| rev:text
| - The Core Shopping Centre or CORE consists of TD Square and the Holt Renfrew. It is downtowns (DT) shopping complex and arguably Calgary's premium shopping district. Spanning 3 city blocks and 4 levels it contains an impressive 160+ stores and is connected to Calgary's +15 network. The highlight stores include the Holt Renfrew Flagship store, the Harry Rosen Flagship Store, H&M Flagship store and the Brooks Brothers Flagship store / Country Club. 3 out of 4 of these are very high end and all are impressive! There is also an Eveline Charles Salon & Academy, and my personal favorite the Devonian Gardens!
The mall is very beautiful and is aesthetically pleasing from the inside, but from the outside you probably wouldn't guess there was a gorgeous shopping centre just steps away. The architectural focal point is a vast suspended glass skylight that spans the length of the complex and is the largest point-supported structural glass skylight in the world! So if you visit take a break from your shopping and take a minute to marvel at the structural accomplishment above you! An even bigger must mention is the Devonian Gardens, a unique 2.5 acre glass-enclosed indoor botanical park! Please see my review on this if you're interested in more, it's my favorite part of the mall for sure!
Although this mall has several high-end shopping options as I indicated above, there are also several other options for all price points and categories. At one point there was even a dollar-store at this mall lol! Although that option has since been closed, there are still a number of affordable stores from names/brands you're used to seeing elsewhere. For fast food there is a complete food court at your disposal on the 4th floor, as well as other speciality food options throughout the mall. For cafes, Starbucks and Second Cup are on the first floor, Tim Hortons is up top amongst the food court. There is also a Shoppers Drug Mart as a mini-anchor on the ground level. Medical and Dental is on the fourth floor. For full-service restaurants there are 3 options in the mall: Double Zero Pizza, Metropolitan Grill and Hy's Steakhouse. Being in DT Calgary I wouldn't limit yourself to these options though as there's hundreds of restaurants within walking distance.
Although the mall is beautiful and offers a lot, it does have its short comings. First off the layout can be super confusing for newcomers as the escalators are placed in a way that you'll have to walk to different spots depending if you want to go up or down. Also if you need a bathroom you may find yourself sprinting to the 3rd or 4th level as there are none on the first 2 floors! Parking is free after 4pm on weekdays and all day Saturday/Sunday, this is actually a pretty good win for those who don't visit DT Calgary often as parking is usually a fortune and isn't free until after 6:00pm most places. There is also a complimentary Valet service, this service is free but parking fees do apply. The mall itself is quite busy, especially around lunch, however the rush dies down in the evening as everyone tends to jet out of DT after work hours. For this reason it shouldn't be surprising that this mall has shorter hours than most. Lastly there's free Wi-Fi and guest services will do gift wrapping for a donation :).
CORE is a pretty solid mall, especially for its DT location right in the heart of Calgary. It can come off as a bit awkward to navigate, but you get used to it. It's definitely a saviour for a lot of DT workers as an easy stopover before, after or between work, but as a go-to shopping centre it's just okay. If you don't live/work DT you're probably better off going to your local shopping centre. The other exception is the strong anchors/flagships, this might be a valid reason to visit if you're not usually in the area. Beyond this the highlights for me are the architectural design and the Devonian Gardens. I give a full extra start for just the gardens ;)!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)