Cara L.
Yelp
So, I feel like it wouldn't be fair of me to rate University Village any less than 4 stars. Even though I don't love my experiences here, it's a beautiful, outdoor mall packed with quality shops, restaurants, and it's up-keep is on point. It's a high-quality mall.
BUT--for me personally, the drive or even ride over to this mall is enough to keep me away. And even though I feel that way, it's not right to rate the mall based on the toxic mix of poor city planning, high-population, and ignorant drivers that combines to make a traffic nightmare of epic proportions. Simply put, just getting to U. Village is maddening.
On top of that, because it's such a nice, outdoor mall, it draws the "lets hang out here for no reason" crowds which I cannot deal with. I hate to be a crab, but man... when I go to a mall, it doesn't matter how nice it is, I want in and out, fast. I'm there with a purpose. But that's not the case with most who shop at U. Village. There are a ton of families, and even dogs, walking about. Which is cute, but it makes shopping harder. This translates to a lot of people not paying much attention to those around them. It means having to say "excuse me" a lot just to simply walk down the sidewalk or get inside a store. This isn't the mall for you if you're like me and want your shopping experience to be time efficient.
Parking can be pretty annoying here, but it's not always bad. I almost always just skip the hunt for a spot and just park in the QFC lot. There's as always been space there, even on the busiest days I've visited.
Otherwise, there aren't many options here for nice mens attire. Most mens clothing stores here are sporty or outdoorsy, or Tommy Bahama. The only store I could find that had dressier mens clothes and some mens shoes was H&M. So definitely not a mall to come to for mens suits, shoes, or fashion.