The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Vacation Destinations in Netflix’s «The Four Seasons»

The first episodes of the series are set at a lake house owned by Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver). The vantage toward the water looks like it was painted by Thomas Cole. The interiors are cozy and elegant, with couches covered in florals and light, unvarnished wood. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend the ill-fated pottery shed.

The house has a wide wraparound porch and a screened-in dining nook—the stuff that summer dreams are made of. The secluded dreamland turns into somewhat of a nightmare however when Nick tells his friends of his plans to leave Anne.

A beautiful beach can’t quite save this miserable vacation, where characters sleep in a collection of rundown yurts. The clean towels, which Colman Domingo’s Danny point out are neither «clean» nor, possibly, «towels» typify the shabbiness of the resort. That the experience is capped off by a hurricane that appears to blow the whole place away doesn’t help.

Claude (Marco Calvani) tries to make the best of the experience by importing pillows from the all-inclusive resort across the island. His colorful touches highlight the drab tones in the rest of the resort.

While her friends stay in some version of beachy Hell (see above), Anne is alone at a glamorous all-inclusive resort, where the palm trees sway and the bars are swim-up.

Though its low moments aren’t nearly as bad as those at the Eco Resort, Nick and Ginny (Erika Henningsen) do escape the hurricane at a Business Center only Bartleby could enjoy.

The leaves are crunchy. The frisbee is ultimate. And on the desk right there? That may just be John Jay’s death certificate (but it probably isn’t). There are few more majestic settings than a college inn in high autumn. The inn’s lobby is wallpapered in sepia toned landscapes interrupted only by a dark wood-paneled fireplace. Definitely a contender for the most beautiful setting in the series.

The final episodes of the series take place at dueling ski houses as the year comes to a close. This time, though, Anne is with the core group, while Nick rings in the new year with Ginny’s younger friends (an experience akin to mixing Gen-X oil and Gen-Z water ).

The core group’s alpine cabin is the clear winner of the warring retreats, with its light wood cheese plates, and hot tub surrounded by snow.