In December, diplomats from Bahrain shifted that country’s National Day festivities to Trump International’s gilded, 13,000-sq.-ft. In May, Trump chose Riyadh as his first foreign stop as President, where he announced an arms deal, gave a major foreign policy speech and participated in a traditional ceremonial sword dance. That stretch coincided with a Saudi lobbying push against legislation that would allow victims of terrorist attacks to sue foreign governments. 1 and March 31, lobbyists working on behalf of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ran up a $270,000 tab on rooms, catering and parking, according to foreign lobbying disclosures filed at the end of May and first reported by the Daily Caller. “I encourage you to go there if you haven’t been by.”įoreign governments seem particularly keen to patronize Trump’s property. “It’s an absolutely stunning hotel,” press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Jan. The President invited members of Congress to lunch in the ballroom. townhouse suite-two floors overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue, accessed through a discreet wooden door-was advertised for $500,000.

One VIP package, which offered lodging in a 6,300-sq.-ft. For Trump’s Inauguration, guests willing to fork over the steep fees could mingle with top federal officials. flag-a gift on loan from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that helps shape Administration policy and that thanked top donors by bankrolling a December gala here keynoted by then incoming Vice President Mike Pence. In the soaring atrium, guests kibitz under a massive U.S. The potential conflicts of interest are dizzying. Being in the Trump hotel’s lobby is a way to get people to know you.” “Of course we hang out there,” says a former Trump campaign adviser. The place has been a magnet for the capital’s political class. According to Trump’s 2016 financial-disclosure statement, he owned a 76.7% stake in the limited-liability company that controls the hotel, which is now headed by his son Donald Jr. That’s partly because a President who once promised to “drain the swamp” of influence peddling now owns the city’s newest bog. Guests can order pricey cocktails and mingle with Washington power brokers at Benjamin’s Bar & Lounge in the hotel. Tourists perch on the blue velvet sofas in the lobby, snapping cell-phone pictures as power players stream across the dark marble floors and cream carpets: international businessmen, Republican operatives, wealthy donors, foreign diplomats, former Trump campaign aides, the occasional Administration official. This is the new town square in Donald Trump’s Washington.

People pay these prices for more than just booze, caviar and back rubs. Downstairs, a 90-minute couples massage at the Spa by Ivanka Trump will set you back $460-roughly the rack rate for a recent night in a standard room, where the Trump brand adorns everything from the shampoo bottles to the wine in the minibar. If the urge to shop strikes, there’s a Brioni boutique in one corner that offers the same Italian suits the President favors, starting at a few thousand a pop. It’s the only restaurant in town where he has dined. There’s a seafood pyramid called “the Trump Tower” that costs $120, or you can hit BLT Prime, a restaurant where the $59 salt-aged Kansas City strip steak comes with a long-shot chance of seeing the President sitting nearby. Cocktails run from $23 for a gin and tonic to $100 for a vodka concoction with raw oysters and caviar. Photographs by CHRISTOPHER MORRIS -VII for TIMEĪt the bar of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, you can order a crystal spoonful of Hungarian wine for $140. outpost became a dealmaker’s paradise for diplomats, lobbyists and insiders Trump International Hotel is the epicenter of the President’s business interests in D.C.

Trump tower hotel