Overview

The biggest cinema screen in Britain. The screen is more than 20 metres high (nearly the height of five double-decker buses) and 26 metres wide. While there is excellent access, staff disability awareness left a lot to be desired.

Transport & Parking

The nearest tube is Waterloo, which is not step free. Several buses stop nearby on Waterloo Bridge but there is a set of stairs to walk down. However the RV1 bus stops nearer to the entrance and exiting here avoids the stairs.

Access

The cinema is located on an island surrounded by busy roads. To get to the cinema you have to use an underpass. There are several entrances to the underpass and it is not clear which ones have ramps and which ones have steps only until you get to it. There is no step free route information on their website and it meant that I had to double back on myself a couple of times. I found this needlessly stressful as the cinema could have included the information on their website. Once I arrived at the cinema access was very good. There were automatic entry doors and there was a lift to the auditorium. The doors to the auditorium were both single and double heavy fire doors. As this is not the main entry point to the auditorium there was no one about to provide assistance with opening the doors. The lift goes to the 4th floor. Following the signs for the auditorium, it brings you out at Row P which is the only level entry, step free row of seating. There is also another row behind but there are a couple of steps to access this. Looking down there is steep tiered seating, which would necessitate walking up/ down stairs. The side stairs have a hand rail on one side and the centre aisle has handle bars rather than continuous handrail. Once I finally got into my seat the view of the screen was impressive.

Toilets

There was an accessible toilet in the ground floor foyer. It was located in between the regular toilets. The accessible toilet required a radar key. I personally don't like the accessible toilet being kept locked inside a public building, especially as there was plenty of staff in the foyer, checking tickets, at the box office, security staff and people serving at the refreshment counter, there could be regular checks to keep an eye on the toilet. There was also an accessible toilet on the 4th floor near the auditorium, this did not require a radar key and given the isolation of the toilet I would feel this one was more likely to be abused than the one in the foyer. Both toilets were spacious, clean, with grab rails and the emergency cord reached to the floor.

Staff

As the website didn't provide any information about step free access I had to phone up to book my seat, therefore yet again disabled people don't have the opportunity to book online like the rest of the general public. The member of staff answering the call had to go away and check. When they came back they booked me in P4 which they said was near the door, as I asked not to have to walk through the row to get to my seat. Incidentally when I got into the auditorium, there was a member of staff standing in the corner, he didn't come over to check my ticket or to point me to my seat. I therefore had to ask someone at the end of the row what there number was and in what direct the seating went. I found out that my seat was in the block furthest from the entry door, so I had to walk through the row, past everyone sitting in the central block and then into the side block. The row was quite wide but it was still difficult for me to navigate with my crutch in the semi darkness of the cinema. I was not impressed, especially as I had for a seat so I could avoid this situation in the first place. I feel the staff need disability awareness training as they do not seem to understand/ empathise/ appreciate how important it is to listen to what the disabled person is telling you about their access needs and be familiar enough with the layout of the cinema that they can offer disabled customers the best seats for their needs. I also had to collect my ticket. When I got to the box office, collecting my ticket was easy. I mentioned to the staff working there how difficult it was that there was no information on their website to inform me which rows were step free and that had left me with no choice but to phone up to book my seat. I was told by the member of staff that the row I was sitting on could NOT be pre-booked online as they did this to ensure that these seats were given to disabled people who needed them. When I got to my seat I asked the people next to me whether they booked online or phoned up for their tickets and they told me they booked their tickets online. Therefore the woman at the box office desk had LIED to me and misinformed me as the row I was sitting in was bookable online. When I entered the foyer and had my tickets checked the member of staff did point out where the lift was, otherwise there would have been a zero score in their staff section. I asked her where the accessible toilet was and she pointed it out but omitted to tell me I needed a radar key. Thankfully I had my own but otherwise I would have got to the toilet and then needed to return to her to get a key.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The screening which was a special event about Line of Duty was fabulous and the view from my seat was impressive. However, booking the tickets by phone was unnecessary, if the Odeon BFI IMAX had better access information and better trained staff. The overall stress of it and being LIED to spoiled some of my enjoyment of it. Although I now know I need to book row P in future and the facilities are excellent, given the behaviour of the staff I don't feel I will be hurrying back.

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