Sylvia Park

This is my local mall to work, I don’t know why but I do not enjoy pounced on by the staff as soon as I enter looking for something. Just an acknowledgement would suffice.
I do enjoy the restaurants here, there are one or two I frequent most often for lunch.
Both Countdown and Pak N Save are fairly large stores, so often more choice than my local ones.
If your into shopping then I guess it’s a good place to visit.

I wish there are more selections at this mall. Specifically the local brands. The best part about this mall is the concierge service. The workers were so nice and quickly provided me a wheelchair to make my shopping experience a lot more convenient since I’m in a cast.
My favorite stores at this mall are Kookai, Witchery, and Glassons. Glassons reminds me of a cheap version of H&M. They have reasonable priced basics. Great for work or everyday wear. Witchery reminds me of a pricer version of Zara and Banana Republic. Classic and cheek but trendy. It’s like styles that can be worn for years. Kookai is by far the most expensive one but unique. It is hard to compare this fashion store to what we have in the states. It’s trendy, chic, classy, but different all in one. All three stores is a must to shop in when you’re in the area!

As much as I love Slyvia park, the scale of it can be daunting.
When it comes to parking there are plenty of spots, but at weekends it really can be luck of the draw .
The selection of shops and location — on /​off motorway is ideal for anyone needing a shopping mall fix .
Plenty of outlets at the food court and seats .
Avoid at holiday time !

Always have a good experience there.
Easy to get to when heading along motorway.
Often pretty busy, sometimes hard to get around.

Great location, great selection of shops and great indoor/​outdoor flow. I love that it has that flow of inside and out. Really stops you from getting cabin fever from being in the mall for too long (yes! I stay that long ha!). Great central location and they have quite a few extra stores that you can’t find in other malls. I usually make the trip out once a month. Only down fall is the small food court which gets packed at feeding time (12−1pm). They have a great selection of restaurants and bars as well as other cafés throughout the malls footprint. Worth a visit if you’ve never been.

In a world where westfield own just about every sprawling retail space, Sylvia park has a slightly different feeling, but its subtle and not obvious. The comfort of the same 40 brands you’d expect from a mall are present and accounted for but there are different stores that you seldom see elsewhere.
Sylvia park feels like an airport with its simplistic layout. It doesn’t have the charm of Botany… but its also much larger and isn’t as weather dependent.
It is no where near the best mall I’ve ever been to, but its far from the worst. Its handy and close enough to town with decent parking all the way around.
Protip… Avoid this place and perhaps all malls during the school holidays.

Sylvia Park Shopping Centre is indeed bedlam — however this mega department store caters for everyone really, however all high street brands. My favourite stores are Cotton On Kids, Typo, sushi bar and Vodafone. All the retail banks are open 7 days — fantastic, for paying bills, deposits and foreign exchange. Extended hours for Christmas, 2 supermarkets, movie cinemas, restaurants like Wagamama (Japanese) and parking galore. The first visit can be a bit overwhelming, however, your next shopping experience will be more focused with (preferred) parking location and (favourite) shops to acquaint. The only thing they haven’t got is a MAC store, otherwise fab.

It can be a bit of a madhouse at times but pretty good for everything you need — though like all shopping malls, the same brands and same goods. You can spend all day there though and it is a huge shopping mall.

Sylvia Park is definitely one of my top malls to go to in Auckland. I’ve never had an issue with finding a park and there are TWO supermarkets! I remember going there when it first opened and thinking how bare and empty it looked but now that it’s chokka block with shops it’s fantastic. I especially like the rock candy store and the variety of restaurants and cafes on-​site. I think one of the good things about this mall is that it has actual cafes/​restaurants, not just food court stands. These places are around the perimetres of the mall so when you feel like getting away from the masses but need to do some more shopping afterwards, it’s a nice escape.

If I’m ever going to Sylvia Park I always tend to make a mental map of where to park, which end to start at and how close we’ll end up to where we’ve parked when we’re done. It’s the biggest mall in the country so this clearly justifies any strategic shopping plan.
Sylvia Park provides what most other malls do but on a much bigger scale. It’s a mission to get around this place and you could easily spend most of your day here– on the upside, exercise and shopping at the same time should be encouraged, not frowned upon!
There are café’s scattered over the mall for thirst-​quenching convenience, but the food court is the most ideal, being home to Gloria Jeans, one of the better cafes there, and Tank, for that much-​needed health kick. If you’re not a big shopper, Mag Nation is always a good visit and I’ve heard through the grapevine that their hot chocolate is pretty tasty!
The new buildings across the road are another extension of the mall, with more furniture/​homeware stores and a recently opened North Beach store. It’s a great place to shop around with virtually everything at your fingertips, or to meet up with friends for drinks and dinner before catching a movie.

Sylvia Park is a particularly good place to meet with friends from different parts of town, and has plenty of variety with shops, cafes, takeaway places and the ever popular Hoyts cinemas.
The downside of Sylvia is how long and flat it is. With mostly one level of shops that stretch for ages, it doesn’t have the convenience of things being close to each other. If you want to have coffee at Columbus, then pop into the Warehouse for some things, it ends up being about a 15 minute walk from one end to the other.
The other thing is they make a big deal out of you taking photos. If you’re out with friends and want to take some photos together at the big Christmas tree, or the nifty coloured poles out in the parking lot, chances are the security guards will tell you to delete them. I find that incredibly OTT. Unless it’s professional, there’s no need to be so strict. If this hasn’t happened to you, then you’re lucky. I’ve been told off twice.
Aside from that, it’s a kool place to hang out, eat dinner and see a movie.

I have to say Sylvia Park is my favourite Auckland Shopping Centre and I really miss it since moving away from the area, when my baby turned 3 months I came to this shopping centre at least 1 or 2 times a week until I left the area.
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Apart from being a shopping centre its actually a nice place to go and hang out and especially great for rainy days due to the many underground parking spots. Its got is own dinning lane with a number of good restaurants such as Wagamama, Casablanca and Garrison Pub House. There are also many cafes, sushi shops and chocolate houses scattered around the mall for your convenience.

What I also found great is the number of Parents rooms there are available, I recall there are 3 or 4 and all very good size. These parent rooms are a life saver for any new mum taking their baby to a mall, they all have little areas for the crawlers and walkers too.
I also love the little open area in the mall just before you go up the escalator to the Cinemas, in summer they put picnic tables here and you can sit in the sun for a bit while you have a break from shopping.
I’m a total fan of this shopping centre and for me its Auckand’s number one !!