Chadstone Shopping Centre (or colloquially known as Chaddy to locals) is the largest shopping centre in Australia and it claims to the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. It is my go to shopping centre (even though it isn’t the closest one to me).
Chaddy is located to the south east of Melbourne’s CBD. It is a popular shopping destination for locals and tourists alike. There are so many shops that you won’t have enough time to visit everything you want in one day and so many things to eat. If you need anything, you are bound to find it in one way or another at this shopping centre.
What can you do at Chadstone
There are over 530 stores. The stores includes big retail and smaller boutique stores such as David Jones, Myer, H&M, Sephora, EB Games, Uniqlo, Zara, Muji, Apple, Nike, Adidas, Culture Kings, Target, Kmart, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Rebel Sport, JB Hi-Fi, Legoland Discovery Centre and Hoyts Cinema.
The Legoland Discovery Centre is on the top floor and only grants entry to children. Adult only attendees can’t enter, except on certain adults only nights. The Hoyts Cinema area is probably the best in Melbourne. It is big, has heaps of treats on offer, from Ben and Jerry ice cream to premium hot foods like hot dogs and burgers, and recliner seats in their standard cinema (though it is becoming a standard feature across all cinemas).
The stores are segmented into their categories, so you can expect to find similar stores close to one another. For example the shops for children are in between Myer and David Jones, while fresh food, bakeries and delicatessens are located near the Coles and Aldi stores. The fresh food area is mixed in with some popular restaurants on the Ground Floor like Pepper Lunch, Yokozuna, Shanghai Red, Paparich and D’Elephant.
There are also luxuries brands on offer including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Miu Miu, Hermes, Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, Omega, Burberry, Coach and Jimmy Choo.
There are two food courts, both offering a fantastic arrange of dining options. The bigger of the food courts has Hawker Chan, Rice Workshop, Dumplings Plus, Royal Stacks, Nene Chicken, Daniel’s Donuts and Thailander. There are also several restaurants all over the centre. I recommend visiting the restaurants on Level 1 near Hoyts and also Calia (and Calia Grill), which is near the luxury section of the shopping centre. Calia does some delicious Japanese rice bowls, wagyu bowls with poached egg, and desserts, including their oozing lava cake. There are so many fantastic dining options at Chadstone.
You can also stay at Hotel Chadstone and enjoy the dining options at its base including Meat Wine and Co, which does South African cuisine. The hotel has an infinity pool and looks pretty awesome from the photos that I have seen. The hotel precinct only opened in 2019.
Getting there
The best way to get to Chadstone is driving to the shopping centre. The whole shopping centre is surrounded by multilevel and underground parking. There is over 9,000 free car parking spaces with indicators to show whether car parking spaces are occupied or not and signs showing where car parks are full. There are specialty marked car parks for electric vehicles to charge their cars while shopping, parents with prams and for people with a disability (so long as you have the disability sticker).
Chadstone is located on the Princes Highway and is hard to miss as you will be able to spot Hotel Chadstone and Vicinity Centres building from the main road. You can also get here using the Monash Freeway. When I arrive at most times of the day, I find that the parking near the Baby Bunting entrance and the Legoland and Hoyts entrance to fill up very quickly, whereas the car park near Coles and David Jones entrance is relatively available most of the time, except during Boxing Day sales.
On Boxing Day sales, you should expect to come before 8:00 am, because everyone makes an attempt to visit the shopping centre during this time to take part in the sales or to return or exchange their Xmas presents. If you come after 8:00 am, you can expect never ending traffic queues and potential hair loss moments (as you pull strands of hair in the driver’s seat while venting your frustration for hopping into the car after spending too long in the bathroom in the morning).
The other option is public transport. There is a dedicated bus that can take people straight from Federation Square to Chadstone. This bus is aimed at tourists and runs daily. The other option is to take the buses at the train stations. Most of the buses will have a stop at Chadstone, including from Caulfield Station, Huntingdale Station and Oakleigh Station. If you just want to take the train and walk, the best station would be Hughesdale Station. You can just hop off and walk 10 minutes to the centre. (It makes no difference in cost if you decide to wait for a bus since Melbourne’s public transport Myki ticketing means that there is no additional cost, since it is pay by time and not distance.)
There are plans to extend a tram line (or light rail) to Chadstone Shopping Centre from Caulfield Station.
Chadstone Shopping Centre is located to the southeast of Melbourne’s CBD at 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone VIC 3148:
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