It's a good mall. Been nicely renovated and new additions…read more Contains all your same shops as most malls. Comfortable, clean & good areas for the kids. Great food court area. Parking is a bit of a maze. Keep an eye on where you parked! ;)

A lot is happening in the retail world in the Newcastle region with a focus on modernising stores…read more Making them bigger; have more variety with regard to international brands and providing a destination for not only shopping but dining and entertainment too. Westfield Kotara is still undergoing its transformation but so far the addition of the rooftop dining and cinema precinct as well as the expansion on the second floor has me excited and I'm not the shopping type. I have yet to try Event Cinemas but I have delighted my tastebuds at Kinn Thai, San Churro, Lone Star, Crinitis.... most of the rooftop restaurants to be honest. It's a lovely space. Kmart has yet to reopen (est late Nov 2018) and Toys r Us is no longer. David Jones and Target are still the major retailers with plenty of other stores catering to all fashions, beauty and home. 3 hour free parking seems standard now with the new parking system recording your cars number plate. No more tickets. Sadly though I don't think much has been done to ease the congestion issues.

I have shopped at Westfield, Kotara since it was first built, and have lived in the area for 56…read moreyears. I now have a disability sticker, have restricted walking ability, but have not registered it with Centre Management (too far to walk.) I usually park in the disabled area just below Woolworths, where I have always shopped. However, since the renovations, the access ramp from that disabled spot to Woolworths has been removed, and replaced with 3 steps. It is now too far to walk from Woolworths, down their side "footpath" to find access to that carpark, pushing a loaded shopping trolley down, and then all the way back to my car. I have noticed women with strollers, walkers, etc. automatically, after years of easy access, go towards the steps and then look around for the nearest access, ultimately heading way down to the next entrance to the mall and heading towards Coles. It is now too exhausting for me to shop at Woolworths with no easy access to my disabled spot, especially with a loaded trolley (I am 82 years of age), and will in future shop either online, or at Coles where I can park closer to that store. What architect, in their wisdom, kept the disabled parking and then did away with the access? Jan Burns, Email: jrburns4@bigpond.com

Not great customer service, went to try on jeans, was going to buy them but needed them taken up…read more As a vip member this is free but the assistant assumed I wasn't and started to tell me about local alteration/sewing services. Really a)she should of asked if I was a loyalty member and b) if I wasn't then she should of 'upsold'/encouraged me to spend more to be a member. I got the 'judged' vibe and it doesn't suit cr sales assistants. I had a similarly disappointing experience here at Christmas too where I was looking for a particular product I knew cr had but the sales assistant kept insisting they don't make, until I walked away and found another staff member who went straight to the shelf and got it for me. I know my country round and I found this rude. I buy everything at cr so I expect better service, but explains while mainly I do online shopping. Plus love Charlestown cr heaps better, much more polite staff.