Place Versailles is a-ok. Yes, it could be better; however, it's a major shopping center with…read moreample parking on the east side of Montreal where, unbeknownst to a lot of tourists, there is a large swath of different neighborhoods, some with attractive detached homes, with many demographics having different tastes, needs, and budgets.
The layout is not exactly simple and linear, but it's not that challenging since the mall is more of a medium-sized one. It has 2 or 3 anchors and plenty of "middle class" stores. I say that because you won't find the upscale ones here and one of the anchors is Canadian Tire (which is a general merchandise mart as well). The food court is small, but it has enough variety. If you're looking to a mall food court to eat well, I'd question why you'd even be doing that. Mall food court food is "tide over" food.
Not everyone needs trendy things. I say that because, in Montreal, there are many places to buy things that are "cool" or "chic," with most of them in more urban(e) shopping centers downtown or in boutiques throughout the more sought after neighborhoods. However, people also need malls with bread and butter stores and, at present, that's the niche that Place Versailles appears to fill.
Because of its simple nature, Place Versailles gets 3 stars from me. It's great that Montreal has a mall like this within its city limits, and that it sits right next to the 25 at Sherbrooke. This type of suburban mall is more likely to be encountered further out ... on the West Island, in Laval, and on the north and south shores. Again, there is plenty of free parking - a real challenge in most parts of Montreal - and, should you want to take the Metro running under Sherbrooke to get here, your station would be Radisson.