I took the wife to see Terminator Salvation last week. Having a hard week we thought we”d catch the 5PM Friday screening and treat ourselves to Gold Class. $30 each.
We are regular(ish) visitors to La Premiere at Sylvia Park in Mt Wellington. $60 gets you two seats (you can no longer buy individual seats), a house wine or beer each and access to the La Premiere ”Lounge” before your movie starts. You are able to order food and drinks to come in during the movie or bring your own in. The La Premiere seats are located in the main cinemas at the rear, so you get the big screen but you are above the rest of the cinema. Sylvia park also has free parking.
La Premiere – detail
- Seats are arranged in pods of two and are leather, motorized recliners. There is an arm rest in the middle which can be slid up so you can have a big couch. Beside each chair is a small table with a lamp for your drinks/meals.
- House wines are decent and house beers good (Steinlager Pure last visit).
- The Lounge is large and on a separate level to the rest of the cinema complex. There is a nice bar and plenty of comfy seating and tables. It even has a nice view over the shopping centre.
- Our usual plan involves getting burger fuel before the movie and taking it in to much during.
- Sylvia park has great screens. You get the big screen experience and you”re reasonably private in your pod.
- Free parking!
Lets compare to Village Gold Class at Queen Street.
$60 gets you two tickets (you can buy individual tickets.). There is no equivalent to the lounge. You can order food or drink but not bring in your own (unless purchased at Village). You are in a small cinema with approximately 30 seats. You have to find parking somewhere nearby (and there ain”t no free parking in Auckland).
Gold Class – detail
- Seats are upholstered,motorized arranged in twos. In between each seat there is a big wooden table. This is of the lift up and fold out variety (like a plane). If you are not careful it would be easy to mash your finger. There is no way to remove this or join seats.
- No free drinks.
- No lounge.
- You can order food, but not bring in takeaways.
- Small screen.
- Pay for parking.
Not really much of a comparison. The one big advantage Gold Class has is it’’s central city location but to be honest I will be sticking to La Premiere in the future. If you don”t want to spend $30 a pop on La Premiere, Sylvia Park also has what the call Director’’s Lounge, which is in my mind as good as Gold Class and from memory about $15-$18 a ticket. You get leather seats, smaller cinema and a bar beforehand.
In short, Village Gold Class bad, Sylvia Park La Premiere awesome. Terminator:Salvation was also quite good.
A final recommendation, if you do go to La Premiere, take a blanket. Makes for a much cosier viewing experience (unless you are going with a mate, as that would be a tad odd).
La Premiere bookings: http://www.hoyts.co.nz
Gold Class: http://www.village.co.nz