Fancy a movie? How about Gold Class Albany?

I made a last minute dash to Event Cinemas, Albany to see The Social Network.  The next screening was Gold Class so I thought I'd give it a try. $30 for the ticket. For someone who hasn't seen a movie, except on a plane or the tellie, it seemed a bit steep.  But hey, I was on my own so who'd judge me?

I was told to go to the Gold Class Lounge so I did.  I walked in and you guessed it, couples, everywhere.  A Nigel No Friends moment as people looked up to check out the newcomer.  I took to the nearest seat that didn't leave me eyeballing anyone, with a menu.  As it turned out, you can have a drink, dinner, snacks etc... before, during and after your movie. Cool, I thought.

The women in front of me were asked to order, but they'd just sat down.  The couple behind me were offered more drinks, but didn't want any, so I caught the waiter's attention and ordered a wine. As I wanted to order food later, I set up a tab and was given a laminated bar code to call my very own. Okey Dokey.

Once the wine arrived I realised it was 5 mins to the movie start so I asked for directions to the theatre.  "I'm just taking this couple", was the reply, "but you can follow".  The couple then announced they wanted to go via the toilets, and the waitress diligently collected their glasses, signalling for me to follow behind.

The theatre was pretty much straight down the hall.  Staff seated the couple, leaving me to find my seat on my own.  Perhaps I should have waited at the top of the stairs, but hey, I'm a big girl.  I can count and I know my alphabet so finding 4c wasn't too hard.  The problem was then I was left with no idea how the process worked.  So once again, when a staff member was turned away by another couple, I caught their attention and asked for help.

I was then shown the call button, the seat adjustments and the table (that, I could've worked out myself).  I ordered some food and accepted the offer of another glass of wine half way through the movie. I then handed over my laminated tab card only to see it (somewhat unsettlingly) disappear into the waiter's pocket as he dashed to another patron's call light.

Fiddling with the seat, I thought this is really not bad. The food arrived in reasonable time but was impossible to see in the dark.  I had the Italian Foccacia which turned out to be a sandwich. Can't say I enjoyed it much, but they do say 80% of taste is in the seeing.  A second glass of wine arrived in due course - yum.  Eventually my tab card was returned.

I make a quick dash for it when the movie ended, and was glad for it as everyone queued behind me to pay their tabs. Transaction done.  Total bill $66.00!!!

Recommendation:  I didn't need all the pomp and ceremony to see a film.  The food could be good but not so as I noticed. The wine was nice but the distracting thoughts about where my laminated tab had gone weren't so much. The seats were big, probably great for tall people but noisy to operate.  Besides, I can fit comfortably in cattle class.

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

If a quiet movie on your own is what you are after, Gold Class might not be for you.  It takes a little extra care to make a solo customer feel comfortable and being allowed to tag along to the toilet didn't do it for me.

Lessons learned: Get your wine at the bar downstairs and save your money.