Awesome Malls in SoCal

[PigletGurl]

Post here your favorite malls. I'm visiting cali in june and need an idea about the malls over there. Thanks!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

Where exactly will you be staying?

There are some great outlet malls in SoCal - Carlsbad and San Ysidro to name a couple, and Mission Valley is a nice mall with three outlet department stores - Nordstrom Rack, Loehmann's, and Off 5th across the street.

Fashion Valley is also nice, but the parking is a nightmare.

South Coast is very upscale and has a lot of shopping and dining variety. It is also enclosed, which the other malls I mentioned are not.

UTC in La Jolla is my personal favorite.

You really can't go wrong with any of the malls in Orange County, from my experience.

It just all depends on what kind of stores you are looking for.

 

[sunshinemummy]

I agree it depends on the stores you are looking for. Coming from Canada I was really looking forward to doing some shopping. We went to the Anahiem Plaza, Beuna Park, Lakewood, The Grove, Citadel Outlets...and a few more I cannot remember.

I was disappointed by the Citadel Outlet, didn't find much there. I enjoyed shopping at JC Penny's, Kohl's (my new favorite store and they won't ship to Canada so I cannot order from them ), Target, Macy's, Mervyn's, etc... (all stores we don't have here)

The Grove was very high-end stuff but that is where the American Girl store is so we had to go.

Have fun!

 

[scooter15]

South Coast Plaza!!!!!! Its in Costa Mesa in Orange County. It is upscale but they also have many of the same stores as other malls.

Are you looking for outlet malls because we got lots of those as well. My personal favorites in So Cal are Carlsbad (next to Legoland), Camarillo, and Cabazon (Palm Springs area).

 

[c&m]

My faves are:

- Newport Fashion Island in Newport Beach
- The Grove in L.A.
- Carlsbad Factory Stores in Carlsbad, San Diego
- UTC in La Jolla
- South Coast Plaza (had a celebrity sighting there)

I also look out for Target, JC Penny, and Ross stores anywhere. In Canada, there's nothing that comes close to those stores.

Like another PP, I was also disappointed with the Citadel outlet stores.

 

[biolabetty]

Ontario Mills is one of my favorites. It is a huge outlet mall in Ontario, not really close to Anaheim, but not all that far either.

 

[honeymom]

If you are looking to celeb sight, I wouldn't bother with the malls. Shop the Montana district by Santa Monica. When I used to live in LA, I used to like to go there. It was pretty, the stores were cool, and while I wasn't there to celeb seek, I did sometimes see some.

 

[bulldoggrl]

Ontario Mills and Victoria Gardens are right next to eachother, both HUGE with tons of different stores. I would try those, plus any in OC

 

[joech]

How's is Las America in San Diego?

 

[amyamya]

If there is any way you can get a car and travel a couple of hours out of LA you must visit the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, CA. These are some of the best outlets in the country, they have stores there that don't have outlets anywhere else and there are literally hundreds of places to shop. People come from other countries to shop there. If you love to shop, it is a must see. I just got an email they are opening a Kate Spade outlet...

 

[Monkey Monkey]

How's is Las America in San Diego?

There are a lot of good stores there, including my favorite - the Disney Store Outlet.

Check out chelseapremiumoutlets.com for store listings for Las Americas, Carlsbad, Cabazon, and Camarillo outlets.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

If there is any way you can get a car and travel a couple of hours out of LA you must visit the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, CA. These are some of the best outlets in the country, they have stores there that don't have outlets anywhere else and there are literally hundreds of places to shop. People come from other countries to shop there. If you love to shop, it is a must see. I just got an email they are opening a Kate Spade outlet...

Agreed - Cabazon is amazing, but you really need a whole day to spend there! (And lots of $$$ )

 

[rockstargeisha]

Fashion Island in Newport Beach hands down. It's a beautiful outdoor mall with lots of shops. There are two movie theaters, a Bloomingdales store (both for apparel and a home store), a Macy's, and many excellent dining options.

If you want an even more grand experience try the Irvine Spectrum in Irvine. It's a ginormous outdoor mall with tons of entertainment, dining, and shopping options. I recommend enjoying it during the day, parking in the evening can be a dreadful experience.

 

[LindaM]

DD and I are going in June as well for a girls only trip, last time we went to Ontario Mills outlet, we loved it. Some of you mentioned you were disappointed in Citadel, can you tell me why? Citadel was high on my dd list of malls to check out. We set aside a full day of shopping, can someone tell me more about Desert Hills in Cabazon? How far from Anaheim? We will have a car, and I don't mind driving for some good shopping

Sorry OP for highjacking your thread.

 

[amyamya]

DD and I are going in June as well for a girls only trip, last time we went to Ontario Mills outlet, we loved it. Some of you mentioned you were disappointed in Citadel, can you tell me why? Citadel was high on my dd list of malls to check out. We set aside a full day of shopping, can someone tell me more about Desert Hills in Cabazon? How far from Anaheim? We will have a car, and I don't mind driving for some good shopping

Sorry OP for highjacking your thread.

Cabazon is by Palm Springs on the 10 freeway. I read on their website there is a shuttle...


From Anaheim:
Anaheim Visitors Center
Shuttle To Desert Hills Premium Outlets every Wed & Sat. (714) 239-1340

If you drive it would prob take about 2 hours, maybe less. The stores are amazing but the downside is there are so many and so spread out that during the summer it is crazy hot to walk around to all the shops. Ontario Mills is indoors for a reason. Check out the website for a list of stores and more info.
premiumoutlets.com

 

[CardinalDad]

The Grove in LA is one of the best.

 

[Alice's Mom]

If you can be in LA, the Grove is one of the best, but I have now been to the Americana in Glendale, and WOW! It is a supercharged Grove (same developer) and across the street from a fantastic indoor shopping mall.

If staying in Orange County South Coast Plaza is great and huge!

 

[minniebeth]

We thought The Grove was just amazingly beautiful!

 

[blue donkey]

Does anybody happen to know if the Burberry store at Cabazon sells some of their handbags? Or its just clothing?

 

[lotsofboys]

Southcoast Plaza gets my vote