Vue Cinemas Leicester

I still like this cinema but have a few gripes about it now.
I don’t like having to buy a ticket from the food counter. I know they want me to buy over priced rubbish but it takes ages to get a ticket. I can survive a 2.5 hour movie without eating a bucket of popcorn.
I also don’t like the way they charge extra for some of the VIP Seats. Some cinemas have tried this before and it didn’t work. I’m told that other cinemas are trying it again too but I hope it fails.
My last point is the sound on a couple of movies I’ve seen recently. The sound can be loud but some of the dialogue has been a bit quiet. Might have been the print.
The ease of parking is the main reason for a visit to the Vue over other cinemas in the area. For those who haven’t filled up on popcorn and still crave more processed food, the surrounding chain ‘restaurants’ and bowling ally are also other reasons to visit.

I love the cinema, I really do. I even don`t mind the inflated prices nowadays over what they used to be. I`m such a constant visitor that the discount vouchers they give out are extremely useful and perfect for me and my girlfriend. It`s handy as it is just 5 minutes away from where I live and has great parking. It`s situated near a Frankie and Benny`s too, what more could you want?....quite a bit actually. For starters, unfortunately due to it`s location the whole park is frequented by "travellers" as it is near a few fields and open spaces, great for caravanning! This is not so great for the general paying public who have to put up with them in and out of the cinema screens, deciding which one to go in as after they`ve passed the ticket checkpoint it`s open season in there, chatting blatantly on their mobile phones during the film and of course the usual loud shouting because " damn that film is so loud you can`t have a conversation in here!"...surprise surprise, it`s a cinema. People pay to go and see films as we are constantly being told in the trailers and in the news that online downloading and copying films etc. is bad and bad for the movie industry. Well, is it any wonder it happens, especially when you have paid 6-7 pounds to see the film and you end up getting an atmosphere similiar to that of a pub. The cinema has clamped down somewhat on behaviour over the last few years but they are frightened to throw anyone out now and who can blame them given what you hear on the news about thugs and villainy. Forgive me as I rant more about the state of the country rather than the cinema but I am disappointed when all I want to do is enjoy the film with other film lovers and you have to put up with groups of boys and girls, some of which are too young for the performance anyway, making a noise or a community of people using it as a phone booth.
Overall the cinema itself is good, nice seats and facilities and nice enough staff. However, this brings me to my other pet hate of this particular cinema, as Vue have decided to follow Odeon`s stand on priority seating. Pay £2 more for a more central seat, wider seat and more comfortable seat....I`m happy with the standard ones thanks but I am not happy that the middle 3 rows are now taken up by these priority seats, which incidentally noone sits in as they don`t want to pay the extra money. This means you are either too high and up near the noisy kids or too low and straining your neck. We never sat in the middle, we always leaned towards the end seats of the middle or end rows, preferring slightly off centre, halfway up. Not any more as we`re not allowed unless you buy the higher price ticket. To top it all off, every screening there are customers who waltz in late, decide to try their luck and sit in the clearly different and marked seats only to be kicked out 5 minutes later by a lady with a clipboard who shouts loudly to be heard over the movie that we`ve paid for, "have you got tickets for these seats!!!!!!"
As you are probably aware, I could go on but I won`t. All I`ll say is that cinemas must clamp down more on misbehaviour by teenagers and children and also on ignorant and rude adults..otherwise cinema goers will vote with their feet. Vue is a nice facility but I go only out of convenience now.

This vue cinema is in position 1 for a night out. Lots of places to eat nearby, and even a couple of pubs if you fancy a drink. Free parking, and I have never seen it fall

The cinema is comfortable and the prices fairly standard. You can find out whats on and when easily enough by looking on the vue website. Eating as is usual for cinemas these days is expensive but the staff are friedly and the cinema is well maintained. It doesnt compare with the super smart de lux in leicester centre, but then not do the prices.

I used to go here all the time for my movie needs! They do Orange Wednesday, great if you’re looking at seeing a film on the cheap. The front desk is often closed, so you can either buy your ticket online (perfect if you’re going during peak periods) or at the confectionary counters. They have a massive range of pick-n-mix, plus ice cream and a large foyer area. Sometimes they make people queue for ages, but their people management in this situation is pretty good, although sometimes it means you’ll be out the door. Free parking

Vue used to be the biggest and best cinema in Leicester but it has since been eclipsed by the recently opened Cinema De Lux in terms of size and quality. It is based in Meridian leisure park which also houses Hollywood Bowl and a number of restraunts and fast-food outlets.

Prices are okay, they are about the same as Cinema De Lux and slightly more expensive than the Odeon, the other large cinema in Leicester. It has a number of screens (8 i think in total) showing the latest films throughout the day and evening until the early hours. It has a large selection of confectionaries and my personal favourite, a Haagen-Dazs ice cream counter. You’ll love the taste, but not the prices, but this is a problem common to all cinemas, not just VUE.

The picture and sound quality are excellent and I have never had any problems seeing a film I wanted to see, even on opening weekends. The real question to be answered is VUE worth going out of your way to with the other cinemas in Leicester, especially Cinema De Lux offering the same or better services at a similar price. The answer is it depends. If you are coming from outside of Leicester city centre, VUE is probably the easiest to get to and it also has free parking which could be a good reason going here as opposed to one of the cinemas in the city centre. If you are however based within or near Leicester city centre, there is no reason to go out of your way to come to Vue with Cinema De Lux and Odeon nearby.

This is a large cinema, based in the middle of a leisure complex which includes various eating places and a large bowling alley as well as a nearby indoor ball park

The cinema tends to attract lots of teenagers espeecially in the evenings. Free parking - and lots of it, I dont think the cinema is ever toally packed out. You buy tickets in the foyer and as you go in, you have ice cream, sweets shops a gaming area 9fruit machines and bikes / guns etc etc as well as a standard confectionary area - none of which is cheap

BUT its a good cinema and has lots of screens

VUE cinema feels more like a proper cinema compared to my local cinema, the REEL in Loughborough.
Once you walk into the place, the cinema is dark but with bright lights to get you in that movie feel.
The VUE cinema is really big and the cinema screens are huge and the quality is far superior compared to that at the REEL.
Furthermore they have nicer food here, with lots of sweet, chocolates, popcorn, slush puppie, its really good.
The prices, i think are £6.95 which isnt bad and the seats in the cinema are fairly comfortable.
I think if you want to go see a movie, the meridan is a good place to go as its a got great places to eat and a top notch cinema.