Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Reviews Summary

Venue Design & Architecture

Pros:

• "The Kimmel center is fantastic and huge!"
• "A beautiful and amazing design for a concert hall. It’s shaped like a cello!"
• "The Rafael Viñoly architecture on display is undeniably world-class and gives great thought to how people move through space."
• "This building is absolutely beautiful."
• "Beautiful modern architecture of Kimmel Center is impressive."
• "One of the most beautiful modern concert halls in the world."
• "What a glorious building! The outer building is reminiscent of a nineteenth century glass palace."

Cons:

• "Accessibility could be improved (like the escalators that were supposed to happen in the Kimmel Center?)."
• "The rooftop ballroom was gorgeous however the staff was very distant and not very friendly."
• "The seats are not comfortable and there are too many seats that have partial stage obstruction."
• "Our $100 unobstructed view consists of a pole on the right side of the stage and we are so far to the side we cannot see the left 1/3rd of the stage."
• "Look, the venue is nice and all but the seats are tiny and small and need updating."
• "NO AC AT ALL!! People who work here should try viewing a show from these seats. They are overall terrible."
• "Just felt like the seating crew treated me like bad karma ... Nose up ... I could not walk toward a certain direction I felt belittled."

Staff & Customer Service

Pros:

• "The staff is very friendly and helpful and the restrooms are always clean."
• "The staff are always helpful and friendly."
• "The ushers are really friendly and informative."
• "Staff extremely helpful, sympathetic and supportive."
• "Each staff member I interacted with was so helpful and kind."
• "Super friendly staff, everyone was so nice and wanted to help."
• "Ushers were so well informed and courteous to the attendees needs and questions."

Cons:

• "Never have I ever been so turned off by a customer service experience in my life."
• "E-mails are not returned."
• "Who ever had the idea of selling bags of chips as snacks is a complete moron and needs fired."
• "The staff on the other hand, didn't greet, didn't communicate."
• "I called several times to make a complaint and kept getting messages that voicemails were full."
• "The man at the box office window was not empathetic, and could have spoken to us about it more kindly."
• "An associate by the name of Jaclyn... was extremely rude, disrespectful and aggressive."

Acoustics & Performance Experience

Pros:

• "The attention acoustic detail is amazing."
• "Listening to the angelic voices of the Philadelphia Boys Choir reminded me that the sound quality at the Kimmel is world class."
• "Verizon Hall, the main hall at the Kimmel, has probably the best acoustics of any venue I've ever visited."
• "Beautiful building with awesome acoustics."
• "The acoustics in the Verizon Hall are awe-inspiring."
• "The sound was beautiful. I was surrounded by it."
• "The sound quality at the Kimmel is world class."

Cons:

• "Verizon hall while beautiful is an awful place to attend any concert or show in the summer. The air conditioning blasts so much from each individual seat and makes it feel like an actual freezer inside."
• "The sound was ridiculously inaudible at times and we may as well have sat outside the theater."
• "Good acoustics but it was hard to understand what the conductor was saying."
• "Acoustically, perelman theater is an 8 out of 10, and any seating Verizon Hall is around the 7, for some reason everything just sounds quiet from that stage."
• "A loud rolling noise periodically drowned out the music."
• "Unless I wear several pairs of pants, five sweaters, and ten blankets I will not be attending a show at Verizon hall."
• "Be careful if you go there on really rainy days. Not always, but sometimes the roof leaks, even those made of glass."

Facilities & Amenities

Pros:

• "The Kimmel Center is a masterpiece of design and functionality."
• "A very cool, modern building that houses two performance halls, a huge atrium, a gift shop, and some other amenities."
• "The place is always clean and always has events going on."
• "The lobby is always open with fun events occasionally, especially for kids, and they offer tours!"
• "Roomy cafe with tables."
• "Bathroom facilities are clean and line at the box office moved very quickly."
• "Bathrooms are clean and while the food might be pricey, it's very tasty."

Cons:

• "It would be great if its cafes open whether or not there are events and concert."
• "One downside is there is no offering of more child friendly (healthier version) of foods."
• "Never enough bathrooms (anywhere)."
• "The area for the cocktail hour had wobbly tables and candle wax got spilled all over my husband's suit."
• "The lines during intermission can be long."
• "The bathroom facilities are inadequate."
• "They don't sell food at the place only drinks."

Accessibility & Location

Pros:

• "Parking is easily available."
• "It looked like lots of people were using ride services, although subway and buses are right out front."
• "Was able to get parking a block away."
• "We walked from our hotel about a 1/2 mile away and this neighborhood is a lovely, entertaining walk."
• "Located in the heart of Center City, the venue is walkable from several of the downtown hotels."
• "Very nice theater. We arrived in the morning and we were able to park in the basement."
• "You can find inexpensive tickets online to many of their shows."

Cons:

• "Walking with large crowds who disperse from the show makes me feel safer rather than walking to this place but that’s par for the course I guess."
• "Parking is close but not close enough to feel safe."
• "It's very difficult to leave through the Spruce Street exit after a show."
• "Parking can be limited if several large shows are going on at the same time."
• "There is limited and expensive parking."
• "I probably wouldn't drive from Maryland to the Kimmel Center again for a play."
• "Will never go to The Academy of Music again."