ArcLight Cinemas - Pasadena

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

To me, Arclight Cinemas have always seemed to set the top standards for an out of home entertainment experience. Ive always been thoroughly impressed with the service, food, drinks, and (most importantly) film presentation of the Hollywood location, particularly in their dome auditorium. With that in mind, Im sad to say that Arclight Cinemas Pasadena falls leaps and bounds short of the success that is Arclight, and more over, threatens to tarnish the theatre chains reputation. Fellow Pasadena residents will know that the location is superb, in Paseo Colorado, right at the center of Old Town. Replacing the sub par Pacific Theatre location, it might look better, but it sure feels the same. The theatre itself looks magnificent, with classic posters, a tempting bar/cafe, authentic movie props and costumes. Its all legit, just like the Arclight Hollywood. The sound systems superb, screens are all digital now which is great. The 3D system is not state of the art in the least, choosing not to employ such commercially standard systems like Real-D or IMAX 3D, they employ another system which produces uncomfortable green-tinted glasses that only seem to work if youre watching the screen at just the right angle. A small shortfall anywhere else, but with Arclights standards and their inflated ticket prices, this is unnacceptable. For $18.00 a pop when you could see the same movie at an AMC for as low as $9.00, I expect the most state of the art system available to the the movie going industry. All that aside, theres one kicker that inspired me to write such a sour and critical review, and folks, its the most important factor in running any kind of business: Customer Service. Arclight Cinemas Pasadena has THE worst customer service of any theatre Ive attending in my recent past. As a past employee to a major movie theatre chain for two years, I can write six pages+ describing my bad experiences with customer service at this location since it opened a block from my home. But I wouldnt waste your time, I probably have already. But let me just tell you this, the service is slow, with incompetent cashiers almost always working at the box office. A crew that seems for the most part aloof, completely unaware of rushes and crowds - Movie hoppers, come quick, cause you can get away with it here! - Did I mention slow? Sloppy? It always seems like its everyones first day. Most importantly though, the crew is either completely uninterested in their jobs, or just plain rude. This kind of theatre management is UNACCEPTABLE, and its extremely unfortunate for such a great theatre in such a prime location to be run so poorly. I urge anyone who manages or supervises at this location to step it up, you will lose customers and hurt the Arclight name if you dont start thinking about cleaning house and bringing in some new staff. In the meantime, I know that AMC in only six bucks before noon, and while their customer service isnt perfect, I always like to know that Im getting more than my moneys worth.

TR

Tracy Rodriguez

Arclight Cinama is bar none the best location in Pasadena to watch a movie. WHY?? 1) They have parking in the same building, which is great because Pasadena is very strict with its parking meters, and its easy to end up with a ticket! They validate your parking ticket, so the cost is about 2 dollars, a good value if you also catch a bite to eat before or after the film. 2)What I most appreciate is going on-line from home and purchasing our tickets. All the seats are reserved, which means you can show up 5 minutes before a sold out show, and still have the best seats in the house, because you bought and reserved them (you choose where you sit) hours ago at home! This is also great for last minute choices, because if you dont like sold out shows, you can get a sense of how crowded the show will be by the number of seats sold. 3) The theater is clean, the seats are clean and in good repair, the place smells clean, the bathrooms are clean and not broken. They take care of the place, and for the price of the ticket ( it may be 1 dollar more than the theater down the road from me) its worth it to sit in a comfortable, clean, not smelly place! 4) FRANK! The arclight employees great people who love movies. I have never had anyone be rude to me at this place, they are all polite, nice, helpful, and smiling. And Frank, an elderly man who welcomes you to each showing of the theater (if your lucky to get him, and we do about 2xs a month) gives a breif intro to what your about to see, and just makes us happy to be there. 5) Quality sound and projection, there is no cutting corners, so you see it the way the producer/director wanted you to watch the movie. This is especially true for 3D which I am not a fan of, but they use high quality viewing glasses that are much better then the throw away types you get everywhere elce. I saw a complaint against the theater in this posting which I felt was unfair, and that is that they will not seat you if you are late, and that is true. I hate it when I have paid good money, and am enjoying a film that has started, and the late folks show up and disrupt the flow of the movies introduction. Often there is critical information to the plot in the first 5-10 minutes. People who come to these theaters LOVE movies, and show up on time, so it unlike the women who was not seated late and saw this as a flaw, it think its a plus. She was right about the parking though, it can be very busy in the Paseo, so get there early enough to find parking, and if you have extra time before your movie, the arclight has a great bar (yes they serve mixed drinks, deserts, and espressos- another plus in my book!) right in the lobby with cute tables, great for a hanging out and watching the people pass by. As you can see, I love this place. The gold class theater is also nice, but too pricy for a family of 4. And on that note, if you "join" their movie club (its free) you can save a dollar a ticket on the advance purchase, or at the door.

RA

ray ng

As a frequent and fervent movie goer, Ive been to many theaters all over the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley area where service, cleanliness, sound, and video quality are subpar at best. But not the the ArcLight Cinema in Pasadena. In my humble opinion, this ArcLight is among the top three theaters in Southern California. From the friendly bartender who poured me a generous glass of riesling to the unique and charming introduction of the movie from a staff member, the ArcLight transforms a mere movie into a cinematic event worthy of special occasion status such as anniversaries, first dates or that special international client youve been wanting to impress. I also enjoy the wide, clean captain chairs and the sumptuously padded armrests. The aisles are clean and popcorn free, devoid of the skanky, stickiness of lesser theaters. The screens are bright, clean and smooth with perfect speaker placement and volume. Its just the right balance of audio and visual delight in a comfortable and even luxurious setting. Special credit and appreciation go to the friendly and professional staff at ArcLight for finding my lost items which they dutifully documented and locked away for safe keeping. Communication among the staff was great. Instead of just pointing fingers or trying to find someone else to help me locate my belongings, each staff member sprung into action. I particularly enjoyed the empathy and compassion the staff displayed. Their intelligence, engagement and enthusiasm reflect well on their training and management. I am excited to see my next movie at ArcLight. Great job and thanks for doing more, providing a better experience than the competition, and most of all thanks for giving me a wonderful cinematic experience.

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