Recess Sports Lounge — Local services in Miami

TLDR: DO NOT COME HERE - HORRIBLE SERVICE, GREEDY, DISRESPECTFUL & IRRESPONSIBLE OWNER.

We purchased SRO (Standing room only) tickets for one of the Serie Caribe games and were denied entry, despite being there early and reaching out to make a reservation beforehand. We were told that the table reservations were almost full but that the rest were available on a first come, first serve basis.

When we tried to check in downstairs at the entry, the front door told us that unless we were going to purchase a table reservation for $500, we would have to enter through another point within the stadium. I was confused- this is a restaurant- why would I pay $500 for a table reservation when they told me it was first come, first serve? Furthermore, a minimum consumption, deposit or table reservation was not even explained to me when I had asked about this specifically - BEFORE purchasing the tickets.

But we did as told and went upstairs to find the other entrance at the top of the stairs next to the Budweiser lounge. There was a bouncer and several security guards who denied everyone with this type of ticket entry. Mind you, it was 8pm. The game did not start until 8:30. I am not sure why they were denying entry. I tried to ask several times, and was pushed away or ignored-I had looked over at the lounge from the other side of the stadium and it had empty chairs and tables. After waiting over 30min, missing the opening and first few innings, it seemed that we were neither being let in or attended to.

So I decided to cut my losses and reach out to guest services to see if they could help me to see the game and get, at the very minimum, what I paid for, which was an SRO ticket in the sports lounge. The gentleman at guest services was very kind and escorted me to speak with the owner/manager of the Recess Sports Lounge (which I found out is an independent business, not a direct subset of the stadium). Both gentlemen got into it and the representative for the Sports Lounge was incredibly rude and did not offer any solution to the problem. He claimed that he was at capacity and could not let anyone else in further (by decree of the fire marshal (even though lounge was empty (I saw it with my own eyes, and it had been empty since our 8pm arrival) and expressed blatant favoritism towards table reservations (or the potential thereof) over paid ticket holders. His claims were downright rude, exuding insatiable greed and a lack of empathy for anyone who wasn't willing to pay $500 for entry. Moreover, his statements were false and inaccurate. While I was dealing with guest services, some members of my party had already gone downstairs, and their tickets were not even checked!

If you are going to claim fire hazard because of occupancy, then you need to be extremely diligent by only letting in people that are paid entry (ticket holders or reservation holders). That means verifying that everyone has a ticket or is part of a paying table/group. If you are letting people in willy-nilly, then there is no order, and no way to guarantee service to paid ticket holders. Alternatively, it means that you OVERSOLD tickets- be them SRO and/or table service. You need to learn to count and account for your capacity, this includes table service & ticket holders alike, one is not greater than other. Your lack of responsibility does not absolve you from providing what people paid for IN ADVANCE, nor does it allow you to deny others entry- because though occupancy is a life safety hazard, at the end of the day this is the business owners responsibility, not the attendees. He was penalizing paid ticket holders for his own miscalculation.

The whole ordeal took over an hour of my time & made me miss part of the game. The disregard for fairness and basic customer service is disgraceful. I am saddened to see what this lounge has become (we would frequent the former Clevelander) and will never be coming back.

Loan Depot Park needs to get a grip on such irresponsible management. Save your money and aggravation by avoiding this establishment...

Service is terrible. Bought a table and after our bottle got dropped off we got completely abandoned. We ordered a burger and soda….. the Condiments came after food was FINISHED.

I went up to the server while she was at the bar and asked 3 times for ketchup. I had to go up to the service bar and get my own soda (that should’ve been dropped off before the food came), limes, and beers. Asked the server for more ice 5 times!!!!! She never brought it…. After we timed her it was THIRTY MINUTES.

I had to go up to the service bar AGAIN and get my own shots, ice bucket, mixer for our bottle, and beer. She kept saying they were backed up but she was serving every one else around us and every employee was busy taking shots at the bar….. managers and employees couldn’t care less about the guests they put auto gratuity on.

I really wanted to give her (Ale) the benefit of the doubt because it was busy. But 20% in auto gratuity and 10% in stadium fee to SERVE MYSELF is RIDICULOUS.

THEN when I asked to speak to the manager, neither of them could care less. I spoke to TWO managers and they did not care about the TERRIBLE service after I just spent $600. Manager also said they couldn’t give us our OWN receipt for “privacy of credit card numbers” BUT IT WAS MY CREDIT CARD THAT PAYED! Huge scam.

Managers and servers need to be trained in hospitality and guest experience . Worst experience, 10/10 do...

Went to Marlins game and upgraded our tickets to include brunch with unlimited Mimosa. Excellent choice! Our server Deija and the rest of staff five stars,. Food same....I got scrambled eggs, bacon, potato wedges, with pancakes on side. Loved every bite. My wife got the mini empanadas and a hamburger. Them she had some of our son's chicken and waffles.,...Winner! Almost too much food which is a nice problem: )

Will definitely be back.... Let's...