Santikos Westlakes — Local services in San Antonio

Interesting how google reviews doesnt change to a fresh review when a company changes. So FYI to those checking reviews. Some reviews may old and for the DraftHouse that is gone.

Came here to check out the new renovations,to see if the lower price for movies compared to old drafthouse was worth it. Sadly I changed mine from 5 to now 3. The seats were not upgraded in any way but actually down graded to me. Seats before were larger with plenty of arm space. Now it's hardly any arm room. We booked seats late though trailers were still going. 5 seats to our left were not bought at the time. 3 came in slightly after movie started and person to my left had a drink which literally was grinding into my arm every time they put it into the cup holder. So of course I removed my arm from there but even on my right side sharing it with my boyfriend, it was uncomfortable and the movable table gets in the way in an uncomfortable manner. So had to sit with my arms folded across my chest.

Seats have 4 buttons on the inside, next to my right leg. One set is to sit seat up and lay it back. Other two is to prop up feet or put back to normal seating. His buttons didn't even work and I know these seats are not super old so sadly stuff already breaking. Comfort level maybe a 3. Drafthouse seats were far more comfortable. My back was aching after John Wick 4 in these seats.

I didnt mind paying more again for particular features provided by drafthouse. Like no children. A shame they chose to leave this side of town but i understand as to why. This isn't kids free movies, fyi in case some of the old reviews state it and some of the older reviews haven't been updated to the now Santikos reviews. Someone did have a kid in there during our movie, which was rated R (which is allowed), but thankfully they were not disrupting which is great. Thats super rare in most theaters we have been to here. We have had both adults and kids be super disruptive in theaters here to an obnoxious extent. As to why we were willing to pay more for 0 tolerance towards disruption and kids when Drafthouse use to be here.

For the price maybe it's worth it, but the supposed new renovation they boast about on their page made me think their stuff was upgraded far better than what drafthouse had comfort wise. It feels far more crowded with uncomfortable arm rests and the chairs might be tolerable depending on how long the movie is. John Wick 4 was 2 hours and 49 minutes long and after that I was racing to get out of my seat because lower back was aching, which isn't usual for me at a movie and we sat through Avengers End Game in regular older style theater chairs and that one is 3 hours.

The screening we had did have some issues. Three times there was an issue with the film reel, is my guess, if thats what is still used. The picture was sort of vibrating/shaking and distorting the quality. It was definitely irritating to the eyes for the 5 seconds to a minute that it happened 3 different times, but we werent going to go hunt an employee down to complain. I know Santikos is good on making it right if there are issue with screenings but we let it go.

Self serving on Refills is an interesting touch though when it comes to unsupervised curious kids. Not sure how much can be tampered with. Again something else to keep in mind. Even if hands/mouths cant directly touch certain areas depending on the machine. Kids tend to find ways and that is coming from a parent of two.

Here is hoping they keep this one up and don't let it fall to ruin like the old late 90s santikos that was in this same spot. I actually worked at that one a year before it closed, right out of HS. I still want to give it another go to see if we have a better experience next time. I want to give a better rating cause I loved working for them when I did but so far from what I saw and...

And so it has come to pass, another movie theater not surviving COVID. At this time the Westlakes location has declared it will NOT reopen, though I suppose something could change in the future.

This was the first Drafthouse here in San Antonio and I was going to it back 2008ish. This place was amazing back when. The food was similar to a lot of those hipster food places with fresh high quality food. It was also a pretty reasonable price of around 9-10 dollars for a cheeseburger. I used to crave the food. Like I could literally come here just to eat.

I had so many first Marvel Midnight showings here, I loved the staff, and even the other customers. This location always felt "Grunge" or something. Like the people weren't clean cut, the place wasn't well lit. It felt like being at a bar that was showing a movie. It was great. It was the kind of place you could strike up a conversation with the people sitting next to you before the movie started, cause we were all a bunch of nerds and dorks just chillin.

Things did change over the years, prices increased, switching from fresh to frozen food, and then eventually it became pretty subpar. It went from this being the only theater I wanted to go to, to it being a theater I may go to sometimes. I don't blame the people working at the theater, they just started doing what corporate asked. "Use this food", "set these prices", "we are all the same draft house no matter where you go". It became sad really. In the end they became kind of a shell of their former selves. Like when your favorite band sells out.

This location was still superior to the others here in San Antonio. The other ones always felt like places that were meant to be "nice." Where it's well lit, and you you can order an IPA when you bring your whole family. They have no edge. They aren't "grunge", they are "rock", clean and sold to the masses. Not to mention the other locations have laughably bad service.

In the end this was still the best Drafthouse in San Antonio. I have mixed feelings about seeing it go. Everything changes with time, nothing stays good forever. It still a shame to see one of your old favorites disappear from history. I miss what the Drafthouse used to be, and what it could one day be again. They would need to either lower their prices, or get some better food before I even would think about trying another location again. Really it's just the end of an era. They started it comrads. They were the guys who made it okay to have normal food, and a table in front of you when you go to the movies. After they made the news, more theaters started doing this same thing. Now you can buy a beer at the discount Santikos. People don't know what kind of legacy is being left behind.

Now I know they are still alive right now after their bankruptcy, saying they will be okay as a brand. I guarantee you that it won't ever be like it was again though. Grunge, just like in real life, died.

To the people who worked there over the years, you guys were amazing. There was one girl Miss Vicky Penguin, and I hope she is doing very well wherever she is. She always took good care of me, and I won't ever forget that. To all of you dudes though, I sincerely wish you...

This is the newly remodeled Santikos Westlakes. Previously owned by Alamo Drafthouse. Unfortunately, this means no more adult atmosphere. This is a neat option for families now. The location is nice, albeit a bit bland. The remodel is clean but kind of sterile looking. Hopefully, once it's been open longer, they'll add more flair to it. The old drafthouse was very thematic, and I'll definitely miss that charm. This is a very simple, go to your movie and leave, type of theater. The arcade area is cute but could use a few more entertaining options. The bar area is nice, but not a very energetic area as of this post. This is NOT a dine-in experience like the old Drafthouse. They do serve your typical movie food. Along with some basic fast eats, such as hamburgers and chicken tenders. While the food offered by Santikos is severely lacking and you can eat better for less around the area. The food here is serviceable. Plus the self serve popcorn is nice. But being handed an empty bucket is kind of impersonal, at least in my opinion. Since most everything is self-serve. The place feels kinda cold, on the customer service side of things. But to be fair I only saw 3 employees total during this visit. Not very personable ones, I might add, but not rude either. Maybe once they add more staff, it'll feel more alive. One gripe I have is with the Drink Chiller Cup Holders on the recliners. They use a type of internal fan cooling system that can be rather obnoxiously loud during the quiet scenes of a movie. So be warned, DO NOT keep these on. They are made to chill cans, not cardboard cups. They don't work as advertised, I'm sorry to say. All in all, it's an average theater. Nothing impressed me, but it's nice to have this location open again. I hope they can improve this location down the line. For now, it's fine. It's new and clean. Check it out. UPDATE 5/17/22: Today during our visit the AC wasn't functioning in Auditorium 7. All they had was a floor fan. It was rather uncomfortable. I'm not sure why they didn't cease operation of...