Malls In Philippines

Robinsons Place Mall, Ermita, Malate,
Metro Manila. Click on image to enlarge.
This mall is about 5 blocks
from the new US Embassy.

Malls in the Philippines are definitely World Class!

Picture above is of Robinson's Place Mall in Malate, Metro Manila. It is within walking distance of the U.S. Embassy.
Visit Robinsons Malls web site to find locations of all Robinsons Malls in the Philippines.

Glorietta Mall in Makati, Philippines.
An Ayala Mall. Click on image to enlarge.

Go to the Ayala Malls web site.
At their site you can find locations of all Ayala Malls in the Philippines. The Ayala Land corporation also builds fabulous housing developments and condos. If you buy a residence in an Ayala development I believe it will be very well maintained, based on what I have seen in my travels.

 

Panoramic view of SM Mall of Asia.
Click on image to enlarge.

Go to the SM Supermalls web site to find locations of all their malls.

We visited SM City Clark Mall in Angeles City in 2018.

Malls in the Philippines are usually crowded in the afternoons and evenings. And I mean crowded!
The outdoor air temperature is usually quite hot so malls are great places to cool off. Good places to grab a bite to eat. Meet the locals and shop.

Malls always have armed security guards at each entrance and inside the malls. In many malls there are armed guards at the doors of many of the stores inside the mall. Don't be alarmed, in 5 years visiting malls I have never seen an incident.

In these malls you will find most of the restaurants listed in my article about American restaurants in the Philippines. At these places you may enjoy cheap dining in the Philippines.

See my tips about foods to avoid in the Philippines.

There is a jeepney station across from Marquee Mall in Angeles City. From there you may travel to many spots in Angeles City. There are also stretch multi cabs which travel from Marquee Mall to SM City Clark and to SM City San Fernando. The trip between Marquee Mall and SM City Mall in San Fernando is in the larger, more comfortable vehicles will use the NLEX highway and will take about 20 minutes. The fare is a little higher than jeepney fares, but well worth it.

Discount Clothing in Divisoria and Baclaran, Metro Manila

If you are looking for extreme bargains on clothing for men or women there is a place called Divisoria where there are many deep discount clothing stores selling good quality clothing not just cheap clothing. This is where many merchants buy stock for their stores. The public is welcome to shop here. Just beware of pick pockets, purse snatchers and  other unsavory characters. For safety it is best to go there with a Filipino friend who is familiar with the area. Dress down and keep a low profile. Wear no jewelry or fancy clothes or watches. I once made the mistake of negotiating for a pair of jeans. I paid 500 Pesos, and my wife told me she could have got them for 200 Pesos! So, from then on we used the following method to shop outside of malls. To get the lowest possible prices let your Filipino friend do the shopping and negotiating. Best if you wander by yourself at a distance from your friend and have a prearranged signal to let them know which items you like. Then they can go buy the items you have selected while you stay away from them. Be sure the vendors do not discover that you are together!

Use this handy map and directions to get to Divisoria.

Do not make friends with people who approach you or greet you on the streets or anywhere. Likely conversation, "Hello sir, where are you from?" "I am from USA." "Oh, I have been there" or "My uncle lives in......"  It is best not to carry on such conversations.

Another place to shop for discount clothing is an area called Baclaran. It is in Paranaque, Manila.

At Baclaran you can find a huge selection of childrens' and adult clothing and many goods featured in shopping malls but at bargain basement prices. Huge savings! Here is another map and pictures of some products for sale at Baclaran.

If you ask locals you will also discover which malls permit vendors to set up inside the malls. There you can also find some very good values. For example there are vendors inside Greenhills Shopping Center located in San Juan, Metro Manila and Robinson's Mall in Ermita, Malate, Metro Manila (see picture above). Some other cheap malls in the Manila area are Metro Point Mall on Taft Avenue in Pasay in Metro Manila and the 168 Shopping Mall.

Armed Security Guards check bags
at most malls we have visited.
We always feel safe in the malls.
 We have never seen an incident in a mall.

Probably the safest places in the Philippines are the world class shopping malls. There are armed guards at all entrances. They search inside all handbags, backpacks, sling bags, all other bags and even sealed boxes shoppers bring into the malls. They even do a quick pat down at the waist checking for weapons (as seen in the picture).  I'm sure they also are experts at profiling.

Inside the malls many merchants have uniformed guards at their entrances. 

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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back to read more about shopping malls and discount shopping in the Philippines. This article last updated March 30, 2024.