ABU DHABI // By 10am on Wednesday a long line of vehicles was slowly rolling into Yas Mall, each filled with families eager to get a first glimpse of the capital’s newest and largest shopping centre.
By noon, the waiting time for a table at the much-anticipated The Cheesecake Factory restaurant – the city’s first – was up to 40 minutes. A floor below, Paul Cafe and Shakespeare and Co were overflowing with customers.
“I’m really surprised how many people have turned up,” said Epu Ahad, a 39-year-old British housewife who was among the first shoppers to enter the mall. “When we were trying to get in, there were cars, traffic jams and all. It was so busy.”
The opening day of the 2.5-million-square-metre centre was not without its shortcomings. Many of its 370 stores, including Pottery Barn, Hamleys, Versace, Juicy Couture, Candylicious, Under Armour, DKNY, and others, had not yet opened.
Only fast-food chains Burger King and McDonald’s were serving meals in the food court near the cinema. The first impressions from the car park were probably not the most positive, as fixtures and doors were covered in dust and workers continued to paint, scrape and complete the finishing touches.
“I guess it’s not finished yet,” said Teresa Sanders, a 55-year-old American who had to bypass workers busy on a scaffolding at one of the entrances.
But the first-day snags were easily forgiven, and even anticipated, by patrons who spent hours exploring the centre’s bright interior and airy, open design.
“I know the culture here. I expect things to be started slow,” said Mrs Ahad. “I can see that some shops, even though the doors are open, they’re still not up and running. But it’s amazing.
“They’ve almost got Dubai in Abu Dhabi now. I think this is a great achievement. They’ve opened a lot for the first day.”
The mall’s Town Centre, so called because it is at the centre of the complex and connects four of its five main corridors or avenues, is billed as the Middle East’s largest enclosed gathering space in any shopping centre.
It features an indoor courtyard surrounded by trees, restaurants and shops, and contains a shallow pool that shoots small drops of water into the air. The entire space is brightly lit by a skylight made of interlocking rings.
“You walk into this space and it just hits you. It’s like, ‘wow’,” said Juliana Dougall, a 53-year-old South African housewife who visited the mall with her friends. “I love it, it’s like fresh air, it’s like, ‘wow’. It’s beautiful.”
Juncal Marcellan, a 39-year-old Spaniard who had lunch at the mall with her friend and their two children, said Yas Mall far surpassed Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates. “I think this mall is one of the best malls in the UAE at the moment,” said Mrs Marcellan.
“Yes, better than Dubai. I think this is fantastic.
“It’s the first mall that we’re going to need sunglasses in. You feel like you are outside. You feel like you are in the street, walking and shopping.”
Visitors enjoyed the mall’s quirky features, such as the red tunnel slide customers can use to wind down from the second to the ground floor at the Virgin Megastore, or the life-size camel made of Lego blocks at the Lego Concept store – a first for the region.
“It’s beautiful, it’s a piece of art, it’s creative, it entices people’s imagination and gets them to be more interested in the way they look at things,” said Laith Al Jumaily, a 52-year-old Iraqi who was photographing the 12-foot tall steel tree sculpture designed by South African artist Marco Cianfanelli and architect Jeremy Rose. “It’s a beautiful mall. It is really impressive,” he said.
rpennignton@thenatinal.ae
