Oetker Hotels has spent decades building one of the most carefully chosen luxury hotel portfolios in the world, one property at a time, across Paris, Antibes, Mallorca, and St Barths. Its entry into the American market, long expected by the brand’s global guests, has finally arrived in Palm Beach, with a building that is older than the brand’s most famous address.
The Vineta Hotel opened this season on a site just steps from Worth Avenue, in partnership with owner group Reuben Brothers. It is the brand’s 41-room first U.S. property, and its opening brings back a name that Palm Beach carried for more than half a century before the building changed hands and identities several times over.
Originally opened in 1926 as the Lido-Venice during Florida’s property boom, it was renamed The Vineta shortly after and kept that name for over 50 years. It was then converted into private apartments in the 1980s, reopened as The Chesterfield in 1989, and closed in 2022. Oetker’s decision to revive the Vineta name signals a clear intention to connect with the building’s original identity rather than replace it.
Timo Gruenert, CEO of Oetker Hotels, said, “This is a monumental moment in the brand’s history as we debut our first masterpiece hotel in the United States. Many of our existing guests have long visited or call Palm Beach home, and we look forward to extending Oetker Hotels’ unique hospitality ethos, rooted in family spirit, elegance and genuine kindness, to this exceptional destination with The Vineta Hotel.”
Oetker Hotels is owned by the Oetker family, a German family whose wider business interests span food, beverages, shipping, and banking. That private ownership has allowed the hotel group to grow slowly and deliberately, focusing on quality and long-term thinking over rapid expansion. Le Bristol Paris, its most recognised property, has been in the family’s hands since 1978 and is consistently ranked among Europe’s best city hotels. Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, another Oetker property, has been in operation since 1870 and remains one of the most established names in Mediterranean hospitality. For Reuben Brothers, whose property interests span Europe and North America, the Palm Beach project holds personal meaning alongside its business case.
“We are incredibly excited to open The Vineta Hotel in Palm Beach, a place very close to my and my family’s heart. With Oetker Hotels’ renowned and refined approach to luxury hospitality, I am confident that the hotel will quickly become a staple in Palm Beach for generations to come,” said Jamie Reuben.
Paris-based interior designer Tino Zervudachi, working through his firm ZRM with a London-based team, led the full redesign of the hotel’s shared spaces and all 41 guest rooms and suites, alongside architects Spina O’Rourke & Partners. His approach respected the building’s existing Mediterranean Revival structure, introducing Venetian plaster walls, terrazzo floors, classical moldings, and 1930s-inspired plaster details.
Guest rooms are built around a sense of calm, with linen prints, white and blue fabrics, natural tones, and warm honey-coloured accents. Wave motifs, feather and palm prints, and constellation details run through the public areas.
“The interior design balances European elegance with Palm Beach luminosity. Clean lines, layered textures, calm color harmonies, and ordered symmetry are complemented by distinct Venetian influences with terrazzo flooring, custom Venetian plaster walls, classical moldings, and 1930’s inspired plaster reliefs. Pattern, proportion, and craftsmanship were key to creating a sophisticated and simple yet joyful and playful 21st-century Palm Beach setting,” Zervudachi said.
Coco’s, the hotel’s main indoor-outdoor restaurant, is led by Executive Chef Brian Rodriguez and serves Mediterranean food alongside dishes brought over directly from Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Executive Chef Sébastian Broda and Pastry Chef Tarek Ahamada from the Antibes property worked on the menu together, contributing dishes that include the classic Steak Diane and Eden Roc Sea Bass, both served in the United States for the first time.
A fish bar offers daily crudo, Mediterranean red prawn carpaccio, and a signature seafood tower. Grilled Maine lobster, risotto Ossobuco, house-made tagliatelle with truffle sauce, homemade pizzas, and a lobster croque madame complete a menu built to work across lunch and dinner. Coral tones, layered greenery, and a red Italian marble bar define the interior, with a leopard motif worked into the ceiling as a nod to the room’s former life as The Leopard Lounge. A courtyard filled with bougainvillea, framed by the restored original iron gates, serves as the outdoor dining space.
Two further bar spaces sit within the hotel. The Vineta Bar is fitted with custom Pierre Frey Le Manach fabrics handwoven on wooden looms and plume marble tables. Pan’s Garden, a cocktail concept built around botanicals, draws on native wildflowers and serves small Mediterranean-inspired dishes alongside its drinks.
By the pool, The Pool House serves a menu that includes tuna tartare tacos, seabream ceviche, Jamón Ibérico with pa amb tomàquet, and New England lobster rolls, within a space designed with a retro feel, trellises, and scalloped detailing. It also houses the first U.S. outpost of Giovanni’s, the members-only Italian restaurant from Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, brought over to serve its signature pizzas poolside. A mosaic-tiled pool, a custom shell-shaped ladder referencing Palm Beach architecture, and carefully designed landscaping complete the outdoor space. A private beach arrangement is available a short walk from the hotel.
In-room workout equipment, morning poolside yoga, and personal training are available for guests who want to stay active. A roaming concept called A La Cart moves through the hotel on custom bar carts, delivering Champagne, beauty products, and other selected items to guests throughout the day.
The Vineta Hotel arrives at a point when Palm Beach, long defined by a small number of long-standing hotels and private members clubs, has seen very little new luxury hotel development of comparable scale and background.
“The Vineta has always belonged to Palm Beach. Our role has been to listen to its history, respect its character, and gently restore it with care, warmth, and modern refinement. This hotel is an invitation to experience Palm Beach at its most elegant, intimate, joyful, and effortlessly refined. We are proud to welcome guests into a place that feels both deeply rooted and entirely new,” said Emanuela Setterberg Di Vivo, Managing Director of The Vineta Hotel, Palm Beach.
