Hurricane Irma: Trump hotels lie in storm's path

Hurricane Irma has swept over US President Donald Trump's 11-bedroom Caribbean mansion, the first of several luxury Trump properties threatened by the storm's path.

It was not immediately known whether Irma damaged Trump's beachfront Chateau des Palmiers, or Castle of the Palms, on St. Martin when it hit on Wednesday. The gated estate, for sale for US$16.9 million (NZ$23.4 million), is owned through a trust and had been rented out, US media has reported.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb says some buildings have been destroyed and social media is showing flooded roads and overturned cars on the island that is roughly divided between France and the Netherlands.

The situation was being closely monitored on St. Martin and at a number of Trump properties in Florida, Trump Organization spokesperson Amanda Miller told Reuters in a statement.

While Irma's exact trajectory remains uncertain, Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach - which has been called the "winter White House" and valued by Forbes at US$175 million (NZ$243 million) - could also take a hit.

Trump bought the estate in 1985 and turned it into an exclusive club, which now boasts a membership fee of US$200,000.

Reuters