The Ancient Spanish Monastery — Attraction in North Miami Beach

We practice what St. Benedict taught his monks: “All who present themselves are to be welcomed.”

This is a candid review of the "church services" offered on Sunday mornings. The aforementioned quote is emphatically posted on their website, yet they do not practice this ideology whatsoever and it's shameful and completely against everything that Christ stood for...

As a relatively new resident to Miami, I've visited numerous churches looking for a nice home-base and actually attended St. Bernard de Clairvaux a few times previously, including Easter Mass when I donated $500 (silly me for how I was treated today).

On 5/21, I drove from Brickell and arrived at the St. Bernard de Clairvaux at 10:47am after hitting bad congestion on I-95. The English mass begins at 10:15am according to the website (I don't speak Spanish and would only attend the 10:15 service). I walked up to the entrance and was confronted by this imposing man dressed up in pretend militia gear (he even had a body cam dangling around his neck) standing next to a black Nissan with fake police lights flashing... What a warm greeting!

He asked what I was there for and I replied "hi, just going to the mass..." He looked at his watch and informed me that Church was already started and I said "I understand but I'd still like to attend..." He told me he couldn't allow entry, that it was "too late." I'm completely baffled- is this a bouncer allowing admission into the hot new Jesus nightclub, but only if you show up on time for the party?

I just drove 45 mins and was really looking forward to some peaceful solace in this beautiful monastery during a difficult time (I just lost a loved one recently) and I was literally turned away because of the timeclock... I've never in my life heard of such an asinine and egregious policy regarding admittance into a supposed house of worship.

To make matters worse, this overzealous security guard (that resembled Rick Ross on a bad day) reeked of marijuana and appeared high as a kite with his verbal communication. I asked him if he thought he was "Saint Peter protecting the pearly gates" and he replied that "You have the wrong place- this is St. Bernard de Clairvaux, not Saint Peter's..." 🤤 Good Lord-- it's fine to hire individuals with low IQ but not for an unnecessary security detail and especially NOT for a church when they obviously don't even know who St. Pete was...

I'll be filing a formal complaint with the administration of this "church" and the Episcopal Diocese that oversees them, delving into their IRS status with my legal team. One cannot claim tax exemption as an "inclusive church" if you don't openly welcome anyone and everyone, PARTICULARLY when service is going on. I'll also be investigating who hired this unprofessional, pot smoking Rick Ross church bouncer who should probably be working as a corrections officer and not militarizing a landmarked House of God, playing Hall Monitor. The blatant discrimination is quite appalling.

This entire disheartening experience really made me question the decline of humanity in this country along with the sacred institutions that should uphold our freedom and right to worship, even if it's showing up at the steps a tad bit late. I'm quite certain Jesus didn't scrutinize the...

If you wish you could go to Europe and explore the relics of the Renaissance but don't have the money to drop on a plane ticket then we have the next best thing in our own backyard. If you can't travel to Europe not to worry Europe has been painstakingly brought to you brick by brick in the form of this incredible Spanish Monastery that was completed in the year of 1141 AD which was 360 years before Columbus even set sail for the New World! The monastery was built in Sacramenia Spain. I don't know how Spain feels about having their treasure here but it was taken at a time when there was less thought given to plundering the treasures of other nations and taking them from their native lands. Due to a social revolution in the 1830's in Spain the monastery was seized from the monks living there and turned into a stable. It was at this point that newspaper titian William Randolph Hearst bought the the Cloisters and outbuildings and had them dismantled, packed in 11,000 crates, and shipped to the US. An outbreak of hoof and mouth disease thought to be carried in the straw of the crates and Hearst's financial problems caused the boxes to remain in storage in NY for the next 26 years. After Hearst dies William Edgemon and Raymond Moss purchased the Cloisters and paid 13 million dollars to reassemble it. After it was reconstructed it was purchased by Robert Pentland Jr. a wealthy benefactor of the church and today the Monastery is once again home to an active congregation, the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux.

We arrived at the Monastery in the later part of the afternoon. The normal price to enter is $10 for adults and $5 for students. The credit card machine was down so for $10 cash they let us in. You enter through the museum and gift shop. There are many interesting relics from the Middle Ages on display. The hymnarium is an 800 year old handwritten collection of hymns written in berries on lambskin parchment. There is also a suit of armor from the 1600's from Hearst's own collection.

From the museum you enter into the gardens. There you will find an iron gate with an image of the Spanish nobleman who owned it on top. You can also see a stone with the date of 1141!

From the garden you enter into the South Cloisters, the Chapel, the East Cloisters, and the North Cloisters. There is literally a treasure around every corner. Be sure to pick up a free guide in the gift shop before you leave so that you can have a self guided tour.

This place is an incredible treasure. I think it is so crazy to be standing in front of something so old with the skyscrapers of Miami peeking out from behind it. I also love the friendly Monastery cats who come up to you for a little love. If you haven't been to this unique attraction you need to cross it off your list. No need to go to Spain just pay a visit to...

My daughter came to take her Quinceaneras pictures here and she was so excited to take her pictures here. This was our first time at this location. When we arrived they had closed the facility for a funeral without notifying us to come an hour later. We had to wait an hour outside in the summer heat of Florida, and my daughter was in a big quince dress overheating. When we finally were allowed in, the receptionist was very rude towards us while we were giving a regular complaint. When they finally gave us a room so my daughter can have somewhere to change for the pictures people were opening the door without knocking while she was getting changed. A lady almost saw her getting undressed, we realized that the room we were in was not a changing room for Quinceaneras, it was a lobby going into an office. I am very disappointed because when they finally took our complaint they told us that’s all they had and if we didn’t like it, to not come back.

About your response: Hello: I would like to invite you to look at your camera system; if they have recorded the time I was rude and abusive to their staff. It's something I would like to see... The reason is that "I don't like to treat people the way I don't like to be treated". It is the first time that I visit this place and I do not feel that it is a place that I want to visit again. A gray-haired gentleman who was there...was talking in a very loud voice with a lady (and in a very bad way) and in front of all the people present there. (And there were quite a few people there.) There were more fifteen-year-olds and also visitors to the place, for me, it is quite disrespectful to have that scandal in front of so many people and like me, perhaps for many of those who were there, it was their first time.

Anyway, my purpose is not to have some kind of situation. This is just constructive criticism for a place with so much history.

It is true that they gave me the $100.00 discount and also that we had the quinceaneras very uncomfortable changing in that place because without knocking on the door people opened the doors and they were changing and they are girls, please!!!. I didn't know about the policy of the room and maybe that's why. I left so dissatisfied because if they don't offer rooms for this type of event, the place seems OVERPRICED to me.

The call, the call they tell me at no time does I have a record of it. However, it doesn't matter anymore...once is enough to live this kind of experience. Thanks for making my day a new worst experience. Surprise me to be...