For a stretch of years, the north end of Collins Avenue had a gap where a busy hotel used to be. The old Newport Beachside sat behind construction fencing while its neighbors kept going. Anyone walking south from 172nd toward Pier Park learned to route around it.
That gap closed on November 1, 2025. The property came back as The Sunny, still family-owned, still anchored to the same fishing pier, but rebuilt as something residents can actually use on a Tuesday night. This is a piece for people who live within walking distance and want to know what's inside the doors now.
What actually reopened at 16701 Collins
The address is the same. Almost nothing else is. The building went through what its owners describe as a full reimagining of a property that first opened in 1967 as The Newport, and it now operates under the Curio Collection by Hilton flag with 339 rooms, an expansive pool deck, six dining outlets, event space, a spa, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, and an exceptional kids' entertainment program.
Six dining outlets is a lot for one building, and most residents will never care about half of them. The four worth knowing by name:
- Julene. The signature restaurant. Described by the hotel as part neighborhood favorite, part refined American kitchen, serving the dishes people crave, confident, thoughtful, and unpretentious. A joyful, energetic room where neighbors gather and guests feel instantly at home. Warm, vibrant, and unmistakably special. Early reviewers have singled it out for breakfast in particular.
- Lovebirds Café. Part bodega, part coffee shop, Lovebirds Café features local finds, retro and fan-favorite snacks, and new-to-market products by up-and-coming brands. This is the room that changes the daily equation for anyone in the surrounding towers. A walkable, sit-down coffee counter on this stretch of Collins was not a given before.
- Citrus Shack. The poolside concept, inspired by Florida's classic fruit stands. Casual, daytime, not the primary reason a resident walks over, but a useful add-on if you've already committed to the pool deck as a guest.
- The pier-top bar. The one most locals will actually notice. Positioned as the only spot in Miami where you can sip a drink right above the Atlantic, built into the historic Newport Fishing Pier that extends off the property.
The last one matters more than a hotel bar usually would, and it deserves its own section.
The pier is the real story
Sunny Isles' pier is a public landmark before it is anything else. Pier Park sits at its base, and Miami-Dade markets it as Miami's only public fishing pier, stretching 776 feet over the Atlantic, offering anglers prime spots for snook and mackerel. Residents already knew this. What they lost during the Newport's long closure was the pier's civic edge, meaning the restaurants, the bar, and the reason a non-fisherman would end a walk out there instead of turning back at the sand.
The reopened property restores that edge. Hilton's own description frames the resort as being just moments from the historic Newport Fishing Pier, and the operator has been explicit that the private beach, rich history, and iconic Newport Pier are core to the experience. Translation for someone who lives four blocks away: the pier is once again a functional destination for the last hour before sunset, not just a photograph.
If your evening walk used to end at the Pier Park lifeguard stand, it can now end with a drink over the water. That is a small change on paper and a large one in practice.
The weeknight math for a north-end resident
The reason to spend a full post on one property is that Sunny Isles is a long, thin city. Amenities cluster. Whichever cluster is closest to your front door determines your default evening. Before the reopening, residents in the 160s and 170s tended to drift south toward the Town Center area or drive to Aventura Mall for anything walkable enough to justify leaving the lobby. The Sunny reintroduces a northern option.
Consider what is now within a short walk of the property's front doors:
- The pier itself and Pier Park, at the base of the property.
- Samson Oceanfront Park, which the city describes as a 2.1-acre oceanfront haven with shaded picnic areas, a playground, and a dedicated stage for community performances, sitting a short walk north along the sand.
- Heritage Park, described by the city's tourism arm as a vibrant 4-acre urban retreat with playgrounds, a splash pad, and a Veterans Wall in Sunny Isles Beach.
- The rest of the north-end restaurant strip. Baires Grill at 18090 Collins, Il Mulino inside Acqualina, and the several long-tenured European and Latin American rooms that never left.
The connective tissue between those points used to be missing its center of gravity. The reopened property provides it. Someone walking from a condo at 172nd Street can now string together the pool-deck views, a coffee stop, a pier walk, and a sit-down dinner without crossing a bridge or getting in a car.
For dog owners, the hotel has leaned into pet-friendly rooms, beachside walks, and plenty of spots to sit, stay, and people-watch. The relevance to residents is second-order but real: pet-friendly ground-floor rooms mean the property tolerates dogs in its public zones, which tends to loosen up the surrounding sidewalks and outdoor seating too.
What to do with it this month
Two things to actually try:
Use Lovebirds as a work-from-café. The bodega-plus-coffee format is designed for lingering. If you have been driving to Aventura for a coffee shop with real seating, the round trip has just gotten shorter by an order of magnitude.
Time the pier bar to a Thursday summer concert. The city and the Tourism & Marketing Council keep an active calendar of ocean-facing programming, including community performances on the park's dedicated stage at Samson Oceanfront Park during the warm months. A drink over the Atlantic followed by a walk south along the sand to catch a set is the closest thing to a signature Sunny Isles evening routine that the north end has offered in years.
A note on access. The property still operates a resort charge that includes Wi-Fi; 2 beach loungers with towels and 10% off beach rentals; bike rentals; non-motorized water sports equipment; fishing rod rentals; fitness and recreational programming including poolside activities and yard games; bottled water and hydration stations; hotel library access. That charge applies to overnight guests. Walk-in visitors to the restaurants, the pier bar, and the pier itself are not paying it. If you live nearby, you get the ambient benefit without the room-rate math.
The bigger point
A hotel reopening is not usually a neighborhood event. This one is, because Sunny Isles is a barrier-island city where each cluster of buildings functions almost like its own village, and the northernmost of those villages had been running without its anchor tenant. Julene, Lovebirds, and the pier-top bar are individually pleasant. Collectively they restore a rhythm.
If you have been living within walking distance of 16701 Collins and defaulting south, this is your reminder to try north for a week and see what changes.
Levitate Real Estate follows Sunny Isles Beach street by street, tower by tower, because the difference between one block and the next is usually the difference between the right home and the wrong one. If you are thinking about a move within the neighborhood or a first purchase here, Jose Garza and the team at Levitate Real Estate are ready to walk the north end with you. Schedule a Free Consultation.
