The Short Version
The public record strongly supports this account. Giuffre has said under oath that Maxwell recruited her in 2000 while she was employed at Mar-a-Lago, and that account has been reported consistently by major outlets. The key caveat is that Mar-a-Lago is not specifically named in Maxwell’s criminal case, so the location detail comes chiefly from Giuffre’s sworn testimony rather than a criminal verdict on that exact fact.