Cineplex Cinemas Ottawa — Local services in Ottawa

This location, also known as the Colliseum,, located on Carling near Bayshore, use to be my go-to for movies. I’ve been visiting since the early 80s, when you could still smoke inside the theatre.

It has a lot of movies playing at once, covers Most time slots to make it easy to plan.

Not much outside the basics of concessions, but decent video arcade.

They offer AVX and 3D, reclining seats, even a 270° screw where the film plays on the side walls (trust me, not worth a 25$ ticket)

My biggest gripe is half the time the theatres aren’t properly cleaned before movies. Visible trash is cleared but lids, food, liquid covers the floors most of the time. Half the seats that should recline, don’t. And don’t get me started with how narrow the seats are. Definitely not accessible for larger individuals.

What I do miss is that there’s no VIP section or VIP seating. For such a large threaten they could definitely convert the upper floor to VIP only with full restaurant and bar, full seat service.

Back to accessibility, if you require accessible access to a theatre, make sure you call ahead and let them know. Both pre and during the pandemic, the chance of going when their escalator is functioning is slim.

Three weeks straight we went, and it was constantly out of service “it’s being fixed tomorrow” is what management says each time

But asking to use the elevator if you’re not in a wheelchair gets you looks of insanity. “The stairs are right there. It would be quicker” not when you’re knees, or back suffer injuries that prevent stairs.

Getting a manager - only person we get told that has keys for the elevator - to make themselves available is like pulling teeth.

What do they do very well? I’ve yet to go and get a cold bag of corn, always seems it’s fresh and hot. And with a round building, there’s parking everywhere that makes it easy to get in (but check first, often times the rear...

I recently visited Cineplex Cinemas Carling for the first time in a decade, and overall, the experience was excellent. The theatre was clean, the seats were comfortable, and the sound and picture quality were top-notch. It really felt like they went out of their way to make the movie-going experience enjoyable.

However, my experience took a bit of a turn at the end. After the movie, I went to the concession stand to ask for a popcorn refill, something I remembered from my previous visits years ago. To my surprise, the guy at the counter responded with a sarcastic comment, saying something along the lines of "We haven't done that in 50 years."

I hadn't been to a movie theatre in a while, so I wasn't aware that this was no longer a thing. His tone made me feel like he was poking fun at me, almost like he was calling me old or out of touch. It was a small moment, but it left a bad taste in my mouth after what had otherwise been a great experience.

It's unfortunate that a single interaction can taint an otherwise perfect visit. I still recommend Cineplex Cinemas Carling for its quality and ambiance, but I hope the staff can be more considerate in how they handle customer questions, especially for those of us who might not be up-to-date on all the changes in the movie-going world.

And honestly, given how much we all overpay for snacks at the theatre, a little popcorn refill shouldn’t be too much to ask—especially when it's such a cheap item compared to the ticket and concession prices.

What are they going to remove...

Took my dad to the movies on the Monday after Father’s Day. He wanted to go to this theatre for the reclining chairs. We went to get refreshments and were disappointed by the state of the stand. They were out of ice, their fountain drinks had gone warm, and so they suggested we got a bottle. The bottles too ended up being quite warm. We ordered small popcorns and were given them in a plastic bag. Noticed they were hard to hold and ask for one of the paper bags, we were given little tiny bags. We asked for the larger ones and they said no, as they didn’t want to run out for other customers.

Once we got into the theatre we noticed it didn’t look like it got cleaned properly between shows. Cup holders had garbage in them still from previous show, floor had straws on the ground, and the chair beside me had garbage from the 3D glasses packaging. They claim to do a full clean to prevent the spread of Covid, but I don’t think that’s overly accurate based on the trash we found.

Movie was good, however extremely loud. Don’t normally notice an issue with volume, but this time was much louder than a typical show.

Dad went to use washroom before we left, and mens washroom had 1 urinal that was useable, the others clogged and nearly overflowing. 1 sink had soap that was still full, and only 1 other sink had running water. None of the hand dryers were functional.

Don’t think we will be returning to...