Broad Street Mall Reviews Summary

Shopping Options

Pros:

• "Broad Street Mall central shopping mall with loads of little shops of all sorts of products big and small and at cut price in some stores."
• "The mall is home to over 60 shops and restaurants, including popular retailers such as Primark, Boots, and Wilko, as well as a range of independent businesses."
• "Busy place with lots of shops, the gym, 2 pound shops, coffee and snack shops."
• "A very decent mall with numerous shops and ample seating capacity for those who just want to sit and chill."
• "Great choice of boutiques, shops and places to grab a quick coffee/tea or some food."
• "Got a variety of shops in spread over two floors."
• "Broad Street Mall was a busy shopping centre based in the heart of reading. The mall has a unique mix of big brand and independent retail and lifestyle brands such as TK Maxx, Wilko, Poundland, Holland and Barrett, Grape Tree, Home Fragrance, F Hinds and Warren James."

Cons:

• "Rough, grubby and dated, did not have a pleasant feeling to it."
• "Tired Mall and at the wrong end of town."
• "Sadly it's starting to show its age."
• "Sadly neglected mall, far from it’s glory days as The Butts Centre."
• "Every time I visit, I get the feeling that it's closing down. Same outlets, same feeling."
• "Slightly dated mall which is under utilised."
• "A very old mall despite being in the city centre."

Parking and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Broad Street Mall parking is also better, more convenient for most of town and cheaper than The Oracle parking."
• "Plenty of parking and makes high street more accessible compared to parking in the Oracle."
• "Reading buses stop outside the Mall to all parts of Reading so easy access for wheelchair and lifts available too."
• "There is a large multi-storey car park with direct access to the first floor of the centre."
• "Ample parking space. Car park was nice and clean good spaces for parking."
• "Parking in the same block with direct access to the shops."
• "Accessible by car, with parking in reasonable prices."

Cons:

• "The car park is a pretty awful introduction to things... an approach that is badly lit, terrible road surface, lined with wheelie bins, sketchy barriers and lane separation hardware, and way too narrow."
• "One of the lifts was broken which meant we had to walk with the pram to the other side of the shopping centre to get to the 2nd floor of the car park."
• "Quite a few nice stores but parking is not in a good condition and it's expensive."
• "The only inconvenient thing about parking here is the fact that if you park on the third level, there are no pay stations there."
• "The old lifts to the first floor have narrow doors which would not accommodate large wheelchairs and are a pain to navigate in a shopping scooter."
• "Car parking experience is Not the best. Car entrances and exits can be narrow in places, and potentially confusing."
• "Nightmare getting a wheelchair in from the car park (broad Street mail) and trying to get through the doors."

Cleanliness and Maintenance

Pros:

• "Kept clean and tidy, active security team on watch but you hardly notice them till they are in action."
• "Loved the Christmas decorations this year. Also like the music and how they have resting chairs both downstairs and upstairs."
• "Very lively at Xmas time with great decorations and a large Christmas tree in the centre."
• "This centre is always nice and clean."
• "Clean and tidy and worth a 5 minute detour from the main shops just down the road."
• "Restroom is must be of course but they have it clean!"
• "There is always helpful people around to help and the selection of shops inside is just amazing there is something for everyone."

Cons:

• "The stairwells smell - unsurprisingly - of urine."
• "Broad Street Mall is doing its best to appeal to customers amid the empty shops. Looks rather 'sad' these days."
• "Not as fancy as the Oracle but better value for money."
• "Dirty toilets, cleaners always walking around chatting and not like oracle constantly checking loos."
• "The roof has been leaking for years, the toilets are a disgrace half the time."
• "In need of a total revamp, struggling to keep up with the Oracle."
• "Very tatty and tired looking."