Hotel Del Otero: Mound’s Lost Hotel

It’s October, just after the turn of the last century. The tourism & hotel season is quickly winding down across Minnetonka and the beautiful Hotel Buena Vista stands as no exception to the rule.

Hotel Buena Vista is one of the lake’s most famous hotels of Minnetonka’s golden era. Despite not being built by a rail tycoon, visited by presidents, or operating a hundred rooms, Buena Vista manages to do a good business and have consistently high bookings.

Opened in May, 1901 by one Mrs. J. L. Butterfield, the hotel burst onto the scene at the very tail end of the lake’s tourism boom. Much of the national admiration for Minnetonka had already passed by this point but the hotel was a success, nevertheless. Its unique name and colonial style architecture could be attributed, at least in part, to its success. Buena Vista was, somewhat appropriately, perched high on an east facing bluff in Cook’s Bay.

By 1906, the hotel was hosted by Mr & Mrs. Jack Hart. Jack was a well known angler and his knowledge of the lake’s best fishing spots continued to bring guests to the hotel. The Harts advertised the hotel’s boats, bait, and tackle alongside their room & board services, with Jack personally guiding many of the fishing expeditions.

Unfortunately, like many of the hotels of this era, Buena Vista’s success would be cut short. On April 15, 1926, the hotel was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground. Shortly after, the property was razed and subdivided. Today, a drive down Mound’s Highland Boulevard will take you alongside where this grand hotel once stood.