Off to the pictures! (Odeon Cinema (Hatfield))

Member Name: chugglebunny

Product:	Odeon Cinema (Hatfield)
Date:	06/11/08 (214 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Large, good quality, premier seats!

Disadvantages: Higher Prices!

As I have said in many of my review previously, I am a big film fan. My other half and I have been blissfully enjoying regular trips to the cinema now for many years. Sometimes we'll go 2 or 3 times a week if there are enough films out that we would like to see etc. We usually average once a week.

As a big film fan, the cinema we choose to go to is quite important to me, very sad I know!

I will be reviewing the Odeon in Hatfield.

Location and Parking
--------------------------

This 9 screen multiplex cinema is located in the Galleria shopping centre in Hatfield just off the A1M in Hertfordshire.

The entrance to the cinema is clearly posted in the Galleria and you can't really miss it, if you come in from the rear car park, as it's the first thing you'll walk through.

Being in the Galleria it has ample parking facilities including a multi storey car park as well as the shopping centre outside car parks.

Prices and Booking
------------------------

According to the Odeon website, the prices at Hatfield Odeon are as follows:

Adult (All day Sat/Sun, after 2pm Mon-Fri & Bank Hols): £7.30
Adult (Before 2pm Mon-Fri): £6.30
Under 15 (At all times): £5.30
Senior (At all times): £5.30
Student (At all times): £5.50
Adult Premier (All day Sat/Sun, after 2pm Mon-Fri & Bank Hols): £8.30
Adult Premier (Before 2pm Mon-Fri): £7.30
Under 15 Premier (At all times): £6.30
Senior Premier (At all times): £6.30
Student Premier (At all times): £6.50

All tickets are actually 20p more expensive now and have been for a good few months so the website hasn't been updated. I will explain what Premier Seating is a bit later on.

When purchasing your ticket, you will be shown the seating in the screen you will be going to, and can choose where you would like to sit. It is allocated seating, but you do get to choose spot on where you would like, providing it isn't already taken.

2 seats front and centre of premier section for me please!

Layout
--------

Like most cinemas you are first greeted with the booking booth, there is plenty of space for queuing as well as a separate area for collecting pre-booked tickets from machines. There are large screen to display times and screens for all showings, and if they are fully booked or not.

You will have to give your tickets over to be checked before you can enter the foyer area.

The foyer is large and has great displays of posters and cut outs for upcoming as well as pre released films. My favourite currently being a large "Twilight" display, absolutely brilliant!

As I mentioned, there are 9 screens in total. These are divided down 2 corridors, marked 1-5 and 6-9 which stem off from the centre of the foyer where the main refreshment stand is located. This main area is also where the toilets are located.

The layout of the actual screens is pretty cinema standard as I'm sure you can imagine; rows of seating facing a large screen, with aisles for access. The seats are numbered clearly as are the rows. Depending on which screen you are in, there will be differing numbers of rows etc, as some are substantially larger than others.

A new addition added to this Odeon about 2 years ago, was the introduction of "premier seats". These are larger seats that are made of a soft material, which recline slightly. They are at the back of all the screens and usually consist of 4-10 rows (depending on screen size). They provide more leg room; I believe they took out 2 rows of standard seating to replace with each single premier row. My favourite feature of these chairs, is not only the removable arm rests, but the fact they are aligned off centre from the standard seating, this meaning that you will not have anyone sitting directly in front of you, and no longer will poor 5'2 regular cinema goers have to put up with silly tall people blocking partial or complete view of the screen...No personal resentment there at all! However, they do cost the extra £1 per ticket, as a regular, my bum spends a lot of time in these seats; it likes to be comfortable so I feel it's worth it.

Viewing Experience
-------------------------

All 9 screens at this Odeon are digital and as such produce a good sharp visual as well as Dolby digital surround sound. I won't ramble on about each screens specification, but they are all displayed on the Odeon website.

A few things that I have found that interrupt or ruin the experience are the heating or air-conditioning. There have been a few times when in the middle of winter in an empty screen the air conditioning has been on, to the point it has made me very uncomfortably cold. I also recall watching Pirates of the Caribbean when it was sold out; full of bodies and the heating was too high, nearly half the cinema left to complain. But this has only happened 2 or 3 times, and considering the amount we go, it doesn't seem to be a major problem.

Refreshments and Facilities
---------------------------------

As I mentioned, there are toilets located in the foyer, these are always clean, although can get a bit busy during times when big films are realised, when everyone leaves the screen at the same time. There are male and female toilets both have disabled cubicles. No child changing facilities are available.

The main refreshment counter in the foyer serves all the usual bits, popcorn, drinks, sweets, hotdogs and nachos. The prices for these are quite steep, but believe that is a standard for most UK cinemas.

There is a pick n mix counter also located in the foyer next to a Ben and Jerry's ice cream counter, which is one of my favourite places to visit. They also sell drinks here, so if the queue for the main counter is long and the only thing you would like is a drink, it's worth popping over to the always quieter ice cream counter.

Conclusion
--------------

To summarise, the cinema is well laid out, with friendly staff and good quality films, they have everything you would expect at a decent cinema. The prices are slightly high to reflect this, but being my local and having the premier seats on offer. I feel it's worth it for a quality I have come to expect from them.

Thanks for reading :)

Summary: My local cinema!