Sunny Isles - lack of restaurants/nightlife?

My husband and two of my girlfriends%26#39; husbands gave us a trip to Acqualina for Xmas... we are thrilled and proud of them for their great idea...however, we are a little concerned about being so isolated in terms of nightlife and dining. Would renting a car be silly just to get to south beach for dinner? are there great restaurants nearby? or should we stay elsewhere?

Sunny Isles - lack of restaurants/nightlife?

Let me assure you that your fears about being islotated are unfounded. Sunny Isles Beach is Florida%26#39;s Riviera and has been selected as the number one travel destination for 2008 by Trip Advisor.

There are many nice restaurants in walking distance or a short cab ride away. There is Timo%26#39;s(Continental), La Terrazza (Italian) and Acqa Pazza (Sea food),Porterhouse(steakhouse),Siam River(Thai,Japanese and Shushi) Bissaleh Cafe (Kosher), Heelsh (Indian) all across the street from Acqualina.

There is Chef Allen%26#39;s a five star restaurant in Aventura (3 miles away) and of course you visit to Acqualina would not be complete without Il%26#39;Mulino.

There are also many casual restaurants such as Mexico Bravo (Mexican) Tony Roma%26#39;s (ribs and salads).

There is a casino and a horse race track called Gulph Stream 4 miles away and world class shopping 3 miles away in the Shops of Bal Harbour.

South Beach is nothing more than an overrated tourist trap. It is dirty, old and the only reason to go is for the many night clubs.

So to summarize,unles you are staying for a month you will not run out or restaurants, and to pass on a stay at Acqualina would be silly.

Sunny Isles - lack of restaurants/nightlife?

you%26#39;ll need a car without a doubt. aqualina is a great resort. however it%26#39;s on the highway (like everything else in sunny isles), which is difficult to cross:). beach is nice, highway is not. we went to timo, which was good, but very busy and el terazzo - which was ok, but nothing special. there are mcdonalds and kfc next door too - not very upscale at all. in aventura mall there a few nice casual eateries. in my view there are more high-end restaurants on brickell and good places in the grove/coral gables then anywhere else. just confining yourself to sunny isles would be a mistake. however, if you prefer not to drive too far, you can head north to f.lauderdale - las olas and up to boca and west palm beach (about the same distance as downtown). i actually agree that sobe is worth visiting for a day or two - it%26#39;s quite touristy and you%26#39;ll get tired of it soon, unless you want to club everyday. shops are very avg and it gets very dirty by midnite - though they do scrub it every morning. not a resort area at all, but very urban. stop by at espanola way - nice little nook .

Sunny Isles Beach is not on a Highway, the street is called Collins Avenue, with a traffic light at every block, hardly difficult to cross unless you run across the traffic which I would not advise.

There were many restaurants in Sunny Isles which are within walking distance that were fantastic. To cross, I found it not difficult at all. As a matter of a fact, we stayed seven nights and only drove the car once to get to a restaurant..the other days we walked and the food was fantastic.

One of the best parts of staying in SAunny Isles beach is that you do NOT need a car! I don%26#39;t understand previous comment about being ';on a highway';. There%26#39;s only one main street, which is Collins Ave. (and has traffic lights to cross, no problem). This is the same Collins Ave. that goes all the way down through Bal Harbour %26amp; Surfside to South Beach. If you want to go to these other areas, to the Bal Harbour shops or in the other direction to the Aventura Mall - or even all the way down to Lincoln Road %26amp; South Beach, there is regular public bus service. The ';S'; bus runs up and down Collins Ave. about every 15 minutes. Even when we have a car, we sometimes prefer to take the bus to South Beach so we can have wine or drinks with dinner without needing a ';designated driver'; to come back (or hassle finding a parking space in South Beach).

Also there are some great restaurants to walk to right on Collins Ave. in Sunny Isles, such as Timo and La Terraza, Bice and Il Mulino. It%26#39;s a great location with a gorgeous beach and very convenient to everything.

This article (from last Sunday%26#39;s NY Times Travel section) might answer some of your questions about restaurants %26amp; nightlife in Sunny Isles Beach:

…nytimes.com/2008/…

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