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1. Our commitment
The Beacon has welcomed guests to Ocean Drive since 1936, and we want every one of them to be able to plan a stay, book a room, and enjoy the hotel. We are working to make both the building and this website usable by as many people as possible, including guests who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, screen magnification, or mobility aids.
If something here does not work for you, we would rather hear about it than have you give up. Call (305) 763 8700 and a person will help you directly. The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day.
2. Accessibility at the hotel
The Beacon is a 1936 Art Deco building that has been renovated for today’s guests. Some features of a historic property are fixed, so it matters that you know what to expect before you arrive.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Entrance | Wheelchair-accessible entrance from Ocean Drive. If you would like a member of staff to meet you at the door, call ahead with your arrival time. |
| Elevator | An elevator serves every guest floor, including the floors with our accessible rooms. |
| Reception desk | Staff will come around the desk to check you in at seated height on request. |
| Parking | The hotel has no on-site garage. Valet parking is available for a nightly fee, and accessible municipal parking spaces are nearby on Collins Avenue and the surrounding streets. |
| Accessible restroom | An accessible restroom is available for guests. |
| Courtyard and lounge | The lobby, lounge, and garden courtyard are on the ground floor. Staff can help with any doors or furniture that are in the way. |
| Service animals | Service animals are welcome throughout the hotel, at no charge. |
| Beach access | The beach is directly across Ocean Drive at a signalised crossing. Miami Beach Ocean Rescue provides free beach wheelchairs from its lifeguard stations on request. |
| Visual and hearing | Televisions offer closed captioning. Visual fire alarm and doorbell kits are available for your room on request; please ask when you book so they are ready when you arrive. |
3. Accessible rooms
Two of our six room types are designed for accessibility, in line with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design:
- Accessible King: one king bed, sleeps 2, with step-free access, wider doorways, clear turning space beside the bed, and an adapted bathroom with grab bars.
- Accessible Double: two double beds, sleeps 4, with wider doorways, clear floor space between the beds, a roll-in shower with a fold-down seat and grab bars on two walls, grab bars beside the toilet, and a roll-under basin.
Both rooms have the same amenities as every other room at the Beacon, including an in-room safe, Nespresso machine, and beach chairs and towels.
Accessible rooms are limited. When you book one online, it is held for you as that room type, not swapped at check-in. If you need a particular measurement or feature confirmed before you book, call us and we will check the actual room.
4. This website
We aim to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA. That is our target and the standard we build and test against.
Built into the site:
- Semantic page structure with landmarks, so screen readers can jump between header, navigation, main content, and footer.
- A “skip to content” link as the first item on every page.
- Descriptive alternative text on every photograph.
- Menus, buttons, forms, and image galleries that work with a keyboard alone, with a visible focus outline.
- The photo viewer closes with Esc and moves between images with the arrow keys.
- Form fields with visible labels, and error messages announced to screen readers.
- Animation is reduced automatically if your device is set to prefer reduced motion.
- Text that reflows without horizontal scrolling down to a 320-pixel-wide screen.
- Colour combinations chosen for contrast against their backgrounds.
The accessibility widget
This site carries a UserWay accessibility widget, the icon on the left of your screen. It lets you adjust contrast, text size, spacing, and cursor, and it can read the page aloud.
We want to be straight with you about what it is: an assistive layer on top of the site, not a substitute for the site being built properly underneath. It is not a replacement for your own screen reader or browser settings if you already have tools that work for you. The fixes that matter are the ones in the list above, and we are continuing to make them.
5. Known limitations
We would rather name these than let you discover them:
- The booking window is not ours. Reservations are taken through third-party systems (Selfbook and Sabre SynXis). We do not control their code and cannot guarantee their accessibility. If the booking window is a barrier, please book by phone (see below).
- The embedded map is provided by Google and inherits whatever accessibility Google provides. Our full address is given as text next to every map, so you never need the map to find us: we are on Ocean Drive between 7th and 8th Streets, on the beach side.
- Older photographs carried over from the previous website may have shorter alternative text than we would write today. We are working through them.
- A historic building. Some corridors and bathrooms outside the accessible rooms are narrower than modern buildings. If you use a wheelchair or scooter, book an accessible room type.
6. Booking with assistance
You never have to use the website to stay with us. Call (305) 763 8700 and our team will take your reservation, confirm which accessible features a room has, note any requirements for your arrival, and send written confirmation by email.
Rates booked by phone are the same as the direct rates on this website. You are not charged extra for booking with a person.
7. Tell us about a problem
If you meet a barrier on this site or at the hotel, tell us what happened, what page or place it was, and what you were trying to do. You can also use the contact form and choose “Accessibility request”. We will reply and tell you what we are doing about it.
Beacon South Beach
720 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 763 8700
[email protected]
We aim to respond within 2 business days. Accessibility feedback is handled by our Front Office Manager, who can arrange any adjustments you need for your stay.