Brickell is usually associated with glass towers, rooftop pools and some of Miami’s swankiest nights out. But tucked beside all that development is a piece of the city that looks like it belongs to another era entirely.
Just across from Novotel Miami Brickell sits Simpson Park, an eight-acre tropical hardwood hammock that preserves one of the last remaining fragments of the historic Brickell Hammock. Long before the neighborhood became Miami’s financial district, this subtropical forest stretched along Biscayne Bay between the Miami River and Coconut Grove.
Today, the contrast is striking. From the hotel’s rooftop bar, you can look across a canopy of native tropical vegetation towards Brickell’s skyscrapers and Biscayne Bay — essentially taking in two very different versions of Miami from the same vantage point. And for a limited time, there’s another reason to stop by: Theater of Magic, a 90-minute evening of close-up illusions, comedy and cocktails that has earned Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Award, placing it among the top 10% of attractions worldwide.
The surprising history behind Simpson Park
Simpson Park might look like a small pocket of greenery between the city’s high-rises, but its survival is no accident. In 1914, the City of Miami purchased 4.4 acres of tropical hardwood hammock from Mary Brickell for $12,500, with the land paid for in ten installments over ten years. The area became a public park and helped preserve a small portion of the original landscape as Miami rapidly developed around it.
The park is now recognised as a Natural Forest Community, with roughly 162 plant species recorded there. Around 96 are native, while the hammock also contains endangered and threatened plant species.
That makes a walk through Simpson Park a rather different experience from the Miami most visitors picture. Instead of passing another row of towers, you’re stepping into a fragment of the subtropical forest that once defined this part of the city.
A hotel with a surprisingly green outlook
Novotel Miami Brickell makes the most of its unusual position, as its rooftop looks out across Simpson Park’s tree canopy towards the surrounding skyscrapers and Biscayne Bay. It’s a particularly good reminder of just how dramatically Brickell has changed: the forest below represents an older Miami, while the skyline beyond it represents the city as it exists today.
The hotel’s connection to the park also goes back to the building’s original design. When the property opened as Atton Brickell in 2016, plans for the project referenced Simpson Park across the street and incorporated elements inspired by the surrounding natural landscape into the interiors.
From tropical hammock to rooftop views
There’s plenty to keep you at the hotel once you’ve finished exploring the park. Vista Rooftop Bar & Lounge occupies the 12th floor, with an infinity pool, cocktails and panoramic views across Brickell and Biscayne Bay.
And if you happen to be visiting while Theater of Magic is in town, you can add a little sleight of hand to the itinerary. The intimate 90-minute experience combines close-up magic, comedy, audience interaction and cocktails, with performances taking place at the hotel on select dates. It’s a fitting addition to a place that already has a few surprises up its sleeve.
19 September 2026 16:30 + more dates
Discover a different side of Brickell
For all its reputation as Miami’s glossy financial district, Brickell has a surprisingly deep connection to the landscape that came before it. At Novotel Miami Brickell, that history is unusually easy to see. Walk into Simpson Park and you’re surrounded by a fragment of the tropical hardwood hammock that once covered this part of the city. Look back towards the hotel and the skyline rises immediately behind it.
It’s a small but fascinating reminder that modern Miami was built around, rather than completely erasing, pieces of the landscape that came first.
