Regal North Hills — Local services in Raleigh

(Note: This review is for potential customers, not for Regal. There is no way they are going to redesign or renovate again any time soon. Also, this review applies to both Regal North Hills and Crossroads, and I only gave it a star rating because it is required before posting. The three star rating is only due to in-person service. I didn't want to give a high rating because it might be misleading, some people only look at the rating and don't actually read the reviews. I want to make it clear I have never had any problems with the staff of service, or with cleanliness, etc., at either one of these theaters.)

If you can, stay away from Regal North Hills and Crossroads and go to The Raleigh Grande, even if it's a longer ride. The difference is worth it. The seats are much more comfortable there and each one has a tray that swivels to put your food on so you don't have to worry about putting your popcorn on the floor and making a mess and spilling the snack that you paid for an arm and a leg for (gee, what a concept, a simple tray and some common sense). In addition, your are far less likely to find someone in your assigned seat at the Grande. For some reason I cannot figure out, almost every time I have been to Crossroads since they installed the new seats, maybe six times, there is someone in the seat I had purchased online several hours earlier. I can't explain it, but that hasn't happened to me once at the Grande and I have been there far more times than I have Crossroads. To be fair, it could be an incredible coincidence.

Also, I just tried to inquire about a refund for ticket I had cancelled (I dealt with Regal corporate, not with North Hills directly). I tried to email using "contact us" but it wouldn't send. I spent a long time detailing everything in my message so I wouldn't have to call, but still had to call customer service and wait for someone (someone that i couldn't understand half of what they were saying.) Over an hour I spent between writing and talking. I've canceled online before when using The Grande, and the refund was immediate. One thing I did understand the rep saying was that I had to wait 3-5 business days for a Regal refund. I admit it probably is in writing and I missed it, but that doesn't change my opinion of Regal. If I had known it would take that long for a refund, I would have kept my original seat (I changed seats, hence the cancellation well before 60 minute before start time.) North Hills and Crossroads used to be my favorite go-to theaters for new movies, but not anymore, and I've been going to movies there for at least a decade. If the Grande isn't showing what I want to see and I can't find it within driving distance, I will now wait for it to show up at Blue Ridge, the second run $2.25 theater. The only way I would go back to one of these Regal theaters would be to see an independent film or documentary or foreign film, or a special showing (as was the case last night with a screening of West Side Story) that I can't find any where else and is unlikely to make it to Blue Ridge.

These complaints may seem petty, but I'm no casual movie goer. I go to the cinema 3-4 times a week.

post edit: I just checked out some of the other reviews. I noticed any reply to a good review is canned or copied. Every one is the same. How sincere does that...

This theater fails to care about its clientele with disabilities. This theater claims to offer “descriptive audio,” which are headphones that set the scenes and narrate what is happening on screen for people who are legally blind. My friend and I made arrangements for us to see the Superman movie only to receive a non-functioning headset. We requested assistance and a second non-functioning headset was provided. When we requested assistance again, the employee took both headsets and never returned. So my friend sat there only getting dialogue and sounds with no clear context of what was going on. How does someone get immersed in a movie with only partial understanding of what is going on! For her troubles we were offered a pair of free tickets so we could see the movie again. Nothing for any concessions considering they cost as much as the movie!

Imagine our surprise when we returned a week later to find that the headsets were still non-functional! They spent half of the movie troubleshooting the headset and finally got it working. By then she missed half of what was going on that led up to that point in the movie. They offered her tickets to come back again because of the trouble the theater had in getting their equipment working! It’s ridiculous! Why would she want to come back to have the same unsatisfactory experience again!?! This theater should do regular checks of their equipment to ensure it works so that people with visual impairment and blindness can enjoy a movie as well as a sighted person does! The lack of basic respect for people who rely on these accommodations is appalling at this theater.

North Hills Regal do your job! You have other checks you do to make sure people have a positive experience (concessions, restrooms, theater cleanliness). Make sure your equipment works for people with disabilities! Employees and managers should know how the descriptive audio equipment works and ENSURE that it is working at the beginning of each day before the theater opens! Keep the headsets functional, clean, and charged! You do not know what all goes on for a person with blindness has to do in order to come to a movie, get concessions, and get to their seat to enjoy it. You don’t need to know! You just need to do better!!

We tried calling the theater offices to engage in further discussion, but the endless phone prompts always end up in a voicemail box that hasn’t been set up.

This establishment is clearly demonstrating that they just don’t care about offering an all-inclusive atmosphere for a...

I visited the Regal North Hills movie theater this Labor Day for a matinee with my girlfriend, expecting an upscale experience given its affluent surroundings. The theater is located near high-end stores like Rolex and Anthropologie, as well as a Target and a hotel, all within walking distance. Unfortunately, the experience did not match the environment.

Upon arrival, we noticed the ticket counter was unmanned. While this wasn’t an issue for us since we had purchased our tickets online, it’s something to keep in mind if you plan to buy tickets on-site. Inside, we discovered that the theater only accepted debit or credit cards, with no onsite ATM—a potentially inconvenient detail for some patrons.

There was no staff member to check our tickets or guide us, which made me wonder if we could have walked in without tickets at all. When we entered Theater 7, we were immediately met with a strong smell of mold and mildew that was impossible to ignore. The carpet was worn, and the seating was clearly outdated. Although the seats were somewhat comfortable, the theater was uncomfortably hot and humid, even though it was less than half full during a morning showing. To add to the discomfort, the film attendant left the light on inside the projection room behind the seating, causing light to stream into the theater and diminish the quality of the viewing experience.

The restrooms were another letdown, appearing very dated and not regularly cleaned. The concessions stand had only one attendant who struggled to keep up with the constant stream of customers, and the prices were outrageously high, especially considering the theater’s location. The so-called "game room" consisted of just two actual games (one of which was out of order) and two claw machines. Adding to the frustration, the game my date wanted to play wasn’t even plugged in—I had to plug it in myself.

As if the experience wasn't disappointing enough, when we left, my girlfriend pointed out that my chair had shed black pieces of fabric all over my back and legs.

I’m not against a budget theater experience or even one that’s a bit below par, provided the prices and facilities match the quality. However, this theater is located in a nicer area of Raleigh and certainly wasn’t inexpensive to eat or watch a movie in. It felt like a case of poor management taking advantage of its customers.

Do better, Regal...