The Ancient Spanish Monastery

Very beautiful gardens and lovely church! The history behind this is really interesting.

I had my wedding reception at the Monastery last year and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The staff was very helpful and the venue itself was gorgeous. I recommend booking this venue for special occasions!

This place definitely doesn’t feel like Miami. Went here for a baptism after party, and was blown away by the entrance. Sooo much wildlife and a beautiful scenery. Almost makes you feel like you are in a movie. Smells like jasmine all over the place, which is a huge plus! You can tell this place has been around for long, due to the rocks and overall ambience, but nonetheless a beautiful place and very spacious. Reminds me of St. Augustine, and in my opinion, a good option for a special occasion celebration.

Let me tell you I was here five years ago and the place is wonderful and took oictures free of charge. went back today because I had a friend who wanted to take just some pictures not wedding mind you but anyways they wanted to charge 200 dollars just for pictures. really you are that greedy I can see paying something but 200 please. anyways I’ll never be going there again because greed has taken over this place… But it was or still is a beautiful place. glad I got pictures from it five years ago before inflation.

Tania was very unprofessional, non attentive and rude. It is a beautiful venue but the service that we received was a let down.

The Ancient Spanish Monastery is not just breathtaking in its architecture, but once you find out the history behind it, it is even more amazing, and not just that, but finding it in a place like North Miami Beach? Even more astounding, considering you might expect to find this in a city drenched in ancient history, like Saint Augustine, not a relatively new city like Miami!
What makes this place so unique is the fact that this cloister was built in the 12^th century in Spain and then dismantled in the 20^th century and shipped in pieces to New York, before arriving here to be reassembled. The monastery was purchased by William Randolph Hearst and the pieces were placed in numbered boxes before shipping them to the United States. The crates then underwent a quarantine due to hoof and mouth disease, and this created some chaos as the pieces were not all put back in order in their numbered boxes. Originally, the monastery was meant to be placed in California (in San Simeon, to be exact), but financial difficulty struck Mr. Hearst, and so the crates containing the pieces of the monastery sat in a New York warehouse for 26 years until Raymond Moss and William Edgemon purchased it and had it assembled in Miami on the site of a plant nursery. Reassembling the ancient monastic buildings took 19 months and cost almost 1.5 million dollars. Some of the original stones remained unused in the process. Time magazine declared it the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzle. It is an impressive feat, especially when you consider the fact some stones were unused, and yet you wonder where these stones could have possibly gone after walking through the place.
The monastery was founded by Alfonso VII of Castile and León and built in the traditional style of Cistercian Romanesque architecture in Spain. There are many tributes to Alfonso VII and Alfonso VIII throughout the monastery. Some parts of the monastery were also rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 1641. Although the cloister, refectory and chapter house are here, the church and other parts of the compound remain in Spain, and are privately owned. In addition to the cloisters are the manicured gardens and the gift shop, which contains a small museum. In the museum are such interesting pieces as a knight’s armor from the 1600s, an impressive hearse, a family confessional, and a lovely hand-​carved walnut Pope’s cabinet. The Ancient Spanish Monastery is a popular wedding, photo shoot, and movie filming destination and has an active Episcopal congregation on site, which gathers for Sunday Mass in the chapel.
If the ticket price of $ 10 too steep for you, as I saw Mary G. claimed, then you can go on certain Saturdays for free, as part of the Smithsonian Museum’s Museum Day Live. If you like music, they sometimes have a concert series (check their site if you’re interested), and they’re always looking for volunteers to assist with the gardening duties, if you’d like to come on out.
The Ancient Spanish Monastery is a great place to reflect and meditate, walk, or sit and take in the beauty in quiet silence, while feeling as if you momentarily escaped Miami and briefly went to Spain, but without breaking the bank on the cost of plane tickets.

I wish I could give this place a better rating but it was lacking a lot. Some of the statues and decorations were badly placed or not that great quality. Like the framed descriptions shouldn’t have been placed in the great halls or by some of the statues because it takes away from the setting and pictures. The garden needs a gardener for upkeep, even the grass has a lot of weeds.
The little gift shop is the museum! Everything else is just a cathedral where they hold real services and people walk right in! Some people go everyday just to play with the stray cats or feed them.
I would have given it better rating but I felt very ripped off as you can see in the photographs. They sell you very expensive tickets even if they are having an event that same day. We were «in the way» of the workers setting everything up on the grounds and cathedral for a wedding. I went with a party of 4, so it was extra expensive. They have no problem charging you for the tickets but they have a problem with you getting in the way of the workers setting up for an event.
The tour is a self guided tour inside a tiny room in the front where you read some placks on the wall and walk around. People go into the cathedral for free all the time because it really is a church with service and everything. I wish I had known that. So the real museum part is only the very little room that has pictures, some old items or replicas, and the placks with info on them.
It is very beautiful and I do recommend it just be wary of the events and of the prices for the little tiny museum giftshop room.

It is exactly as it describes! We went on a sunny day and got to see a tranquil and quiet monastery undisturbed by the rukus going on outside of the gates. The staffs were nice and understanding and was okay with us staying a bit late since we were tourists staying in Miami for only 2 days.
The architecture were one of a kind that is not seen in urban areas anymore. It seemed to be well preserved and well kept. We saw someone reviewed a wedding precession and immediately understood its charm on the locals.
The artifacts that were present in the galleries were genuine my boyfriend had a great time revisiting his heritage! Definitely a must see if anyone is around the area. Fee is discounted if you’re a student too so bring your ID!

While researching places online I came across this beautiful place. I decided to book this place for our engagement pictures. You have to call and reserve your date. My photographer suggested that I book for the last 3 hour they are open which was 1−4pm. It was a great idea. When we arrived we were basically the only 4 there. Which made it very comfortable for my fiancé and I to have our pictures taken.
When we arrived we were immediately greeted. There is a little store at the entrance where you can buy souvenirs. There is a fee to pay in order to have professional pictures taken here. It is totally worth it but might be too pricey for some.
Every section of this monastery was amazing. I loved the gardens. Everything was perfect.
The architecture was amazing as well. My favorite was the chapel. Very cozy and beautiful. It’s perfect for small intimate weddings. We had really enjoyed roaming around. Our pictures came out beautiful I am very happy with the outcome.
If you are looking for a unique beautiful place for pictures or weddings definitely check this place out.

I had my wedding here, both the ceremony and the reception. For the splendour of this place, it is the ultimate bargain! Carolina and Tania were a pleasure to work with and I could not ask for a better location for my wedding!

Seriously, call them before you come. Call them back when they don’t pick up. Leave voicemails. Consider sky-​writing. Whatever it takes.
I myself gave up after a few business-​hour calls that went unanswered. Do you see where this is going? Yep — I eventually thought, it’s the Friday after Christmas at 10am, I should probably be okay. I got there and found it wasn’t, nor would it be okay until Monday, when I would no longer be in town (well, there could be Sunday services, but I had a conflict). I just looked from the beyond the gate and briefly cursed the institution of marriage, or at least until I remembered that I was married myself.
Considering this was truly about the only attraction in Miami that looked to be my style, I was pretty crushed but oh well. It could have been worse — imagine if I’d just driven to this place’s original site in Spain to get a good look.

Beautiful location for pictures. Although its kinda small inside in the regards that photographers have to be careful not to include other people in the background of the images, still stunning. The option for outdoor or under shade inside images are possible is cool. It is very hot though unless of course it’s «winter» the changing room has air conditioning which is great, around $ 150 for wedding photos there is not bad however you do have a time slot unlike vizcaya.
Great place overall and very pretty! Nice to enjoy an afternoon there admiring the design and history.

What a gorgeous venue for a wedding!!!
The grounds are beautiful and almost hauntingly tranquil, and the garden for cocktails was a really nice setting to enjoy guests’ company. The monastery itself is open air and has plenty of cool little alcoves and statues that bring a special ambiance. Just be sure to book the A/​C units for the event… it would’ve been a killer if they hadn’t been available. The staff was fantastic and the event went off perfectly!

Imagine a big, beautiful church.
The end.
You take a nice walk and see a big church. There’s a bit of interesting history but not much to the place. It’s a little pricey unless you are a senior or a student (luckily we all were).

Our pal was in from out-​of-​town and we know he’s into history. So we figured hell, there’s a frickin’ Ancient Spanish Monastery up in North Miami – let’s take him up there.
But really, it’s more like an (insert banjo here) Ain-​chent Spain-​ish Moan-​a-​stairy.
Oops – honestly – HONESTLY! – we didn’t get stopped to pay the $ 14 fee to enter, but if we had paid and gone in and saw what we saw? I would have been bitter. It’s a small garden – admittedly, beautiful, but you can see one side to the other. And the Monastery? It’s just the cloisters and one chapel, read: a courtyard, and a handful of rooms.
Yes, it was beautiful, but we drove almost an hour. Are you getting married? Do you need a beautiful event space? By all means, consider this place further.
Otherwise?
Dueling banjos.

Very pretty and worth a visit. Small gardens and gift shop, with a active church in the monastery building itself. Beautiful statues and architecture. Audio tour if interested. Affordable entrance fee.

OVER A THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY ! You don’t need a passport to go to Spain its here in North Miami Beach. I can not believe this is a treasure that the Spanish lost and we got. It’s like walking through the pages of a history book. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. At the visitors center we were met by the priest who run the place and he gave us a small pre tour about the history and where this great treasure comes from which in in Segovia, Spain where we will be going next month. If you are in the area it should be at the top of your list. Parking is free and plentiful, and there beautiful garden to just relax and watch the world go by. The gift shop has cold drinks at very fair prices on a hot day too along with key chains and postcards.

We stopped in here on the promise of seeing «the oldest building in the Western Hemisphere” – that’s more than a little intriguing!
After calling to check the hours that day (which is always encouraged), we drove over on a Sunday morning, expecting to spend a good two hours or so exploring. Turns out there’s not really much to explore. The garden (which separates the parking lot from the main building) is pretty, but didn’t pack a quarter of the punch of, say, Vizcaya’s gardens!
Inside the monastery building, the only things to see are the cloisters (which are lovely) and the chapel (which may be closed for services, even when the monastery is technically open to visitors). This means you can visit, at most, two rooms. A thorough visit won’t cost you more than 15 minutes per room, and another 15 for the gardens. So, all in all, the «Ancient Spanish Monastery» was a pretty cheap date.
But it’s something to cross off the list.
NOTE: Although the monastery was technically open for touring when we arrived, there was a band of fiery Latinas getting ready for what looked like a wedding reception or a quinceañera. We seemed to be in the way of their decorations, and they were in the way of our photos. Que será será.. ..

This is one of the most peaceful interesting places to visit in all of South Florida and few seem to know about it or visit it.
I see that we have duplicate listings so, basically this is a duplication of my review for the same which is listed:
I love to tell my visiting friends that I am taking them to a Monastery that was built between the years 1133 and 1144. It takes them a moment, but then they all say that can’t be because Columbus never even got here until 1492 at which point, being the flagrant deceitful lush that I am, I love to get them to put a wager on it. Its earned me many a free drink.
Yes, as far as I know, it’s the oldest church and may well be the oldest structure in America. And, to be located on West Dixie Highway!?! Like who would have thunk!!!

I was married in November 2005 out in the gardens, and held my reception within the cloisters and the courtyard. My wedding had over 300 guests, and there was plenty of space for everyone!
My guests loved the unique location, and my photographs came out gorgeous. As far as locations are concerned I spent about 800 $ to rent the space for 5 hours, and also rented my chairs and tables from the monastery directly for an additional fee (it was the most cost effective thing to do). However, their chairs are the plastic folding kind, so you will have to rent linens to cover them. This place is great for extravagant wedding budgets, or a modest one… and despite the category you are in people will swear you spent a fortune!
**Also, if you are holding your wedding ceremony outdoors and it begins to rain on the day of the ceremony they will prepare the chapel for your ceremony at no additional cost!
**Also, I had about 20 kids attending my wedding, and there is a playground behind the courtyard where the kids enjoyed playing!
**Also, the staff is very nice, and is willing to assist you throughout the event and your rehearsal. They also have a list of preferred wedding service companies (i.e. DJs, caterers, pastors, rabbis, etc.), but you are NOT required to use those listed.
**Do not choose Suzy Q productions for your music services (they were terrible and expensive, and didn’t even have my music on the day of the wedding, as the original DJ was a no-​show!!)!
**On a random side-​note this location was the site of the insane asylum in Ace Ventura Pet Detective… weird huh?