HOYTS Cinemas Botany Downs — Attraction in Howick

This place has really gone downhill.

I recently went to watch the Minecraft movie and was shocked at how poor the service was.

I had pre-ordered food and drinks online the night before, and everything showed as in stock. But when I went to collect my order, I was told many items were out of stock and was offered alternatives. I explained that I had ordered the night before, so how could things be out of stock already? The staff simply said, "We have lots of people," which I get—but the website still hadn’t been updated to reflect the out-of-stock items. To make it worse, I found out the items had been out of stock for the past two days, I know the items had been unavailable for that long because multiple family members had been there to watch the movie throughout the two days and were told the same thing. Clearly, the stock information wasn’t being updated, which is super misleading.

One of the worst parts was the food. I ordered a margherita pizza, which—by definition—should have tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Instead, I was handed a pepperoni pizza. This isn't just a random mix-up either. I’ve ordered the same margherita pizza at HOYTS Ormiston, and it comes exactly as it should. But at Botany, the menu photo even shows a pepperoni pizza labeled as a margherita. I had no idea they’d serve something totally different under the wrong name nor did I bother to see that Botany put a photo of a pepperoni and claimed it as a margherita which I take accountability for that mix-up.

I did end up swapping it for a Hawaiian pizza, but even that was disappointing. The cheese was soggy, and the crust was dry and hard, like it had been sitting out for ages. Honestly, it felt like a waste of money.

I used to hold this cinema in the same regard as Ormiston, but I was surprised to find out they don’t even deliver food to your seat. Every other HOYTS I’ve been to has offered that option. When I asked about it, I was told “HOYTS doesn’t do that,” which was weird because I’ve definitely had food delivered to my seat at other HOYTS locations.

The cinema itself wasn’t any better. When I got to my seat, there was popcorn left behind, and the cup holder was still wet. I had to ask for it to be cleaned, and while they did clean it, I wasn’t the only one noticing the poor hygiene, and when I questioned them they said "Oh this movie is very popular so there's lots of mess" Okay? That did not conclude anything.

Overall, I left disappointed, and I know I wasn't the only one, the only positive was the movie itself.

If you’re looking for a much better experience, I recommend HOYTS Ormiston. They’ve got better reviews, much cleaner facilities, and everything actually works the way it’s supposed to. While that venue has it's negatives, it's at a higher rating at this moment...

Hoyts cinema is one of the best cinema locations in this area. This cinema has a beautiful modern decor with good staff and easy to use machines outside for booking movies, there are screens inside the viewing area that give previews and screening times to give insight for what's to come. The cinema is very open and easy to enter and provides a wide array for enjoyable additions to accommodate your experience such as bundles for family and kids with exclusive items and also special viewing modes such as the extreme screen accomadating more people and using an even bigger screen extending the experience and the luxurious la premiere giving a you the opportunity to eat restaurant food and be given high class service making you feel as if you owned the cinema. With la premiere you can make staff appear with a press of a button getting them to bring you drinks and great food without having to make you walk all the way to the counter and lose the immersion. you are also granted luxurious changeable leather recliners that can be changed by the pressings of the buttons on the chair immersing you into the experience even more. If you don't want to buy La premiere you can have a normal screening which still has the new leather recliners with built in buttons but no amazing service buttons and more cramped seats but the experience is still amazing.

The cinema is located smartly in the hub of everything, after watching a movie you can go down to the food court and grab a bite, or even make the date even better by going to lonestar and enjoy beautiful meals just a couple steps away, maybe even go to jb hifi. The theatre is also located very close to the carpark area so it is easy to enjoy a movie and be gone to savour that magic movie feeling even longer. Although it is amazing it has its flaws, like most cinemas the food and experience is not cheap the food is over priced and it costs a bit to get your ticket depending in how old you are. But there are deals like signing up with hoyts rewards that gives you a free screening and points that you can re use to save money and get more free screenings. Although it is close to a student ticket so if you're using ti get a free movie it isn't really if you add it up.

Overall the experience is great and convenient and in my opinion worth the money, it is great for friends, family, and can be used with work colleagues by booking private screenings. I recommend going to Botany town centers hoyts because it is...

Our family of 5 are avid moviegoers and generally will see a film once a week and at times the same movie twice, and even three times. We have a daughter who is registered with a disability and has a Kiwiable card. This card when presented gives her a discount to a number of recreational activities for herself and her support person. Our who has limited recreational opportunities only uses it for the movies and has benefited from its use for many years. Botany Hoyts staff have never made the experience a pleasant one. Each time we go into Botany Hoyts we can expect the usual...dont know what your talking about...never heard of kiwiable....never known this discount....and are left feeling like we are beggars trying to get a cheap deal. Most times it requires a Managers intervention. I write this review because the weekend past was the most stressful and most difficult experience ever. The staff member was so aggressive and rude asking what was the name of the staff member who served you last time...my reply you do not wear name tags so I wouldnt know. I too had to put my assertive hat on and request a manager. When I requested this she turned her back on us...stomped off in a huff...came back and said Manager doesnt know anything about it. I again requested to see the Manager who eventually came and sorted it. This whole encounter took at least 10 minutes and Kim was quite agitated and unsettled at the end of it plus we lost our ideal seats while this was happening and had to sit 3 rows from the screen. Not good Botany may I suggest you let me know if your theatre does actually have such a discount because one or two staff have been aware of it but the majority have not. Added up thats a lot of unpleasant encounters. Sylvia Park Hoyts we do not have any issue with and are very pleasant and courteous. An end note... your facilities are excellent Im just sorry I cannot give the same rating to...