I stayed at the real White Lotus and it's more child-friendly than it appears on screen

I was hooked by the exotica, the click of the cicada, the flickering candlelight, which brought back so many happy memories. I was whooping at the sight of all that was familiar, from the Koh Thai restaurant with its sea views, where everyone has breakfast (exactly as it is in real life), to the main pool with its monkey God statues, because this season’s exotic, monkey-riddled setting was Four Seasons Koh Samui, where I’ve stayed with my family (it may not appear so on TV, but the hotel is very child-friendly).

I wasn’t surprised when I heard that Series 3 was to be filmed on Koh Samui, which lies anchored in the Gulf of Thailand, just 20 miles east from the mainland and a 40-minute flight from Bangkok. For first time visitors, it offers a little bit of everything that makes Thailand so enticing from Buddhist monks to lady boys, from long-tail boats to tuk-tuks, not to mention monkeys and snakes (of course, it was cat-with-nine-lives Chelsea who was bitten by one. Ouch!). On screen, I was sure it would be a visual feast.

In this series, there were a fine cast of fraudsters, murderers, and narcissists. I didn’t meet anyone quite so shady, but people-watching did prove fun. Among the ordinary folk, such as us, colourful characters leading infinitely more interesting lives stood out (think older women with younger men; older men with younger women; rich widows; and famous faces that I’m obliged to remain tight-lipped over). On the pretext of reading by the pool, I barely turned a page, peering over the top of my book to witness the peacocking of those who were perhaps missing the limelight.

In a destination that boasts a glut of luxurious accommodation, Four Seasons has always been the place to stay, tucked away in a quiet spot, on the north-west of the island. It may have enjoyed a little Hollywood jhuzh for its close-up, but it really is gorgeous, with vast, decadent Thai-style villas set in 43-acres of jungle, with private pools and breath-taking views (although the décor, in reality, is a little more stripped back, to let the views do the talking). What is fiction over fact, is the intense wellness schedule. We didn’t have our biometrics taken, and there was no request to hand over devices (my sons would have blown a gasket over that), and, while the spa offers wonderfully relaxing treatments, it doesn’t offer stress management sessions. Four Seasons boasts a one-to-one guest to staff ratio, and are famous for their personalised care, so the service is impeccable. Private butlers really do come as standard in the so-called residences (the hotel’s premier accommodation), and are there to see to your every whim, adhering to the Four Seasons rule that whatever a guest requests, if it’s legal and morally sound, they’ll jump through hoops to deliver. Even without making demands, each time we set foot outside of our villa (even if I’d just popped back for five-minutes), a SWAT team arrived to plump the already plump cushions and leave a fresh fruit platter.

I was nostalgic while watching brother and sister, Lochlan and Piper, swing in hammocks tied to poles out to sea (episode two, sees a heated exchange between them here). This was my sons’ favourite spot, perfect for watching the to and fro of long tail boats, fishing off the island of Koh Pha Ngan. The Ang Thong National Marine Park, with its limestone pinnacles, also features in the ‘boat-party' episode, but what they don’t show is the Emerald Sea on Kho Mae Ko, where underwater sea channels feed a minty green saltwater lake, with sheer cliffs and jungle on all sides. Sigh.

Although the main restaurant in the series isn’t filmed at Four Seasons, the scenes of fire-jugglers on the beach took me instantly back to dining on the terrace of Restaurant Pla Pla (meaning fish fish), from where we watched the jugglers spin their fiery batons, filling the night sky with flecks of gold. It is a heavenly place, worthy of its newly acquired White Lotus status, a new term in the world of luxury hotels, used to describe a place that is the very pinnacle of magnificence.

A Serenity Pool Villa from £1,160 per night. www.fourseasons.com