TV mecca: the real White Lotus hotel

Maddy Mussen visits the setting for HBO's cult series and finds luxury not debauchery

I’M lying by the pool at a five-star hotel in Sicily, November sun somehow still 10 times warmer than London has been in months, sipping on a cocktail made of I don’t know what, because it was just handed to me and I didn’t bother to ask. Mount Etna looms above me, judging: who does this girl think she is? A character from The White Lotus? Actually, that’s exactly what I am. Because I’ve gone to San Domenico Palace, the real-life home of The White Lotus season two, and I’m living as close to an HBO budget as life can get.

HBO’S resort-themed dramedy series reached cult status in just one season last year, following the holiday experiences of the fictional super-wealthy and mega entitled.

Sensing the public’s thirst for more, and basking in its healthy audience size — 9.3 million viewers on average per episode across platforms in the US alone — HBO quickly set about making a second season, which started airing last week.