The US State Department has removed a promotional blog post about President Donald Trump's Florida resort after a storm of ethics criticism.

Key points: Blog post described Mar-a-Lago history and design

Blog post described Mar-a-Lago history and design State Department criticised by Democrats and former Bush, Obama staffers

State Department criticised by Democrats and former Bush, Obama staffers White House said it regretted post "misperception"

The State Department is tasked with representing and protecting US interests at more than 270 diplomatic locations around the world.

In a blog post on their Share America website, that was republished on several US embassy sites abroad, Mar-a-Lago was described as "Trump's Florida estate", where he has hosted foreign leaders.

An excerpt read:

"By visiting this 'winter White House' Trump is belatedly fulfilling the dream of Mar-a-Lago's original owner and designer. "When socialite and cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post built Mar-a-Lago — Spanish for 'Sea to Lake' — in 1927, she spared no expense. "The 114-room mansion sits on eight hectares of land, with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and an inland waterway on the other. "The ornate jazz-age house was designed with Old-World Spanish, Venetian and Portuguese influences and decorated with Post's personal collection of antiques."

Mar-a-Lago is part of Mr Trump's business empire and after his election, the resort doubled its membership fee to $200,000.

Mr Trump has visited the property seven times since becoming President.

He came under fire in February when photos posted online by club members showed the President being briefed on and discussing a response to a North Korean missile test while having dinner at the resort.

Mr Trump was criticised for this dinner meeting earlier this year. ( Instagram: Erika Bain )

The State Department said late on Monday its intention was "to inform the public about where the President has been hosting world leaders" and that it regretted "any misperception".

The White House did not respond to questions about whether it had any involvement in the original posting or the decision to take it down.

The Share America website describes its mission as "sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics like democracy, freedom of expression, innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of civil society".

'Use of public office for private gain'

The Mar-a-Lago post was nearly three weeks old but gained traction on Monday (local time) when several people noticed the US embassy to the United Kingdom was featuring it.

Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, asked on Twitter why taxpayers were "promoting the President's private country club" and referred to the incident as "kleptocratic".

Norman Eisen, who was President Barack Obama's chief ethics attorney, said the promotion was "exploitation".

Mr Eisen compared it to White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway's promotion of Ivanka Trump's clothing business, for which she was "counselled" but not otherwise reprimanded by the White House.

On Twitter, Richard Painter, who served in an ethics role for former president George W Bush, called the State Department post "use of public office for private gain pure and simple".

Mr Eisen, Mr Painter and other attorneys have sued Mr Trump, alleging violation of the "emoluments clause" of the US constitution.

That provision says the President may not accept foreign gifts or payments without the consent of Congress.

The Trump Organisation argued that prohibition was not intended to cover fair-market exchanges.

AP/ABC