The Shops at Chestnut Hill

I appreciate that this is a smaller shopping center with better quality stores overall compared to a lot of mega-malls, where it's the same stores over and over and over again. What I didn't appreciate was how challenging it was to get into the parking lot and navigate around it, especially from MA 9 heading east. Had it not been for onboard navigation, I expect I would have circled a while. People tend to take short-cuts through the parking lot to get to the elevated parking area. Inside is pleasant, though it feels like the escalators are misplaced. But bonus points for having a Friendly Toast restaurant!

I haven't been to this mall in forever. I made my return after almost 20 years probably. I didn't realize how small it was! It's two stories but the stores and the mall itself probably need somewhat of a modern upgrade. It was very quiet on a Friday night. I bought some items from Bloomingdale's and they were all friendly. I will say some shops are upscale and the mall itself is quiet and located on a busy street with lots of restaurants and entertainment.

This mall has some nice stores in it, but it does not feel very welcoming at all. There are very few places to sit and rest inside, and none outside. If one takes public transportation, as I do, it is even less welcoming. There is a small waiting area for the bus, with an even smaller bench inside that fits two people. Anyone else who is waiting will either have to stand or sit on the metal barrier. There are always lots of people waiting for the bus when I am there. This meabs that the seating is inadequate and feels like an afterthought. Perhaps no one has thought of this, but the implicit message seems to be that if you don't have a car, you don't really belong there.
I think that this mall would attract more customers if they put some outdoor chairs and benches in, like The Street nearby and the shopping area accross the street have. As it is, this mall feels rather outdated and suburban.

Sewage smell is awful. The whole place stinks except Bloomingdale's which gets away with perfume smell in their stores. This place needs to be shut down. There's a review on here from early 2022 talking about the same thing, yet they haven't fixed this issue. Been here multiple times over several months because it's the closest Apple Store location. Disgusting.

I feel like The Shops at Bloomingdale's is a more appropriate name for this mall because it seems like Bloomingdale's takes up half the space. Structurally this is a very visually appealing mall, but I'm surprised it isn't bigger given the location.

Mostly high-end stores here and no food court so it isn't a typical mall. I do like that Boston Barkery is in here since I've been to the Northshore Mall location. This store is probably the reason why I saw more dogs than I've ever seen in a mall in my entire life.

The restrooms aren't easily accessible. They're located down a long hall across from the Cheesecake Factory. There's a bunch of nice photos on the wall like it's trying to be an art gallery. Strikes me as a weird place for that.

Parking is easy to find and not far from the mall entrance. If you want a larger variety of shops I recommend going to the Natick Mall instead.

15 minutes to pay. They only had 1 cashier. It was 2 minutes to check out next door at Uniqlo

Very nice but very limited. Higher end.

A quick shopping experience at The Shops. It's definitely a higher-end mall and does not have a huge number of shops. The shops they do have, I would say that they cater to a bigger budget than I would usually spend.

Bloomingdale's, Brooks Brothers, Apple, Crate & Barrel, Kate Spade, Sephora. Great shops, definitely.

The mall is clean, is well lit, is well occupied and is a pleasant shopping experience.

This is the 2nd time I came here this week but both times the fire alarm went off. Something's wrong.

For Xmas shopping, I prefer the shops at Chipmunk Hill because they sing carols to me in high-pitched voices. But nobody sang carols like the Carpenters, not even Carol King. I believe that all carols were written by Lewis Carol. But I've been wrong before.

This is an extremely, extraordinarily, shockingly expensive mall, but then aren't most malls these days? However, this one is so pricey that I can't bring myself to give it 5 stars. Otherwise, I absolutely would. Partly because it's gorgeous, and in a lovely part of town, and a well-designed mall on a hill that overlooks the area and is easy-ish to get to (though not close enough to the highway for convenience). It is, though, right on a high-speed East-West main road and that helps.

There are a small selection of stores, not like a mega-mall, but it's a lot of high-end and exciting stores that rich folk and nearly rich folk and someday-rich-but-window-shopping folk, will enjoy. In other words, everyone in America and tourists too.

But the main reason I give TSACH (I love making acronyms, and I heard that YLMA too) a 5-star-minus-1-for-prices, is that it is the only location on earth - other than Dartmouth University, no less - where there is a Morano Gelato. And Morano Gelato, in case you didn't know, is probably the best gelato outside Italy, and certainly outside Europe, that has ever been created or tasted. It's just that damn good. And I mean pretty much all the flavours. And when you have a gem like that (which is the only reason I keep coming to this mall), then the mall itself deserves a high rating.

So I hope you enjoyed that little chestnut.

It happened that today I arrived 25 minutes earlier than the pickup window that I chose. The store employee demanded that I walk out and return 25 minutes later to pick up my new iPhone. He never offered any other alternatives and was not polite. Because I couldn't wait, I was forced to cancel my order. I understand that one iPhone is nothing for the company. But it didn't help me to continue being a loyal customer.