Sam T.
Yelp
This would be a great mall if it weren't for the deliberately unethical parking practices, designed to milk customers for as much money as possible. I got charged a whopping $14 today for exceeding a 3-hour validation by a few mins, and customer service was rude and hung up on me. Apparently even employees have to pay obscene parking rates!
FYI, none of the shops and restaurants validate EXCEPT these 3 places. They each have totally different rules too, which keep changing. I only found out after calling to complain and, after being passed around, one agent finally apologized and was nice enough to explain. No signs anywhere in the mall, on machines or even on the Westfield website explaining any of this. According to today's agent:
AMC - Free for 3 hrs with validation (movie stub required), $6 after
Bloomingdale's - Free for 2 hours, $4 after
Gelson's - Free for 3 hrs with min $10 purchase, but automatic $14 charge for the next 20 mins if you exceed those 3 hrs
The parking office folks seems almost bored at the volume of complaints - they are obviously already aware that this is a massive issue for customers. You can email complaints to centurycity.mgmt@urw.com, I did, but I don't know if it will go anywhere.
The "free first hour" is meaningless, you'll already spend at least 20 mins trying to park in the confusing structure even at quiet times.
A real shame, as this is a beautiful mall. If you can get dropped off, perhaps you can enjoy a nice day here. Otherwise, avoid!
*Adding this in response to the reply below: thank you for responding promptly Louis. However:
1) The claim that all stores can validate is simply a lie. Just today in several shops, they answered "no sorry, try Gelson's or Bloomingdale's". This has been my experience in the past too. Even the people at Gelson's know that the rest of the mall sends everyone there to validate. For the convenience of customers, if other stores are able to validate, why don't you list them here? Why not be clear and transparent on your website with all the information?
2) It is simply unethical and predatory to auto-charge $14 for even 1 minute outside the 3-hour free period. Gelson's have confirmed that this is parking management's policy, not a Gelson's decision, as the store was there way before the mall existed and the parking structure is a separate business they have a contract with. Their part is simply agreeing to offer 3 hours free with a min purchase, not what the parking company chooses to charge after that. Sadly for Gelson's, they face the brunt of customer complaints as the parking company always shift the blame to them. Even employees from elsewhere in the mall often come to validate there, leaving and reentering before the 3 hours just to avoid obscene parking fees which their employers do not cover.
There's very little any of us can do, other than to let others know and avoid going to this mall altogether.