Westfield London (Shepherd's Bush) is the best. The food courts in particular. The architecture is fantastic, the BBC's orchestra often plays there (which makes sense seeing as the BBC is on the opposite side of the road
) and there are a wide variety of more exotic shops.
Westfield Stratford I dislike, as it's just another mega-mall. The layout is a complete imitation of the Trafford Centre (one large shop at either end, with a curved walkway between them), the shops are mundane (there is a PC WORLD, for goodness sake! :roll:
) and it's far too congested. The only credit I'll give Stratford is the Premier Inn. It is a fantastic hotel. All the more brilliant if you don't mind paying £9.80 a day to use the Southeastern high-speed service, allowing you to get from St Pancras to the hotel entrance within about 10 minutes.
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No wonder town centres are dying with places like that!!!!
Town centres are dying primarily because of internet shopping, not shopping centres. The main reason why
certain shopping centres are thriving is because they offer an altogether different experience to online shopping. For example, Westfield London's food court is something that cannot be replicated online.
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Beats the Trafford Centre with its tacky imitation baroque finish and lack of direct rail or tram link...:eek:
I completely agree, it's far too tacky. Although I would visit more often if they built a tram to the place!