James L. Knight Center — Attraction in Miami

Tonight I attended a concert at the James Knight Center with my wheelchair-bound mother. It was not a great experience - from buying accesible tickets, to parking, to seats that were not blocked by people standing.

Tickets at the Knight Center are not advertised as accesible. I had to call various times over a couple of days until a human finally answered the phone and told me to simply come the day of and purchase tickets at which point my mother and I would be relocated. Once I saw the venue tonight I realized that in fact the Knight Center does have accesible seating, which you can access through an elevator, but it’s on the floor and they put you all the way to the corner where you most likely will get blocked from view by standing people. If they simply sold the floor tickets in the back row or sides they would have accesible tickets that make sense. I spent quite some time during the show asking people standing up in front of my mom’s wheelchair to please move so she could actually see the show.

Now for the parking. I had two options at the venue. I could Valet for $100 or go down the road and pay $20 at the local parking ramp. I opted to do the parking ramp- drop off my mom and go park. The parking ramp is a 10 minute walk and I looked for disability parking in the ramp and did not find any marked as such.

Upon leaving the venue at the end of the night I knew I had to leave my mom at the Knight Center as there was no way I could push her through traffic to the parking ramp and up to find the car. What I did not know was that the flow of traffic was so bad leaving that ramp that it took approximately 50 minutes sitting in my car slowly making my way down 5 floors of the ramp, to go across the highway, to go pick up my mom who at this point had been waiting at the Hyatt hotel entrance for one hour to be picked up.

All of this experience makes me think I will not be coming back to this venue again. I spoke to the Valet as soon as I picked up my mom and confirmed that in fact I only had these two options: $100 Valet or $20 parking ramp without disability parking and that takes an hour to exit on an event night. I suggested they take a hard look at their options, something as simple as offering people with disabilities $20 Valet would be sufficient.

For me this shows a shocking lack of forethought and interest to give a great customer experience to people with disabilities by both the Hyatt Hotel and the Knight Center. And frankly it is discriminatory behavior towards people with disabilities and abusive from the Valet service charge.

I strongly recommend that management for both venues take a hard look at their equitable practices for people with disabilities as there is room for improvement - if you wish to be ADA friendly and be inclusive of all customers not just those who are...

I am absolutely thrilled to share my exceptional experience with Jayda Love, the night shift security guard at the Brent Faiyaz concert. As someone who traveled all the way from Philadelphia, I found myself in a predicament when I inadvertently left my phone and other items in an Uber. However, Jayda went above and beyond her duties to assist me in retrieving my belongings, and her professionalism, politeness, and helpfulness were truly remarkable.

Jayda's dedication to her role as a security guard is evident in her unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and enjoyment of all concert attendees. Her willingness to go out of her way to help me retrieve my lost items not only exemplifies her exceptional customer service skills but also highlights her genuine care for the well-being of others. It's truly heartwarming to encounter individuals like Jayda who possess such integrity and dedication.

I am incredibly grateful to the establishment for hiring exceptional employees like Jayda. Their commitment to hiring individuals who not only prioritize our safety but also enhance our overall experience is truly commendable. Jayda's outstanding efforts have certainly left a lasting impression on me, and I am immensely appreciative of her assistance.

Jayda, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for your exceptional service. Your professionalism, politeness, and helpfulness were truly exemplary, and I cannot thank you enough for going the extra mile to retrieve my lost items. Your kind actions have made a significant impact on me, and I genuinely appreciate your dedication to keeping us safe and ensuring our enjoyment at the concert.

Thank you, Jayda, for being an outstanding security guard and for embodying the true spirit of helpfulness and integrity. Your efforts are truly appreciated, and I am grateful for the positive experience...

I attended a concert at the JLKC, on last Saturday. I had to use a wheelchair. When we pulled up to valet park we were informed there were no more valet parking spaces available. I was dropped off and staff did assist with getting my wheelchair out. Once my party arrived, we headed to the nearest elevator and were led in by a friendly attendant. We quickly realised we were stuck, that the elevator was not moving. When the door opened, we were facing a wall, and some inside began to panic. We exited once it did close and attempted to find another elevator, but the ticket attendants said we had to use that same specific elevator, that now had the nice attendant stuck inside of it, or take the escalator. My daughter had to assist me to stand and hold on to the rails as she carefully manuvered the wheelchair up the escalator. I was seated in the last row on the floor with other persons with disabilities. I was satisfied that at least there were two screens for viewing, one on each side of the stage. However, as the opening act, Babyface came on the screens did not come on, and as the crowd stood before us, they blocked the stage, and we could only hear the music. I tried desperately to ask, as did others in my same position, to every event staff there why the monitors were off. Not until the last act came on, did the monitors come on. Also, at the end of the concert, that elevator was still not operable, but we found from that staff that there was another elevator we could have taken upstairs but apparently the staff was prohibited from directing us there. My opinion is based on just these instances, and not a hotel stay in all fairness, but it certainly...