Santkos Entertainment Opens Casa Blanca Theater in San Antonio! #MySantikos #CasaBlanca #SantikosLegacy #giveaway

Last week, San Antonio-based Santikos Entertainment opened its latest movie theater -- the state-of-the-art Casa Blanca Theater! The theater is located in the rapidly-growing area near Culebra and Loop 1604, at Alamo Ranch Parkway. Casa Blanca is a true destination movie theater and entertainment complex under one roof. In addition to 16 auditoriums to enjoy first-run movies -- more about those in a minute -- the Casa Blanca also features a 16-lane bowling alley and an arcade. This allows couples and families to come to one location and enjoy a day or evening of entertainment! With an onsite cafe, a sports bar, and bowling alley...guests can truly "have it all" under one roof. With summers as hot as they are here in San Antonio, that's a really appealing option!

Casa Blanca offers moviegoers a lot of bang for their movie buck. It's the first 100% laser digital projection theater in the world, offering movie lovers better color saturation and better picture clarity! Theaters provide premium sound too: Klipsch speakers and Dolby Atmos Surround Sound. Every auditorium offers large, plush seats and seat-side tables. Some of these seats are rockers...but six auditoriums offer comfy recliners for a truly relaxing viewing experience. Four other auditoriums offer menus, and full food and beverage service delivered directly to your seat by friendly waitstaff. Talk about the ultimate "dinner and a movie" experience!

One more cutting-edge technological innovation that Santikos Casa Blanca offers is automated ticket kiosks. Bye bye, traditional ticket booths! The touchscreens are easy to use, quick, and so convenient. Guests can purchase their movie tickets online before coming to the theater, them print them at these self-serve kiosks when they arrive. If they prefer, customers can also purchase their tickets directly from these kiosks. Just beyond the ticketing area is a large atrium that contains a bakery and gelato shop, concession stands, and entrances to the bowling alley and restaurant. After purchasing your favorite movie snacks, you go to a separate, large drink area. This area features soda machines that let you create your favorite flavor from literally dozens of customized drink flavors. 

For last week's opening day, I attended an invitation-only blogger event at the Casa Blanca. We toured the theater's auditoriums, sampled some delicious food items from the cafe's upscale dining menu, and learned about the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation's Charitable Legacy.

As I arrived inside the Casa Blanca, I was amazed at how open and light the theater's design felt. I was warmly greeted and escorted to a seating area inside the cafe -- where a buffet of menu items was set up for us to sample. Some of the items I tried include veggies, fruit, and cheese displays; tortellini pasta, juicy roast beef, and fried jumbo shrimp. For dessert, I had a strawberry parfait and chocolate chip cookies. The food was expertly prepared and very tasty! As we ate, we learned about the John Santikos Foundation's Charitable Legacy. As a local resident, it made me very proud to hear how much this San Antonio-based company truly cares about giving back to our local community. 

The CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation told us that Santikos Entertainment, as part of the estate of company founder John L. Santikos, was gifted to the San Antonio Area Foundation -- making it one of the largest single charitable donations in the city's history. All money spent on movie tickets and concessions at any Santikos theater in San Antonio and Houston funnels directly back into the San Antonio community to fund donations, sponsorships, grants, and other community programs. Areas funded include arts and culture, seniors, youth, and healthcare research. This year, it is estimated that the fund will raise $12 million.  Santikos CEO David Holmes estimates that over the next decade, this fund will generate $30 million annually to the local community.

Bottom line: by choosing to spend my money to see movies at a Santikos theater instead of a competitor, I'm Being a Part of the Legacy! My money helps to further the goals of the Santikos Charitable Legacy, and it also helps make my local community stronger and more vibrant. Talk about a winning combination! Mr. Holmes really says it best: "All movies have a beginning and an end, but when you see a movie at Santikos, the end of the movie is just the beginning." To celebrate the Grand Opening of the amazing Santikos Casa Blanca, I'm giving one reader in the San Antonio or Houston areas a family pack of four VIP movie tickets -- good at any Santikos theater. To enter, follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is a compensated post for Santikos Entertainment. I also received four VIP movie passes, a tour, and lunch to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are solely my own. Some pictures in this article were provided by The Wood Agency.