Luxury theaters offer recliners, fine dining -- for a price
You've been to the cheap theaters, sharing your film-going experience with sticky floors and stale popcorn.
You've been to the multiplexes, with gaggles of middle schoolers giggling through the show.
You're ready for some luxury - a hot film, a cold drink and maybe some pampering from waiters and waitresses bearing high-class snacks.
You've got it - for a price. With the recent opening of Gold Class Cinemas in South Barrington's new Arboretum shopping center, you have a choice of several local luxury theaters that will park your car, serve you food, watch your kids, and in the case of Gold Class, even offer you a snugly blanket to keep you warm during the show.
Gold Class upped the ante on ticket prices, charging $35 a seat, dinner not included.
So, what do you get for your money? We visited three luxury movie theaters to review the experience and give you the details.
Muvico Rosemont 18
9701 Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, (847) 447-1030, muvico.com
Tickets: $9.50 in the conventional theater, $17.50 in the VIP area
Parking: Valet parking included in VIP ticket price
The setting: Both a conventional and luxury theater, Muvico seats basic ticket holders on the ground floor while those who shelled out extra can look on from their significantly larger balcony seats, which are reserved for ages 21 and over. Chairs can be turned into love seats and space is assigned so you don't have to worry about getting there early to secure a preferred location.
The seats might be a little too comfortable - one guy behind us snored through most of a late-night showing and the balcony railing can actually get in the way of your viewing if you're short or leaning to one side. There also wasn't a garbage can or particularly good cleanup in the upper level, resulting in beer bottles and bags of popcorn left behind from a previous showing that marred the luxurious look.
A big plus for parents: There's a supervised playroom available for the kids ages 3 to 10 while you watch a movie.
Food and drink: Popcorn is included with your VIP tickets and Bogart's Bar & Grill, a full-service restaurant and bar, is located on the second floor of the theater. VIP guests are welcome to bring food or alcohol into their movie and you can also get bottles of wine or beer from the concession stand. However, expect to pay for the privilege. A typical cocktail will cost you $8. Our server offered us a bucket of beers, but when we asked for more details explained that there wasn't actually any discount for buying in bulk.
The dining room at Bogart's is dominated by the bar, with lots of small two-person tables scattered around with a nice view of the theater's high ceilings and chandeliers. If you want to do dinner and a movie, you might be better off eating out there as there are no tables, napkins or other accommodations for diners inside the theater, making menu items like buffalo wings and pot roast seem like recipes for disaster.
Hollywood Blvd.
1001 W. 75th St., Woodridge, (630) 427-1880, atriptothemovies.com
Tickets: $8; $6 kids, seniors and matinees
Parking: Plenty of free parking in the strip mall lot
The setting: Open since 2003, Hollywood Blvd. is as much a shrine to movie nostalgia as it is a theater. Each of the theaters has a different theme and color. One is decked out like Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, complete with red hanging paper lanterns and suspended Chinese dragons. Another theater is all black and decorated by hieroglyphics and statues of the Egyptian god of the dead. The crypt, as it is called, also has lobby walls covered with images of celebrity tombstones ranging from the Three Stooges to James Dean.
You'll also find a lobby with couches and photographs of Marilyn Monroe and another one set to open by Wednesday, Oct. 15, that features sepia-toned images from "The Wizard of Oz" and opens into an emerald theater lined with posters from the movie. A Casablanca-themed theater complete with Moroccan woodwork and 700 fiber optic stars is also expected to open by the end of the month.
The hallways are lined with black and white photos of movies and stars, some of which are autographed, and you should come early or stick around after your show to see the whole place as staff members were happy to give the tour. The theaters are set up with swivel desk-style seats in rows with a bar top table for eating on.
Food and drink: Viewers are encouraged to come early to place their dinner and drink orders before the movie starts. But even if you don't, servers are in and out throughout the film, walking down the aisles to refill drinks or take additional orders. The spot offers a great selection of Hollywood-themed cocktails and frozen drinks that were nicely mixed, along with beer by the bucket or pitcher. The classic American food with cute names like the Betty Boop Burger and Chevy Cheeseburger came out fast with crispy checker fries and offers solid quality for an affordable price.
If you really don't want to be disturbed during your movie, you might want to sit in the short rows on the sides of the theater. In the longer center rows, servers might momentarily block your view as they walk past you to take orders and deliver food for others.
Gold Class Cinemas
The Arboretum, 100 Higgins Road, South Barrington, (224) 293-1001, goldclasscinemas.com
Tickets: $35
Parking: Valet parking included with ticket
The setting: If you can afford it, Gold Class is the pinnacle of local luxury cinema. The first U.S. venture of the Australian-based company opened this month in South Barrington, but 50 more are planned for the next few years, including one in Bolingbrook in 2009. When you walk in, a concierge will give you your ticket and a menu and show you to one of two lounges, depending on which theater you'll be heading into. The lounges feature plush red and black chairs, lots of flowers and a fireplace so you can relax and sip a drink from the bar, which is impressively stocked with top-shelf liquor along with a huge variety of wines by the glass and the bottle priced from $8 to $20 or $31 to $295.
At show time, servers will show you in to your seats, which are reserved if you book online. Not that there's actually a bad spot in the 40-seat theaters, which feature reclining suede armchairs with little tables complete with glowing call buttons, in case you want to order something during the film. Each chair contains a compartment for your purse and shoes and you can get a fluffy blanket to keep warm while you watch.
Food and drink: If the ticket price wasn't enough to tell you this is a special occasion place, the food will. The entire gourmet menu was designed with ease of eating during a film in mind. Items like duck tacos ($15) and the Chinois chicken salad rolls ($14) are cut at angles to prevent sauce spillage and a trio of shrimp, lobster and tuna ($18) is served on spoons so you don't have to deal with cutting anything while keeping your eyes on the screen. Both dishes were excellent, with juicy salsa and a crispy shell on the tacos and crunchy greens and sweet sesame ginger dressing on the salad, although the tacos were still prone to some mess factor. Food is timed to come out during different parts of the show and even if the film's not great, the profiteroles ($9) are an excellent finish.
The huge aisles make it easy for servers to get in and out without disturbing viewers and it helps that the waitstaff wears black and seems to have been specially trained in crouching.