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<br />f\cwspc~er (5)
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<br />Sunny 'ties Seach
<br />
<br />oNostalgia, chic mix well in Sunny Isles
<br />
<br />If you go . . .
<br />
<br />Where to sta,
<br />Doubletree Oce~n Point Resort
<br />17375 Collins Ave.
<br />866-623.2678
<br />\vww.occanpointrcsort.com
<br />Suites with kitchens, from $260.
<br />Trump International Beach
<br />Resort
<br />18001 Collins Ave.
<br />305-692-5600
<br />www.trumpmiamLcom
<br />From $399.
<br />Where to eat
<br />uTerrma
<br />18090 Collins Ave.
<br />305.792-2355
<br />www.laterranaroma.com
<br />Authentic Italian fare. Entrees
<br />$13-$28.
<br />Epicure Gounnet Market
<br />1 7190 Collins Ave.
<br />305-672-1861
<br />www.epicuremarket.com
<br />/sunnyjsles
<br />Self-serve cafe. Buffets $ 17 -$20.
<br />eWhilttodo
<br />Samson Oceanfront Part
<br />1 7425 Collins Ave.
<br />www.sibfJ.net./parks-9ilbert
<br />_samson.asp
<br />By Diane Speare lrtimt
<br />GLOIlltCOUElPONDDn'
<br />m TNNV ISI Rlil BRACH FIa. -
<br />If you remember this city from Its
<br />heyday in the 1960s and '70s,
<br />names like Golden Nugget, Car-
<br />ousel, Chateau, Thunderbird,
<br />Dunes, or Thngiers will be famil-
<br />iar. They were aD motels situated
<br />along Collins Avenue In an UD-
<br />broken 4-O-block row on the At-
<br />lantic Ocean jllrt north of M1amI
<br />Beach, above 156th Street.
<br />Most were two-story, H.
<br />3haped complexes spillinR onto
<br />the beach, with rectangular pooll
<br />and dlvil1l boards. The units
<br />typically offered kitchenettes for
<br />guests I'l'luctant to battle the
<br />lines at popular restaurants like
<br />
<br />C .."OC. BOS~ SJ"'eOAl' GLC9I
<br />.. "'-'* n.-........
<br />
<br />o
<br />
<br />Arthur Wilde's or Grandma's
<br />Kitchen.
<br />During dreary mid-20th cen-
<br />tury winten plenty of snowbirds
<br />came here to soak up the sun,
<br />stroll the lt87.foot-Iong ocean
<br />pier at 167th Street., and ealjaw-
<br />locking sandwiches at Woltie Cc>
<br />hen's Rascal HOWle dell on Col-
<br />lins Avenue.
<br />"The wealthy vacationed at the
<br />F.den Roc or Fontalnt.'bleau ho-
<br />tels In Miami Beach proper. but
<br />(or the average postWar (amUles,
<br />"motel row" In Sunny Isles -
<br />\\;th Its steel-<1rom bands, shuf.
<br />tleboard tournaments, and
<br />beachslde jukeboxes - was para-
<br />dise enough. But the 1980s saw
<br />motels begin to shutter, as inter-
<br />est gravitated to South Beach. To-
<br />da~ motel row Is largrly history,
<br />and Rascal House - the last
<br />holdout among those old restau-
<br />rants - closed last year.
<br />Any 4-0-block stretch of real
<br />estate sandwiched between the
<br />Intracoastal Waterway to the
<br />west and Atlantic to the east II
<br />unlikely to remain stagnant for
<br />long, however. The Doubletree
<br />Ocean Point Resort &: Spa was
<br />the first to see the possibilities.
<br />"The hotel opened In early
<br />2001 u'the Ocean Point," says
<br />Harald BlndCWI, the resort's fori.
<br />mer marketing d1rectoJ: "In 2005
<br />It converted to the Doubletree
<br />franchise. It was . . . the first to
<br />start the renaissance of Sunny
<br />Isles Beach..
<br />Sunny Isles (which once self-
<br />consciously called Itself North
<br />Miami Beach) has encouraged
<br />others to (allow the Doubletree
<br />lead: AcquaUna, a favorite of af.
<br />fluent Brazilians and Russians;
<br />and Le Meridlen, self-descrlbed
<br />as "a chic location [with] E~
<br />pean ltivtera-style luxury."
<br />Perhaps the most eye-catch-
<br />inK addition Is the lhtmp com-
<br />plez, with crufse-shJp-llke sm~
<br />stacks that evoke the opulence of
<br />ocean travel. Inside the Trump
<br />
<br />International Beach Resort, deli.
<br />cate orchid plants, water cascad-
<br />1111 down glass, and the sounds
<br />of muted jazz ooze sophistica-
<br />tion. Kids go wild for the three
<br />(lools, waterfalls, arches, and
<br />grottos rcminlsccnt of a national
<br />park. The poolslde cabanas even
<br />offer air conditioning and lVs.
<br />The city has added more than
<br />ho~l!l, beautifying !he area with
<br />tropical plantings, and Increas-
<br />1111 green space with parks and
<br />beaches. The nearby BaJ Harbour
<br />boutiques satisfy serious shop-
<br />pers, and for dub-geers, South
<br />Heacb IS a car nCleaway.
<br />As tourists mllscover Sunny
<br />Isles, new eateries follow. Marcel-
<br />lo Glancatertni, the proprietor of
<br />La Terrazza - an "eclectic Ital-
<br />Ian" restaurant - Is a Rome na-
<br />tive. He abandoned South Beach
<br />for Sunny Isles Beach.
<br />"I was one of the first In South
<br />Beach:' he says. "I had a restau.
<br />rant there and entertained many
<br />celebrities like Sylvester Stallone.
<br />But more than 300 restaurants
<br />opened and h became too hectic,
<br />with kids partying Into the late
<br />hours."
<br />By lantern Ilght, a mix ofbusi.
<br />nessmen, old-timers, and tour.
<br />Ists dine on. penne with flaming
<br />pink vodka sauce, fettucclni pm-
<br />bera (shrimp, zucchini, garlic,
<br />olive oil), or fresh-caught grouper
<br />In lemon-wine sauce.
<br />Other newcomers are Neomi's
<br />l.a.tin.fuslon grill In 1h1mp Inter-
<br />national; Tlmo, offering rock-
<br />shrimp pizza; and the Epicure
<br />Gourmet Market &: C~. Epicure
<br />prepares stuffed cabbage and
<br />brisket - staples of the revered
<br />Rascal House, formerly located
<br />on the same spot.
<br />Eplcure's approach rccognjzes
<br />a yearning In some who visit to
<br />relive the old Sunny [..Ies. There
<br />Is the (Days) Thunderbird Motel.
<br />with a vfntage 1955 aqua Ford
<br />Thundertllrd In its lobby; the S&-
<br />hara Beach Club, where camel
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