President Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort will partially reopen this weekend., according to an email sent to members.
CNN reports: Guests were told that the main house, where Trump often takes up residence, along with the spa, gym and tennis courts, will remain closed, while the Beach Club will open under new guidelines through June 28, according to the email. Mar-a-Lago's staff will be enforcing social distancing guidelines for members who visit the Beach Club. The email says loungers and tables will be spaced six feet apart and “on the pool deck and in the pool/jacuzzi.” The members-only club is also conducting a heightened cleaning regime. Restrooms will be “thoroughly sanitized hourly” and the club will have “sanitizing stations” spread around the pool deck.It is unclear whether the President will return to the property before the season ends. He normally visits the club during winter months.
More from Business Insider: Members will also have to bring their own towels, and pool noodles will be banned, according to The Washington Post. “Do not congregate,” members were warned in the club's email. With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis adding Palm Beach County to the Sunshine State's “phase one” reopening plan, Mar-a-Lago will be able to open its doors for the first time in 57 days. Under the governor's order, only the club's pool areas will be able to reopen. How, exactly, the Jacuzzi social distancing measures will be enforced remains unclear, The Post's David Fahrenthold noted.
In related news, Farenthold and Joshua Partlow reported Thursday afternoon that the U.S. government has now paid at least $970,000 to Trump's company since he took office, including 1,600 nightly room rentals at his hotels and clubs.
From WaPo: The records show that taxpayers have now paid for the equivalent of more than four years' worth of nightly rentals at Trump properties, including 950 nights at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and 530 nights at the president's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, according to a Post analysis. Trump still owns his business, though he says he has given day-to-day control to his eldest sons. Last year, Eric Trump said that when government officials visit Trump properties with the president, they are charged “like 50 bucks.” But in the 1,600 room rentals examined by The Post, there were no examples of a rate that low. Instead, the lowest room rate was $141.66 per night, for each of the rooms in a four-room cottage in Bedminster. The highest rate was $650 per night for rooms at Mar-a-Lago.
