Coming up Rosewood

Diane Sears | 5/1/2006

COMFORT ZONE: Acqualina's one-bedroom oceanfront suites, adn the resort's tranquility pool are pictured above. The Sunny Isles Beach resort also has a two-story, 20,000-sq.-ft. ESPA spa.

A new resort in Sunny Isles Beach brings the ultraluxury Rosewood brand to Florida. Acqualina's biggest draw, says Managing Director David Kurland, is its location on a pristine stretch of waterfront away from the traffic of Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale but close enough to commute for work or play.

The 52-story Mediterranean-style resort includes 97 guest rooms and suites and 188 residences, which sold before the hotel opened this spring. Also on the property: A two-story, 20,000-sq.-ft. spa by ESPA, the first of its brand in the country; several restaurants, including the famed Il Mulino from New York; an educational children's program called AcquaMarine; and three oceanfront swimming pools.

The smallest room is 700 square feet. Rooms and suites start at $625 a night and have marble bathrooms, luxury bedding and private terraces overlooking the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway.

Despite its size, Kurland says, Acqualina has a residential feel. Each floor has a maximum of five guest rooms, so when guests come off the elevator, they see their door instead of a long hallway.

"We're all about high touch," Kurland says. "We pamper you from the moment you arrive till the moment you leave."

Tags: Dining & Travel, Southeast