Westlake Center

Westlake Center is a pretty interesting mall. The "typical" mall stores aren't a big presence here. I saw a Jessica McClintock dress store here -- i NEVER see JM stores anywhere, so that was news to me. There's also a Daiso store (The Japanese dollar+ store), which is definitely a staple here. Other than that, there's a lot of local shops here (clothing, jewelry, etc.)

The food court is upstairs. I had the bubble tea at the Crepe place and it was pretty good. There is also a funky McDonald's here - the signs look nothing like what McDonald's looks like.

Given it's perfect location in the city - you really expect more from Westlake center.

yes, it has some cool stores, but it's nowhere near a one stop mall. the mix of stores seems quite eccentric, and the big food court on the top floor seems chaotic, messy and the hours are really silly. I mean - which central mall closes at 5 pm on a Sunday?!

That said - it does have a few interesting shops. Daiso is adorable and you can always find something quirky and interesting there. Also - Fireworks and the brain store! - so fun to explore. But again- all the shops are fun to just browse through - not at ALL for the serious shopper.

give it a shot if you are hanging around waiting before/ after catching the monorail perhaps. otherwise - you're better off heading to pike place market instead or macy's / Nordstrom

Yeah, I know it's a mall and not a local business but I wanted to write about the many things that go on around this place. I loaded up a photo of some performers doing their thing in front of the mall. It was a Thursday and there they were. I've even seen sand brought in for sand castle builders here! I've seen choirs sing, juggles, all sorts of entertainment. It seems like something is always going on at this mall!

Downtown is actually pretty safe. I lived at the heart of the city for two years and I'd say it's safer than where I live now which is Lake City. I did walk with Hank, my yellow lab. There's ussually people out and about till 2am because there are quality bars in the area. Von's is just down the street and PF Changs is in the mall itself. The downtown crowd isn't bad at all. The mall shops close early anyway.

Today I was downtown and heard a partnership between a bagpipe player and rock drummer. What a combo! They were really good and I loved the contrast between old style and modern. I couldn't stay long but managed to get a picture. If I see them again, I'll ask for a CD!

Selection of stores is still sub-par with high vacancy rate, but it's earned the third star purely because the pushy kiosk people by the escalators are gone! Only saw one on the top floor and it was unstaffed...

Lush is still tiny. Are they all like that? I've only been to the one here. And what's with the weird dark Claire's??

It's still more of a transportation hub than a shopping destination for me at this time.

I remember coming here years ago (think early 2000's) to shop while hitting up all the big department stores. The vibe of Westlake has definitely changed and the turnover of the shops inside sort of went downhill. I mean, it's just a mall in the middle of the city, but with Pacific Place nearby, that is much more appealing, poor Westlake seems to struggle to keep up. I'd imagine it's hard for tourists and visitors to even know what is inside, besides Zara, which is the storefront you see. They just opened a Fuego inside, which is neat, and a fancy cold pressed juice shop (bets on how long that lasts??). Even when you go inside, it's not easy to navigate to the shops and food court on the upper level, in my opinion. I think they have done a great job at making the outside safe and more appealing, though. They have really cleaned up the park, which is great! There really are some neat little shops inside, so if you're shopping, stop in and check it out!

Yesterday afternoon I stopped for coffee at Starbucks and while drinking it outside while sitting I was told by a security guard that people are not allowed to sit in the shaded area south of Westlake Center. If this is how Westlake Center wants to treat people, who needs them!? What a ridiculous new policy. Everyone there was shooed away by this guard and we were all just sitting peacefully.

Outrageous.

And now that they've closed the food court, there's no reason to go inside either with its weird collection of stores because you can enter Nordstrom Rack from the outside. This "mall" will become a ghost town.

Food court is permanently closed. Only reason to visit is for Daiso.

Racist and brutal mall cops, coupled with some not-to-savory characters makes me feel unsafe here.

Think twice before bringing your family to this mall. Try pacific place a few blocks away, or just walk long the streets in the area (east of 4th ave). You should have a much better shopping and eating experience if you just steer clear from this place.

Absolutely the rudest staff member ever!!!!

This morning, I took the monorail to spend a day in downtown. The first set of doors (north when exiting the monorail) were stantioned off, someone was cleaning so I walked through the doors in front of the monorail ticket both. I saw the escalators were operation and so I took it down. Everything seems normal so far.

I got to the next level down and saw the escalator to the ground floor was not operational. I was calling for help to a security guard at the bottom of the escalators on how to get out of there. The older man instead yelled up at me like a little kid to get back to where I was in a condescending tone and he proceeded to argue with me that the monorail was closed. Here I am trying to tell him that the monorail was working, otherwise how would I have gotten there, duh, and I needed help to get out of the building. He was constantly yelling at me (similar to how I yell at my dog for doing something wrong) and was combative. I ran into another security guard who politely asked how she could help, the sweet gal told us to just walk down the escalators. (do not walk down escalators that are blocked off in case of safety reasons you do not know about). I walked past the older yelling security guard, no apologies for not helping what so ever. He needs to be retrained not only on how to treat customers but how to treat people with respect in general. (So hard not to say anything about mall cops) It doesn't help that this reminds me of why I never shop in that area.

The only reason I even go to Westlake Center is for their food court. Honestly, their food court isn't even that good, but it's good for a quick bite before going on with your day downtown.