I don't get to visit the movies often anymore.
My last trip was about two years ago in Dubai, where I visited their luxury theatre. It cost me an obscene amount of money (I think $200?) and it was only after leaving that I thought it might make a good blog post!
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos so that wasn't possible. However, on my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, I came across this really nice looking theatre at the mall and went to check it out.
They had a "luxury suite" option which of course I had to see for myself.
A very friendly attendant helped us out at the ticketing machines and the tickets were in my hand in a couple of minutes. You also need to order your food options (you get two per movie) so I ordered the honey chicken rice and the popcorn and desert.
The "suites" only come in pairs so there are no single tickets, you need to buy for two. Price was MYR 300 (about $75 USD) everything included.
Once you have your tickets you head downstairs to the restaurant to wait.
I guess if you wanted to have dinner beforehand or some cocktails, this is where you would do it.
There's a small lounge and bar as well to chill out until your movie starts.
Once it's time to head to the screens, an usher will walk you to the cinema and show you to your seat.
This was at the Aurum Theatre at TRX Mall, there are two! So each one will be slightly different.
First impression - the cinema is impressive.
It has an old school 60's vibe and is not crowded at all, in fact there's enough space that you won't even notice the other booths beside you during the film.
The screen is not the biggest, but the size you'd expect from a regular cinema.
The layout is modern and classy, you definitely have a "Ooh this is nice" feeling when you enter.
There's also so many features on the seats, the usher has to give you a introductory tour.
First, the seats are like recliner beds. They sit right up and lie almost flat using the controls on the side.
There's a phone charger which I should have tried for research purposes but I didn't (woops!).
There's a mini flashlight to help you find things during the movie, and also to presumably see your food (have you tried eating in the dark? Very hard!)
You get a big pillow, small pillow, a blanket (very warm) and a pair of slippers.
There's also a fridge with some free goodies beside you.
Mine had two Cokes, two waters, and some chocolate chip cookies.
Before the movie starts, you get served your food.
The meals are small lunchbox size, not enough to replace a decent dinner (at least not if you like to abuse calories like me) and the taste is so-so. Definitely not the flavour bomb I've been enjoying from Malaysian street food hawkers.
However, the popcorn was delicious! I ordered the sweet and salty mix, they got it just right.
The other cool thing (or maybe not?) was that there are no trailers!
Once the lights dimmed and the screen started rolling, the movie started straight away, right on time.
I'm guessing that's because it's a luxury cinema - I personally quite enjoy the trailers, but this also was fine by me.
Here's my honest opinion on it overall.
1. Yes it's expensive. $75 per pair is like 10x more than a regular movie ticket, which is maybe $4 per person in Malaysia. So by local standards it's super expensive. Back in New Zealand we pay something like $20 for a movie ticket, so that's like paying $200 which would be insane.
2. The cabins aren't just for show, they really are well designed and the chair and bedding is very comfortable. I could've easily slept there (I almost did).
3. It really does feel like a luxury experience. The free fridge is a nice touch, and you can order meals throughout the movie. All the extras and gadgets go a long way to elevating this above a regular movie experience. The cabins are well maintained and you can see the cinema has been designed intentionally. It's well put together.
4. I probably won't go again, but if I was movie lover I would probably visit quite regularly. It's designed for couples definitely, so I could see a movie fanatic husband-and-wife team coming here every month to see the latest blockbuster and enjoying it. If you're in KL and it's in your budget, definitely try it.
5. The only thing I could complain about is that when you're lying down, you can't actually see the screen because it's too low. So the beds allow you to lie almost flat, but you won't be able to watch the movie that way (the cabin in front will block you). So you need to be sitting around 45 degrees at least to see the whole screen. I was watching a Korean movie so I needed the subtitles, and even lying reasonably upright I couldn't see the bottom of the screen. The Dubai cinema I went to had the screen very high up, so you could literally lie like you're sleeping and still watch - a better design for sure. But in the end, it's still very comfortable sitting reclined and upright so I wasn't bothered.
Been to KL's luxury cinema? Let me know what you thought!
Interested? You can check out their options on the Aurum Theatre website, or on the GSC homepage.
