A Great Mall, or the Greatest Mall?
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We decided spur-of-the-moment to go to Westfield on the third day it was open. Given the crowd, it looked like a bad decision until we pulled into the parking garage and stared in awe at the cavernous floor of spaces marked by lights - green if the space was open, red if it was filled.
It could be said that I know malls. My hometown had three, and now, the malls I most often visit are Southdale (the very first mall ever) and the Mall of America. Seriously. I feel at peace in the cosmetics department of any department store because of very early conditioning.
Here's my list of what makes a mall fabulous:
Four out of five, not bad. But with a distinct lack of information about which store was where. Yes, they had a super-fantastic interactive guide, but it could only be used by one person at a time, and we only found a few of them.
As for the pleasing environment, our friend commented that it reminded him of T5, which he loves. "The Village is the first class lounge, and the queues to get into restaurants are check-in."
We waited for 20 minutes to get into Byron, a new name on the block advertising 'Proper Hamburgers'. And they were proper - about the freshest we've had in recent memory. The milkshakes, onion rings and chips were also good, and we liked the sophisticated diner style.
The only store we thought was missing was Banana Republic, a mall staple where we come from. But everything else - from Dior, Prada, Tiffany and Ferragamo to Monsoon, Camper, Puma and Ted Baker - is there. *
And as for getting out, it was amazing. The afternoon before we sat in a 35-minute traffic jam getting out of the shopping centre at Surrey Quays. Surrey Quays! Our errand only took 3.5 minutes. So we groaned at the line of cars getting queuing to leave Westfield, but five minutes later, were, well, hitting 35 on the Westway.
So will we be back?
Not anytime soon. We expect it will turn into another Oxford Street - beyond packed on the weekends. But if that's your ideal shopping scene, it's a pretty great place to be.
* Or will be there. Before you plan your shopping trip, make sure the stores you want are already open.
Here's my list of what makes a mall fabulous:
- Mall directories on every corner
- Great dining options
- A pleasing environment in which to wander
- Easy to get in and out of
- The right stores
Four out of five, not bad. But with a distinct lack of information about which store was where. Yes, they had a super-fantastic interactive guide, but it could only be used by one person at a time, and we only found a few of them.
As for the pleasing environment, our friend commented that it reminded him of T5, which he loves. "The Village is the first class lounge, and the queues to get into restaurants are check-in."
We waited for 20 minutes to get into Byron, a new name on the block advertising 'Proper Hamburgers'. And they were proper - about the freshest we've had in recent memory. The milkshakes, onion rings and chips were also good, and we liked the sophisticated diner style.
The only store we thought was missing was Banana Republic, a mall staple where we come from. But everything else - from Dior, Prada, Tiffany and Ferragamo to Monsoon, Camper, Puma and Ted Baker - is there. *
And as for getting out, it was amazing. The afternoon before we sat in a 35-minute traffic jam getting out of the shopping centre at Surrey Quays. Surrey Quays! Our errand only took 3.5 minutes. So we groaned at the line of cars getting queuing to leave Westfield, but five minutes later, were, well, hitting 35 on the Westway.
So will we be back?
Not anytime soon. We expect it will turn into another Oxford Street - beyond packed on the weekends. But if that's your ideal shopping scene, it's a pretty great place to be.
* Or will be there. Before you plan your shopping trip, make sure the stores you want are already open.
Here Is The Writer : Madame B
Foreign-born Madame B thinks she's a City girl, but mostly just walks our streets checking things out and searching for the best wi-fi hotspots offered by The Cloud. You can spot her typing furiously on her shiny white MacBook, wearing dark sunglasses and drinking a glass of champagne. She's one half of the Shopaholics, which might explain things...
view more articles by Madame B
