7 of the UK's most chic cinemas

Not all cinemas are created equal. Bypass your local multiplex in favour of a boutique cinema experience and book your big screen time in a glamorous viewing venue with interiors by the likes of Kit Kemp or in a location with an interesting social history.

Options range from historic Masonic temples and original news theatres to the converted studios where The Beatles and The Spice Girls recorded their best-selling hits.

These sophisticated cinemas certainly beat overcrowded multiplexes with bucket-sized snacks hands down. Instead these stylish spaces offer comfy seating,cashmere blankets to beat cinema chills andpinot to go with your popcorn.

Tivoli Cinema in Bath

Designed by London-based consultancy, Run For The Hills, Tivoli Bath is a beautiful boutique cinema, with four screening studios, a cocktail bar and cafe-lounge area. The fifty-seat screening rooms aredecked out with comfy velvet-clad seats and sofas, complete with cushions for extra comfort and shelves to place drinks and nibbles.

Opt for in-screen dining and you can tuck into gourmet burgers, hand-stretched pizzas or sharing platters while you watch. In addition, there's a 12-seat 'Director's Lounge', which can be booked for groups who'd like a private movie night. Book tickets.

The Temple at The Andaz Hotel

Hidden behind a secret wooden door on the 3rd floor of the Andaz Hotel in London is The Temple, an original masonic room which was created exclusively by Freemasons of the City 100 years ago.

For decades, staff regularly walked past an inconspicuous looking wall, unaware of what lay behind it. During construction, someone looking at the blueprints noticed there was an additional room that had long been kept a secret… but what was it?Once the wall was demolished, the heavy studded doors that lay behind parted to reveal an opulent combination of Italian marble and checked floors.

Descending the temple’s spiral staircase provides a better view of the stunning blue dome ceiling with gold zodiac detail, heavy mahogany throne chairs and an organ.

Built in 1912 by Charles Barry Junior (the son of Charles Barry, the architect responsible for the Houses of Parliament’s design), the Grade ll-listed Greek Masonic Temple was where Freemasons attended their Lodge meetings.It's now been restored to its former glory and is regularly used as an event space for masquerade balls, dinner parties and movie screenings. Book tickets.

Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle

Newcastle’s beautiful Art Deco Tyneside Cinema has been showing films since 1937. Back then,the only way to get world news was to listen to the radio (if you could afford one) or read newspapers – that is, until newsreels (and "news theatres") came out.Dixon Scott, a local film entrepreneur, spotted the opportunity and built Newcastle’s first News Theatre: The Tyneside Cinema opened as the 'Newcastle News Theatre' on 1st February 1937.

It was groundbreaking at the time, and people came to the Tyneside Cinema to spend sixpence to watch the news.The original News Theatre auditorium, nowthe ‘Classic’, wouldhave a revolving door of people coming in and out at all times, as the 75-minuteprogramme was continuously on a loop.

As Dixon (great uncle of Hollywood directors Sir Ridley Scott of Gladiatorand Tony Scott ofTop Gun) travelled widelyin the Middle and Far East, the News Theatre'sdécor wasawash with gold, greens and purples, made to look like aPersian palace in Newcastle. It remains astylish private cinema – with a fully licensed bar. Book tickets.

The Electric in Notting Hill

One of London’s oldest and now most luxurious cinemas, Notting Hill’s Grade II-listed Electric is the modern definition of a picture palace.

The Electric Cinema Theatre opened its doors on 27 February 1911 with a 25-minute biopic of Henry VIII, with the sixpence admission including a bun and an orange. Built by architect Gerald Seymour Valentin, its lookis what is known as Edwardian Baroque – telltale signs include the domed corner roof, paired Ionic pilasters and carved garlands. Inside, the auditorium apes a 17th-century church, with more columns and a grand proscenium arch.

With a bar that serves wines, champagne and upmarket snacks,sixty-five leather armchairs with side tables and footstools that house cashmere blankets, sofas for snuggles at the back, as well as sixluxurious double beds for fully reclining at the front, it's no wonder it's such a hit withloved-up couples. Book tickets.

The Olympic in Barnes

Originally a cinema that opened in 1906, the building was transformed into its most famous incarnation – a recording studio – in 1966. Over the following 30 years some of the most recognisable British songs were recorded there – from The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love to the Spice Girls’ Wannabe– before the cinema finally returned to its original use in 2013 with a complete new look.

With Norwegian reclining seats covered in soft wool, squishy love seats and sofas for snuggling in and actual tables on which to place real wine glasses and snacks (as opposed to built-in plastic cup holders) all help to create a grown-up and sophisticated cinema experience.

Arestaurant downstairs and members’ club upstairs mean the night doesn’t have to end when the credits roll either. Book tickets.

Chapter Cinema in Cardiff

A converted school building and arts centre, the modern-day Chapter Cinema interiors couldn't be any more different. Classrooms are now impressive cinema rooms, with theatre-style drapes, luxuriously upholstered walls and spotlights on the ceiling made to look like the night sky. Book it.

Firmdale Film Club

A ‘club’ by name only, the snazzy cinemas are open to both hotel guests and everyone else. Aside from super swanky surroundings (Kit Kemp is the creative force behind the Firmdale Hotel Group's interiors), the cinemas also offer brunch, lunch and dinner, in one handy package.

A £35 ticket will not only give you an intimate screening of a ‘film of the week’ – a new release, a well-loved classic or an Oscar-winner – in one of their intimate in-hotel cinemas, it also covers a three-course meal, take-in drinks and popcorn! Book tickets.