The
Doral Country Club was built for $10 million (equivalent to $ million in ) by Carol Management, a New York-based real estate firm headed by
Alfred Kaskel. The club opened in January 1962. The resort was the sister hotel to the famous
Doral Hotel on the ocean in
Miami Beach, Florida. In 1994, Carol Management sold a majority stake in the resort to KSL Recreation, a
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts affiliate focused on premier golf facilities, for approximately $100 million. KSL was then purchased in 2004 by CNL Hospitality (later CNL Hotels & Resorts), a
real estate investment trust affiliated with
CNL Financial Group. CNL placed the resort under the management of
Marriott International later that year. In 2007, CNL Hotels was acquired by the real estate arm of
Morgan Stanley. Around 2010, the
Pritikin Longevity Center moved into the spa area of the Doral resort. In 2011, a group of creditors led by
Paulson & Co. took control of the Doral and seven other properties from
Morgan Stanley. They quickly placed the Doral and four of the other properties under
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and began seeking a buyer for the Doral. In February 2012, the Trump Organization purchased the Doral Resort & Spa out of bankruptcy for $150 million. Trump began a $250-million renovation of the resort in 2013, which was completed in 2016. Trump's purchase included four of the five golf courses. The fifth, the "Great White Course," was excluded from the sale because of its high potential for redevelopment. Instead, it was sold, along with the other bankrupt properties, to
GIC, a creditor in the case. GIC sold the course in 2016 for $96 million to two homebuilders:
Lennar and CC Homes. In May 2019, it was reported the resort was in "steep decline" financially, in which its
net operating income had fallen by 69 percent – from $13.8 million in 2015 to $4.3 million two years later. In 2021, Deutsche Bank hired the
Newmark Group to appraise the resort. The appraisal concluded that "Trump had spent $379 million buying and renovating the resort, and that it was worth only $297 million". While like other Trump properties that benefited "from people looking to buy proximity to a president during Mr. Trump’s first term, his managers believed even more potential customers stayed away because of him", pushing "down bookings and room rates for six years running" with management believing “the Trump brand has negatively impacted” revenues. The appraisal similarly stated “we believe that with a different brand, the subject might perform better.” In 2025, Trump National Doral Miami was chosen to host the
2026 G20 Miami summit. The announcement was made by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in the Oval Office and later confirmed by Doral Mayor Christi Fraga. In 2026,
Don Colossus, a 15 ft golden statue of Donald Trump, was erected on display at Trump National Doral Miami.
Lawsuits and legal controversies Trump "has been the target of dozens of
liens" from contractors who worked on the renovation project. On May 20, 2016, a
Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge ordered Trump National Doral Miami to be foreclosed and sold on June 28 unless the Trump Organization paid $32,800 to a Miami paint supply company. hangs on the wall in the resort's Champions Bar & Grill. Since Trump purchased the resort in 2012, he has challenged the local
property tax assessments every year. Trump suggested that the resort would host the event "at cost" or perhaps at no cost to the American taxpayer. The move prompted renewed criticism that Trump was
self-dealing in violation of the
Foreign Emoluments Clause of the
United States Constitution.
House Judiciary Committee chairman
Jerry Nadler called the selection of Doral "among the most brazen examples yet of the President's corruption." Lack of support from Trump's Republican allies who had grown weary of defending him led Trump to abandon his plans within days of the announcement. This was notable as it was a rare crack in the wall of Trump's Republican support. ==Golf courses and tournaments==