“You’ve got it spot on,” says Natasha Sawhney, marketing manager of the UAE’s prime cinema experience, CineStar Cinemas Gold Class, “it’s exactly like having a lazy boy but with the full cinematic experience.” Launched in Abu Dhabi in 2004 at the Marina Mall, Gold Class’ opulent services caught on fast with a UAE public whose hunger for something new and better has become its raison d’être. Within the next year Gold Class flung its doors open to luxury-seeking cinema-goers at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.
Each auditorium has an average capacity of 32 or 40 seats depending on the location of the cinema and seats are sectioned off into pairs to encourage couple viewing (only customers 18 years and above are allowed entry). The premium leather seats twice the size of their traditional brethrens is only part of the reason why Gold Class is proving to be so successful. There is enough legroom to warrant the age-old cliché that other cinema conglomerates have been rather spuriously promising, ‘Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.’
The other is the first-class confections, “All our confectionaries are made from fresh produce,” explains Sawhney referring to the menu which includes a fully-loaded Designer Hot Dog, Deluxe Nachos as well as the usual fare of popcorn and coke. “Each cinema has its own F&B division to ensure high quality service. The gelatine is also made in-house for our premium deserts,” she adds. Waiters are on-hand to attend to your every gourmet whim thanks to a newly installed buzzer system which may make way to an automated system sometime in the near future, according to Sawhney.
There is one other perk that makes this film-going experience worth 27 USD for a single ticket or 1,090 USD for a private showing – the pre-show VIP lounge. “People usually rush around for a small bite before the movie,” says Sawhney. “We bring the meal to them in the comfort of a lounge so that the luxury experience is a holistic one,” she concludes. Another cinematic adage applies to Gold Class, ‘they don’t make it like they used to,’ and in the case that may not be such a bad thing.
Contact
CineStar Cinemas
Dubai, UAE
HYPERLINK "http://www.cinestarcinemas.com" www.cinestarcinemas.com
