Winter White House: Photos, Details Of Trump’s Luxurious Mar-A-Lago Estate, Costing Members $200,000

It seems America may have a new White House under President Donald Trump – at least, while hosting world leaders and handling international crises, during the winter months, that is. The president has been using his luxurious Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to unwind on weekends.

Since securing the White House Jan. 20, Trump has visited the southern property to watch the Super Bowl, play golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and spend time with his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who has been absent from the White House since inauguration celebrations.

Mar-a-Lago, first built between 1924 to 1927 by heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, has long been a national historic landmark and sprawling 20-acre club offering dining, croquet, a full spa, entertainment, tennis and other services for the estate’s wealthy members. Membership rates have doubled to $200,000 since Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States.

Photos of the pristine estate revealed what vacationing must be like for the top one percent: the waterfront property, surrounded by palm trees and sandy beaches, includes tremendous gold-plated entranceways, lush gardens and open-air hallways, living areas and restaurants.

Those who have paid their dues and were present this past weekend certainly got their money's worth, when Abe and Trump received alerts from their advisors North Korea had launched a test ballistic missile toward the Japanese sea as the two leaders were dining together Saturday night. One civilian Facebook user named Richard DeAgazio added photos of the scene, describing being near "the center of the action" as the situation unfolded.

"It was fascinating to watch the flurry of activity at dinner when the news came that North Korea had launched a missile in the direction of Japan," the user, apparently with a direct view of the president during his dinner, posted on Facebook. "The Prime Minister Abe of Japan huddles with his staff and the President is on the phone with Washington D.C. The two world leaders then conferred and then went into another room for hastily arranged press conference."

With just four weeks into Trump’s presidency and the president already making numerous visits to the Mar-A-Lago estate, a new winter White House might just be something the American public will get used to seeing over the next four years.