American Airlines Admirals Club — Local services in Miami Springs

Welcome to American Airlines' attempt at sanctuary – where the privileged-but-not-quite-private-jet crowd comes to escape the terminal thunderdome. The Admirals Club at MIA's Terminal D serves up that distinct flavor of corporate hospitality: just premium enough to justify the membership fee, just disappointing enough to remind you you're still at an airport.

The space reads like a LinkedIn influencer's vision of luxury: curved ceilings with mood lighting that whispers "we're not Spirit Airlines," and power outlets that have become more precious than the complimentary guacamole (yes, there's actually a guacamole station – Miami's answer to airport anxiety).

The amenities list reads like a four-star hotel with a three-star execution: showers for the optimistic, a full-service bar for the realistic, and high-speed WiFi for the workaholic. The kids' area exists in that perfect sweet spot – close enough to keep an eye on your children, far enough to pretend they're someone else's problem. Sadly, no kidnappings reported.

Conference rooms offer the illusion of productivity, while the "quiet areas" provide a master class in passive-aggressive sighing at phone-talkers. The tarmac views serve as both entertainment and a reminder of where you'd rather be.

Peak hours transform the club into an upscale game of musical chairs, with travelers performing the familiar dance of pretending not to notice the single empty seat while balancing their laptop, green juice, and dignity. The D30 location, bigger than its D15 sibling and attached to a Flagship Lounge, feels like the popular kid's lunch table – more space, same existential dread.

Health-wise, it's the usual airport roulette: hand sanitizer stations meet questionable surface cleaning in a game of immunological chance. Service quality swings between "resort concierge" and "overwhelmed barista" depending on time, day, and planetary alignment.

For the long-layover crowd, it's an oasis of slightly-better-than-terminal-seating where you can shower, snack, and silently judge other travelers' choice of lounge attire. Just remember: like any exclusive club, its true value lies not in what it offers, but in what it helps you avoid – in this case, the general terminal's unique blend of chaos and $24 airport sandwiches.

Think of it as Miami's version of a corporate living room: somehow both trying too hard and not quite hard enough, but hey – at least...

My experience at the Admiral Club on Monday, March 31, 2014, at about 6:00pm was beyond compare, and made exceptional by two very special AA Admiral Club staff/team members.

On the date above I was traveling through MIAMI after disembarking flight # 1548 from Kingston, Jamaica. I was destined to board my connection at 7:50pm and leave Miami 8:20 to St. Louis where I now reside.

I had inadvertently left my Political Science book (Democracy Under Pressure) in the back pocket of the seat in front of me on my previously mentioned flight from Kingston. I realized this after spending over an hour in the VIP club and was about to walk downstairs to my gate.

It was now close to 6:40pm and I went up to the Club agent's counter and asked the first agent I saw to assist with my desperate situation was Tricia. She went right "on top" of my case and worked feverishly as she called the relevant departments in trying to locate my book. In a very short time, but not without perseverance, Tricia troubleshooted and identified the location of my lost book.

Tricia Bartley and Rusty Nelson then teamed up as Rusty walked to retrieve my book as they both allowed me to return to my meal in the Admiral Club.

They knew that I would have missed my connection if they had not done the service they did - going above and beyond their required duties to persevere until my book was located.

I would like to say thank you Tricia and Rusty - Thank you both for the exceptional, unique, and specialized service you offer on a daily basis on the job. The way you both went about serving me was not a pretense, coincidence, or inadvertent action, but the obvious fact was that you offer service with that specialized touch making mine and every other customer feel and know that they are special. Thank you both.

I do hope to see you again when I travel through Terminal...

I normally don't post reviews, but when something as minor as getting your hours of operations right, especially when we're paying an annual fee to use it, I just couldn't help it. Hopefully this will help others who are in the same situation or maybe the Admirals Club will see this and take quick action since this shouldn't be difficult to fix.

We arrived at the Admirals Club at D gate at 4:40 a.m. and found out it was closed. Before walking there I looked up the hours of operations online. I know you can't always assume Google is correct/accurate AND I would not even have gone up there had it not been for the very obvious sign we passed that specifically said "Admirals Club Open."

When we arrived at the club, the doors were locked so we waited with one of the workers who was already standing there until someone from the inside unlocked it. She quickly came, unlocked the door and basically slid the door open just enough to let the one worker in. Once the worker went in and the door locked behind her she turned around and said through the glass door that Admirals Club was closed and that they actually open at 5:30 a.m. So someone is wrong somewhere - Google or she just didn't feel like dealing with anything or anyone so early in the morning. Either way her attitude and the fact that she didn't tell us that while we were both standing their together waiting for the door to open was frustrating. I get it, it's 4:30 a.m. but if that's what you're advertising both online and through a huge sign then we have every right to be upset. Plus, why wait until you get through the door to tell us you're closed when we were standing right next to you waiting for YOU to be let in. Again, not cool when you're paying an annual fee - regardless of how...