Regal Prince Kuhio — Local services in Hawaii

Been going to this theater for many years now since it's the only theater in town. It's okay, pretty much my only complaint would be that the seats in all the screens smell terribly like roaches. I know the smell from dating a woman who's car(s) and "house) always were roach infested. Not sure how often they deep clean these theaters, and not sure if the smell is from active roach infestation, or from visitors who have roach infested stench all over them, but it's always unpleasant, and would recommend the establishment do deep cleanings of all the seats regularly to eliminate this smell, or replace the fabric, and cussioning of all the seats if needed to eliminate the smell. I've never smelled this in any seats of any movie theater I've been in before here. Very unpleasant to the olfactory senses. In addition to the unpleasant smell I've had my Regal card for something like ten years, and never been able to use my points since they expire before I have time to use them on a movie which is a bit disappointing. I don't see the point of offering this card and then taking away the points before they can be used. It's only catering to people who see movies all the time, but there aren't enough quality films being presented often enough to make this card useful. A bit disappointing in that regard.

Also all the seat selection screens both online and at the checkout counter do not show the correct seating arrangement in relation to the screen which means if you want to sit dead center of the screen you have to show up very early, and first go into the screenong room to determine which seat is actually in the center. And figure out which seats are center for every screen and plan ahead purchasing your ticket online by the time the day comes for your showing they usually have changed the screen that you have selected your seats for which then throws off where you chose to sit in the first place. I am tall and need more leg room, and prefer dead center seating so try to select seats dead center right above the access isle so I can stretch out. When I've bought tickets online and they switch the screen room it has often lead to the seating being shifted back several isles, and quite a bit to the side of my online selection which is. it pleasant to say the least. I've spoken with management about correcting this online and counter screen seat selection problem and they just say that it is out of their control. This is the most aggravating aspect of this theater, but what can you do when they're the only option available.

The least they could do is to properly and regularly have the seat upholstery cleaned to get rid of the...

I worked in the audio industry for many years, including the development of surround sound and Home THX, many years ago before retiring and moving to the Big Island. So, I'm a bit of a perfectionist about presentation quality, both audio and video.

By current standards the digital projection systems are adequate although not up to current UHD standards in state of the art theaters. The audio systems are so-so, loud but not particularly accurate as theater systems go. Lots of boom and screech, with lots of leakage from adjacent auditoriums. The higher audio frequencies are strident which is typical of uncalibrated speaker systems employing horns for reproducing those frequencies. Fortunately, dialog intelligibility is acceptable. While the sound levels on the feature film are normal, the sound levels of the previews are bordering on torture, especially if you have have 'senior' ears. Ear plugs are highly recommended as the sound pressure levels are exceeding 100 dB in the center of the auditorium #5 during previews. It borders on management negligence to allow the public to be subjected to such levels for a period of 15-20 minutes while preview after preview assaults your ears.

I only attend 2-3 times a year for films that I want to see before they become available on Bluray or Netflix as I find the overall presentation average the and prices for drinks and snacks almost obscene.

UPDATE DEC 2017 Just watched STAR WARS here with son in law, who is an audio mixer in Hollywood and a member of Academy MPAS. We both agreed center front channel audio level was too low, burying the dialog at time. Surrounds were not balanced, with left surrounds sounding almost as loud as main channels. We were seated in the center of the auditorium. And as usual, preview audio levels were way too loud. Next time I attend I will bring sound pressure level meter and record...

Regal Theaters in Hilo

Upgrade the Theater and keep it clean

I watched Bob Marley - One Love, there were a lot of empty seats at the 4:10pm showing on 02/24/24. It was a good movie, loved the soundtrack!!!

I haven’t been to Regal in Hilo for over two years, will I go back??? Only if they fix a couple things.

Here are my recommendations.

Please fix the men’s urinals (only one out of the three was working), clean the bathrooms frequently and make everything automatic flush & upgrade the sinks like they do at the Airport. Upgrade the seats to recliners, make burgers, local food, or Healthy Food Options and accept Apple Pay at the concession counter. You can buy tickets online with Apple Pay, Plus I can scan my digital ticket with the QR Code Reader at the counter but you can’t use technology (Apple Pay) at the concessions to pay for your food, it doesn’t make sense.

At this point it might be better to wait a week or two when the movie gets out on the Apple Store (new digital movies cost $19.99 and your entire family can watch it) then pay $15.00 for one seat and inflated prices on the popcorn and soda at Regal. You guys stop having someone at the box office, now you have to go to the concessions to buy a ticket.

On a positive note the AC was working and it was at a comfortable temperature and the employees at the counter were very friendly. I also like that you can choose your seat before you get in the theater (it’s the same on Oahu).

I am appreciative that there is a theater in Hilo, I know you can do better, the people of Hilo deserve it. There are theaters on Oahu that I visit frequently and have all the upgrades I talk about in this review and I pay the same price.

Make the experience more enjoyable and worth the money we’re spending then your sales and ratings will go up.

Look forward to...