters and garden, now a beautiful park, delightful places in which to sit and exercise in during the day in rain or shine. While the 300-foot corridors, wide and furnished with numerous tables and chairs are comfortable as promenades or social halls. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that the San Domenico Palace quickly became THE place to be. High status individuals in history all came to stay at Sicily's hottest hotel, including playwright Oscar Wilde, King Edward VII and more. It was taken over by German troops during World War II, but it reopened as a fancy hotel in 1946, and soon was just as popular as it was in its early days, this time with Hollywood stars of the era like Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn coming to stay. For a fun fact, the famous toxic couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are even said to have had a major scrap at the hotel one night in 1967, with the actress even smashing a mandolin over her husband's head. Summer 2021 was the start of a new chapter for the luxury resort however, as it was updated and renovated, then being rebranded as a Four Seasons Hotel. Now, the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace offers the best service and luxury amenities you can find in Sicily, boasting 111 rooms and suites among a handful of perks. Some of the amazing features throughout the hotel include a 5-star gym, a botanica spa, a 69-foot infinity pool which we've feasted our eyes on plenty in the White Lotus, and upscale restaurants including three on-site eateries. There's also a grand ballroom which used to be the Church of Santa Agatha, over 18,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, and beautiful gardens and courtyards to top it all off. The Four Seasons San Domenico Palace is open from spring through fall and conveniently closed for the winter, which allowed cast and crew of the White Lotus to take the place over fully during this time. The first episode of the White Lotus season 2 already made plenty of use of the massive resort, showing scenes in the hotel lobby, the main courtyard, the bar and ciostro lounge, the infinity pool, and on one of the multiple terraces. Principe Terrami is the signature restaurant in the San Domenico Palace and also makes a focal appearance in the first episode, Italian Dream. Here, the characters share some awkward moments at dinner time and experience their first night at the fictional White Lotus Sicily. In reality, this restaurant is headed by the award-winning Italian chef Massimo Mantaro, and offers fine Sicilian cuisine in a posh dining room with views of Tarmina Bay. Some of the resort's actual rooms are also used in the White Lotus. For instance, when Tanya, Jennifer Coolidge, and Greg, played by John Greese, check into the top floor's Royal Suite. On the San Domenico Palace website, this room is described as the most glamorous suite as you might expect. This room is a luxurious space with 1,507 square feet, including a living room, dining room to seat eight comfortably, two baths, one bedroom with a king-size bed, and a terrace with a private plunge pool. While the room was altered a bit for the show, such as chaining the dining room into the bedroom for filming, you can still tell that it is the same suite. And in the chance that you might be looking to stay at the San Domenico Palace and feel as if you're one of the characters on the White Lotus, well, rates are said to start at about $555 per night, while some suites could even cost you a whopping $6,900 per night. Basically, if you're looking for a White Lotus-themed Sicilian vacation, I think that you should start saving. While the majority of Season 2 was filmed at this Four Seasons property, there are a few episodes and moments that took place elsewhere. Some of these, for example, include the coastal area of Noto on the southeast side of the island. Here we see characters Harper, Aubrey Plaza, and Daphne, Megan Fahy, take a day trip for a tense conversation. They are shown in the town's limestone piazza, and go to explore the Palazzo Ducezio in a memorable new scene. The show also paid a visit to Lumina Studios, located north of the country's capital, city of Rome. Clearly though, the main attraction is the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace, and with the property's lengthy and deep history, dating back to the 1400s, are you surprised that some think the place is haunted? Even cast member John Greese noted a paranormal encounter while staying here to film, and this mysterious figure he claimed that he saw was also experienced by co-star Adam DeMarco. DeMarco explained, I heard John Greese telling the story of a nightmare he had and I just couldn't believe it because I had the exact same nightmare two nights before. There's this bald man who was walking back and forth and approached the foot of our bed and grabbed us. I woke up screaming and I didn't really think anything of it until John mentioned his story. It was just so weird that the stories corroborated so cleanly. Take from that what you will, but if any hotel is gonna be haunted, I definitely think it would be one this old. In any case, that's gonna wrap up this special hotel tour where we checked out the filming location of The White Lotus Season 2, the fourth season's San Domenico Palace in Sicily. But before we go, answer this question. If you had the chance to stay at this posh resort, what's the amenity or feature which you would be most excited about? And if you're a fan of The White Lotus, who's your favorite character this season? I'm honestly curious. For me, I think it's Harper. Anyways, let me know your thoughts down in the comments. Otherwise, like, subscribe, and turn on your notifications. My name is Cara the Vampire Slayer. Follow me on Instagram to chat more, and I'll see you all on the next tour. Bye!