Jeffrey Epstein planned a penthouse 'playroom' in Dukes Hotel, near Buckingham Palace, after advice from David Stern. Photo / Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein planned a penthouse “playroom” in a five-star hotel near Buckingham Palace after an associate of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor encouraged him to buy it.
The late financier showed interest in taking over Dukes Hotel, known as the birthplace of James Bond’s Vesper Martini cocktail, according to emails released by the US department of justice last week.
David Stern, a businessman who later became a director of the former Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace initiative, advised Epstein to buy the hotel and turn the top floor into his “London playroom”.
An unnamed source – not thought to be Stern – also suggested Epstein should buy the building, so that he would “have room for lots of P”, a phrase repeatedly used in the Epstein files to describe having sex with women.
Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 and released from jail in 2009.
In 2010, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, a Dubai-based businessman who owned the Dukes Hotel, sought financial advice from Epstein over refinancing loans.
Sulayem, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, wrote a proposal addressed to Jes Staley, a senior banker at JP Morgan and a close contact of Epstein’s.
Epstein forwarded this message to Staley and then took a personal interest in the hotel as a prospective buyer, the emails show.
One adviser, whose name was redacted by the US authorities, emailed Epstein in July 2010 after viewing the hotel, saying:
“Sultan mentioned he owns the Dukes Hotel in London
Went to have a look.
Great location in St James
90 rooms, 11 suites and Penthouse Suite
This we should buy from Sultan, make the top your london residence, have room for lots of P, and have full hotel services"
He investigated the purchase further, asking financial advisers to work out the real value of Dukes and how much it would cost to refurbish the building.
The hotel’s owners shared confidential internal financial projections with Epstein.
Later that month, Stern discussed Epstein buying the hotel to install a “playroom”. The Pitch@Palace employee emailed Epstein, writing:
“I was thinking of looking at actual rooms at the Duke tomorrow before i fly, to check how small they are.
Your London playroom on top floor - after some renovation - is still something i like.
Should I look at it: yes or waste of time?"
Epstein told him to go ahead, responding: “Look.”
The former Duke of York has been linked a number of times to the latest tranche of Epstein files, which included images of him crouched over an unidentified female and claims that he entertained a Russian woman procured by Epstein.
The documents show that Epstein and Andrew maintained a friendly relationship after Epstein’s 2010 arrest, despite Mountbatten-Windsor’s claim to have severed ties at that time.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who denies any wrongdoing, was seen moving out of Royal Lodge in Windsor on Tuesday and has relocated to Wood Farm Cottage, on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
On the same day as Stern’s email, Epstein messaged Giuseppe Cipriani, the hotelier, to ask whether he wanted to be involved in buying Dukes, asking if he had “any interest in doing this with me” and “does it make sense to take over”.
Cipriani said he could not help personally, but offered to see the property on behalf of Epstein.
Epstein appeared to maintain his interest in the property in the following months and was kept informed of its financial situation.
“Please stop by the hotel when you are in London next,” Sulayem wrote to Epstein in a later email, again asking for financial help with Dukes.
No deal took place. In 2015, Sulayem contacted Epstein again with a request for assistance with his hotel group.
He wrote:
“By the way is they any one you know who can arrange a=meeting for me with Elon Musk I want to convince him to op=n his show room For Tesla in DUBAI.
Also I want use His solar sy=tem modular batteries to power my New hotel Dukes Dubai openin= this December."
Epstein forwarded the message to a person at a redacted email address, asking whether they were still in contact with “Kimbal”, a potential reference to Elon Musk’s brother.
The unknown contact confirmed that they would be seeing Kimbal at the weekend.
Ian Fleming, the James Bond author, is said to have been inspired during visits to the Dukes Hotel bar to invent the Vesper Martini, the secret agent’s drink of choice in Casino Royale.
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