Westfield Albany — Attraction in Upper Harbour

I recently visited Westfield Albany, and unfortunately, my shopping experience left much to be desired. As one of the largest shopping centers in the area, I had high expectations for a vibrant and enjoyable outing, but I was ultimately disappointed by several aspects of my visit.

First and foremost, the layout and navigation of Westfield Albany proved to be quite confusing. The signage was inadequate and often led to frustration as I struggled to find my way around the mall. Despite my attempts to consult the mall directory, it was poorly organized and failed to provide clear directions. This lack of proper guidance made it difficult to locate specific stores or even basic amenities such as restrooms or information desks.

Moreover, I found the overall cleanliness and maintenance of the shopping center to be subpar. The floors appeared dirty and in need of regular upkeep. Some areas had visible litter, and the general ambiance felt neglected. It was disheartening to see overflowing trash cans and unattended spills, which created an unappealing environment for shoppers.

In terms of the shopping options available, I was disappointed by the lack of diversity in stores and brands. While there were a few well-known retailers present, the majority of shops seemed to offer generic or uninspiring merchandise. The limited variety made it challenging to find unique or niche items, leaving me with a sense of missed opportunities for exciting shopping discoveries.

Another major drawback was the limited dining options within the shopping center. While there were a handful of restaurants and fast-food chains available, the overall selection felt underwhelming. The lack of variety made it difficult to find a suitable dining option that catered to different tastes and dietary preferences.

Parking proved to be another hassle at Westfield Albany. Finding an available parking spot during peak hours was a time-consuming and frustrating experience. The parking structure lacked proper signage to guide visitors to vacant spaces, resulting in unnecessary circling around the lot.

Additionally, the customer service experience fell short of expectations. I encountered unhelpful and disinterested staff members at various stores, which negatively impacted my overall shopping experience. The lack of attentiveness and willingness to assist customers created an atmosphere that felt indifferent and uninviting.

In conclusion, my visit to Westfield Albany was marred by a series of disappointments. The confusing layout, lack of cleanliness, limited store variety, inadequate dining options, parking issues, and lackluster customer service all contributed to an unsatisfactory shopping experience. If you're seeking an enjoyable and seamless shopping trip, I would recommend exploring other shopping centers in the area that offer a more vibrant and customer-focused...

Really appreciate a team/management that follows up with reviewers, says a lot about how much they care about/for their business/customers that they have staff monitoring online feedback channels.

Updating my review because owner/admin responded with relevant info; There are 240 minute parking spaces which easily meet our needs(keep an eye out for the sign boards, we used the parkings in front of the banks entrances). Its a really good place for shopping, we've since come here several times. Food court & toilets are nice. Plenty of options. People who come here are a lot more chill than your typical malls, not overtly aggressive or in a rush where they push/jostle etc.

Leaving the earlier attached pic there, in my opinion: the words used on the Parking Enforcement Services ticket for a first time offence sounds like I'm a career criminal on parole who breached a parole condition(my knowledge comes from novels and cinema, forgive me if the metaphor was incorrect). Wording it differently to be a lot kinder/polite can still get the message across. The second/third breaches can easily warrant a stricter/negative tone. Hoping this is treated as constructive criticism.

PLEASE IGNORE THE BELOW PORTION(NOT RELEVANT ANYMORE, CORRECTED DUE TO RESPONSE FROM BUSINESS OWNER/TEAM, REFER TO REVIEW ABOVE): Feel free to go through my other reviews I rarely ever leave a negative review if I can help it. In terms of this mall, seriously go elsewhere. Parking was a nightmare, spend 2-3 hours time and money shopping here. Literally spend money in the stores in the mall came out to see a fine on top of all the money we spend. This will likely be the last time we come here, with the cost of the fine, the visit to the mall was a clear loss for us(any deals/savings and time spend in the mall to find them just wasted), the 90 minute timer just put a time limit on how quickly we need to leave the mall, unnecessary stress. The local stores are more expensive, but a lot more people centric, I don't think any one of them would fine us for spending money when parked in their designated parking. We got the parking ticket today, heard they send a debt collection agency to harass you to pay quickly. All we wanted was to shop at the stores in the mall, its literally how they make money I thought, just today realized Westfield uses parking fines as a means of revenue making, even developing country malls dont use parking to make money, just a mess of a Sunday pre-christmas shopping. In my opinion, don't shop at Westfield malls if you...

I wanna say something about the Christmas photo shoot here. I think it's becoming like a factory production line now and I won't try it ever again. We saw some people lined up there to take Christmas photos and just think of having a family photo there. We've been told we need to stay aside if there's anyone come after us but they already booked online. Of course we accepted that. Then we just saw people came and sat then smiled then chose photos then went away. Soon it's our turn. Kids were excited to see Santa there. But the photographer didn't help with anything like sitting a bit straight or something on your face you need to move a bit. She don't care to give you a markable moment with Santa even it only happens once a year. Everybody in front or behind of us got a chance to choose their photos on the big screen but not us. I was patiently wait until meet the lady preparing photos for people. But after she knew I need to choose photos there, her face started turned black. She asked me to look at the screen then she start to count 12345...14. Which one? But she only gave me one second to have a glance of each photo to choose the right photo then ask me to go away to think about it, which one to choose, so that she can serve others. So unbelievable!! I stay with my two girls and I need to watch them while looking at the photos just flashed away. Can you feel how rude it was?! Unbelievable!!! Then I went back to the photographer and ask her to gave me a minute to have a look at the photos like other one did, she told me she's busy with photo shot, even the new family haven't sat there, and I have to wait until she finish the people that in the queue...I almost got tears in my eye. Lucky the Santa was nice and asked her to give me a minute to choose like others. She is a Asian as well. But why she acted like that? so ridiculous! You guys have no good customer service at all. Really! Santa team NOT EVEN WORTH A STAR but I have to light up one! If you are not able to make sure all the customers have the same cherish moments there. Don't let people go there without booking online! It's an insult to our walk in customers. Please just learn from others like Smith & Caughey. People cherished their time...