During dreary mid-20th century winters plenty of snowbirds came here to soak up the sun, stroll the 887-foot-long ocean pier at 167th Street, and eat jaw-locking sandwiches at Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House deli on Collins Avenue.
The wealthy vacationed at the Eden Roc or Fontainebleau hotels in Miami Beach proper, but for the average postwar families, “motel row’’ in Sunny Isles - with its steel-drum bands, shuffleboard tournaments, and beachside jukeboxes - was paradise enough. But the 1980s saw motels begin to shutter, as interest gravitated to South Beach. Today, motel row is largely history, and Rascal House - the last holdout among those old restaurants - closed last year.
Any 40-block stretch of real estate sandwiched between the Intracoastal Waterway to the west and Atlantic to the east is unlikely to remain stagnant for long, however. The Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa was the first to see the possibilities.
“The hotel opened in early 2001 as the Ocean Point,’’ says Harald Bindeus, the resort’s former marketing director. “In 2005 it converted to the Doubletree franchise. It was . . . the first to start the renaissance of Sunny Isles Beach.’’
Sunny Isles (which once self-consciously called itself North Miami Beach) has encouraged others to follow the Doubletree lead: Acqualina, a favorite of affluent Brazilians and Russians; and Le Meridien, self-described as “a chic location [with] European Riviera-style luxury.’’
Perhaps the most eye-catching addition is the Trump complex, with cruise-ship-like smokestacks that evoke the opulence of ocean travel. Inside the Trump International Beach Resort, delicate orchid plants, water cascading down glass, and the sounds of muted jazz ooze sophistication. Kids go wild for the three pools, waterfalls, arches, and grottos reminiscent of a national park. The poolside cabanas even offer air conditioning and TVs.
The city has added more than hotels, beautifying the area with tropical plantings, and increasing green space with parks and beaches. The nearby Bal Harbour boutiques satisfy serious shoppers, and for club-goers, South Beach is a car ride away.
