Hoyts Sylvia Park

Hoyts is a great cinema experience, especially the xtreme screen. The seats are really well spaced with loads of sitting space and leg room.
We usually book online. This is because the shop is sooo slow. It always seems to take forever to get served. Unfortunately if you book online there is a charge per ticket so you have to decide which is worse-​queuing forever or paying a ridiculous fee
The screens are clean and if you go on Tues it is half price!

Not much to say here. It’s a large cinema complex that has luxury cinemas, 3D cinemas and plays all the latest movies. Online booking is a plus as well as ticket collection and purchase via kiosks so you can skip the queue. Seats are comfortable, large, clean and have lots of legroom.
My biggest grip is the exorbitant price of candy bar items. They don’t do combos and charge for individual items. So where a medium popcorn and drink combo is $ 9 at Event cinemas, the same thing is almost $ 20 at Hoyts. Absolutely outrageous.

As most other reviewers mentioned, there are basically two words to summarize Hoyts Sylvia Park:
LEG. ROOM.
Never have I ever been so spoiled by such leg freedom at the movies! If you have tall friends, you should probably take them here.
Outside of massive amounts of leg space, Hoyts SP has plush comfy chairs as well as high quality screen and sound. ANDDDDDD (drumroll) — Sylvia Park may be the ONLY place outside of CBD that’s actually convenient to get to without a car (there’s train station right inside the mall… hallelujah!).
It was pretty crowded on a Saturday night, but the cinema’s large enough not to warrant a pre-​purchase (although for the super popular new releases, probably not a bad idea). Tickets are a little pricey…$ 18.50 for an adult ticket… so not an every day affair, but worth the splurge once in a while.
To be honest, I am generally a fan of smaller, «quirkier» theaters, but sometimes the charm doesn’t outshine the fact that new releases sell out in 2.5 minutes and i need to pre-​plan an online purchase a week prior (I’m more of a spontaneous kinda girl, ya know?)
Also, Hoyts SP, if you’re listening, how about taking part in some international film festivals once in a while? Would be cool…

This is the cinema i frequent the most as i usually want movies after work (tuesday or movie of the week deals anyone? haha). This cinema is one of the most comfortable to watch in as they are large soft comfy seats and large white screens so its doesn’t really matter where you sit in the cinema (unless your at the very front then your neck will start to hurt…)
We treated ourselves once and went La Première and gosh i felt spoilt. You go upstairs to the private lounge to purchase tickets and collect free popcorn and soft drinks! and to order fresh food and alcoholic beverages (and they ask you how far into the movie you will like these brought in) which i think is one of the main reason people use La Première (dinner, snacks, drinks, movie AND service all at the same time). Unfortunately i can’t comment on their food here (aside from the popcorn which wasn’t at its freshest) as i already ate and didn’t order food but i do LOVE to have wine at the movies (makes everything more funny. or scary… or dramatic… haha…)
When its time to go into the designated cinema you walk through this AMAZING upper floor (or looked like a secret platform?) where all the projection machines are for each cinema and you get to see into a little bit of each cinema and the projection screens too… i think this is REALLY REALLY smart to include this into the design, to be able to see part of how things work. Once you find the designated cinema, you will enter from the top/​back of the cinema where all the La Première seats are. We were seated on along the left side of the cinema but it wasn’t an uncomfortable angle at all because we were so far back. There were large reclining sofas with dimmed side lamps (with a switch of course) and table to place all the food and drinks that they will bring to you later.
The only thing holding me back from giving them a 5 star is that some parts on the chairs were a bit run down and needed to be fixed. But overall i’m super duper happy with Hoyts Sylvia Park (oh heck, whatever, they deserve a 5 star lol), especially the La Première! if only i had enough spare change to upgrade everytime !!!
TIP: go La Première on a date, they won’t be disappointed haha!

Our regular movie spot. Easy parking, clean cinema, comfortable movie seat, spacious leg room. Love the Extreme Screen.

To know why a cinema gets 5 stars, you have to know something about me. I’m six foot six and I don’t fold up easily. However that is the main reason I drive ALL the way (25 minutes) from the North Shore to Sylvia Park *just* to go to the movies. the Leg room is incredible and a welcome respite from boxed in seats at other places.
If you’re willing to spend a bucket-​load to enhance your movie experience the Le Premier (aka Gold class) is not the well-​known lounge chairs like other places but in fact a double leather seat perfect for snuggles with the Wife or Girlfriend (as long as they don’t find out about each other) and what review would be complete without mention of food…
The menu changes, so don’t be perturbed if you find your favorite dish has gone, but rather embrace the newness. I’ve had some great snacks from the Le Premier kitchen that when combined can actually become a meal, these are served at .25, .50 and .75 through the movie. Downstairs, its standard movie fare .
To close, I keep driving here. from the North Shore, and its not because I like driving, there is a good reason. its awe-​some!

Without doubt Hoyts at Sylvia Park is the best cinema in Auckland, well, certainly when it comes to comfort whilst watching that latest blockbuster.
My wife and I are regulars at the cinema, although the Events cinema in Manukau is closer, we would much rather drive a little bit further to sit in comfort, especially when we get to sit in the Directors Lounge, which really is a luxurious way to watch a movie.
Now I didn’t tell you this, but the other great thing about this cinema is that they really aren’t that strict about taking your own refreshments in with you. At the end of the day, the price of drinks, popcorn etc., are a tad ridiculous, so my suggestion is to hit either Countdown or Pak N Save beforehand and pick up a bagful of goodies :)
The one downside to Hoyts Sylvia Park is that they don’t seem to get involved in the film festivals, especially the New Zealand Film Festival, if they could sort this out for next year that would be grand :)

Pretty straightforward movie complex. The big bonus with Hoyts Sylvia Park is that it is very new so the seating and aisles are very generous and comfortable. On occassion the sound on the Xtreme Screen has been so loud that I’m nearly positive it would violate WHO standards for volume.

One of the top cinemas in Auckland definitely. Was the first cinemas to have large comfortable seats with lots of leg room, and the screen size is definitely up to standard! Xtremescreen (Cinema 1) is among the largest screens in New Zealand. Great sound as well.
Food from the front counter is your average selection of popcorn, ice cream, confectionery and soda. But food upstairs in the Premier lounges are AMAZING, especially their pizzas!
This is definitely a choice place for watching movies in Auckland for me.

Sylvia Park Hoyts is one of my fav movie places to meet people from all over town, because it’s so convenient to get to, either via train, bus or car as it’s right next to the Southern Motorway. (and you don’t need to grapple with city traffic) The staff here are always incredible, the cinemas are clean and comfy, and they have special prices if you go in the morning or on Tuesday. (think it’s about $ 11) Their La Première seats are awesome too if you have a special occasion to splurge out on.
I was here last Sunday when our mini earthquake hit, and the building is so strong, I honestly thought it was just the surround sound system making the seats move. haha
If you want to watch a movie in a safe, clean and welcoming environment, go here!

This is hands down my favourite cinema in the world ever. A huge statement to make I know, but it is pretty damn good. Think of all the things that you really want out of a good movie theatre experience:
1) You want large comfortable seats… check
2) Plenty of leg room, both for stretching out and for those annoying people who constantly leave for snacks… check
3) You definitely want a big screen with big sounds. The extreme screen at Sylvia is friggin gigantic. You can barely even see the whole screen without moving your head… that’s a check
4) You want cheap snacks. Well that’s just impossible.
5) And you want people to shush; another hopeful wish.
But basically Hoyts Silvia Park is as good as it gets. If you’ve got a few extra dollars you should definitely try the La Première section in those big lazy boy chairs at the back of the theatre, which have a bit more privacy. You get a waiter service and everything, it’s great.

Of all the movie theatres in Auckland, Hoyts in Sylvia Park is my favourite. Conveniently located smack bang in the heart of the mall, it makes for an ideal day out all within the one trip (with easy parking and accessibility to boot).
The seats are luxuriously big and comfy, and you don’t have that overly cramped sardine-​like feel that is the norm in most cinemas. It costs about the same as all other cinemas in terms of snackage — that is horribly overpriced — however I feel it is more justified here than in others, because the movie-​going experience here is of a much higher quality overall.
I recommend seeing a movie on the record-​holding Cinemaxx screen, too.

I am a somewhat rare and picky visitor of cinemas, however if I do go I ensure I go to Sylvia Park.
With other cinemas closer to my home than this, I prefer to make an extra effort to sit myself in the surrounds of Hoyts Sylvia Park. The large seats make the cinema experience far more enjoyable, with the larger size of everything about the venue (kiosks and screen) providing a vastly better outing than other cinemas in Auckland. The foldable arm rests make those dates that little bit more homely.
The cinema’s location in a shopping centre provides improved parking, unlike the struggle of other cinemas in more dense urban areas such as Newmarket and in the city.

Hoyts Sylvia Park has been my regular movie theatre for over five years now. By far the most superior theatre in the South/​East Auckland areas, its smack bang in the middle of Auckland AND the largest shopping centre in the country, making it easy to get to whereever you are in the city.
While people may see this as an negative, I love that this cinema gets busy. I’m the sort of person that would rather see a movie in a full theatre that with a few people, so Sylvia always does the trick. The seats in the theatres are comfortable, there’s enough leg room for a basketball player and the arm rests are movable if you’re into that sort of thing.
I find its always worth it to pay a little extra for the Xtreme Screen because those regular sized screen just don’t cut it anymore (maybe Chris Rock was right about women not being able to back in lifestyle…). The La Première seats at Sylvia are great too and while its on the pricey side its a great and very comfy way to make that date or girls night out a little more special (…okay, he was right).
Sylvia Park also hosts a lot of the midnight screenings for some films and those usually go off without a hitch. Do yourself a favour and book your tickets online or purchase them early from the cinema to avoid the inevitable long queue that will await you!