There were 3 or 4 negative posts about Harbor Mall when it first opened. Some wisely advised that we give it some time to fill in and develop. That was good advice.

I went there with my wife today. The place was buzzing. More than a dozen restaurants of wide variety; from the Food Court upstairs to the 3 Japanese restaurants, 2 Thai restaurants, a KFC, a Chester's, a "budget" steak house, a Korean restaurant, a Swensen's, several juice/ice cream/smoothie places, and a few others that I can't recall off hand. There are auto dealerships on the basement floor. There are a handful of cosmetic and clothing shops, a couple of beauty/hair shops, and several other shops of different kinds. And there's a fairly good sized supermarket on the basement floor, with what appeared to be a fairly large fruit and vegetable stock. Another feature that I liked is that there are comfortable upholstered chairs on both ends of all of the floors we visited. So, if you're like me, and hate trailing around behind your wife while she takes hours looking at things of no interest to you, you can sit and relax in a comfy chair, read a book, have some food and drink, and wait for her to return from her shopping frenzy.

All of that was on the 3 floors that we visited (Basement, Ground, 1st). There are 3 or 4 more floors above that we just didn't have time to explore. But I did learn that there are a lot of children's stores and entertainment places on at least 2 floors upstairs; and, of course, the new IT City shops.

The parking garage is located at the back, and is, I think, 5 levels. Plenty of covered parking. We had to go up 3 levels to find a spot today. Parking and security people were visible on every level. The parking spaces are wide enough for a full sized sedan to fit easily; and the traffic lanes are wide enough to navigate with ease.

Now I'm not saying that this mall compares to Central. It is no where near that size; and the shops, at least those that we saw, are no where near as numerous or as "high end" as those in Central. But I do believe that it is a decent, smaller scale alternative for those who don't want to battle the traffic hell that is 2nd Road and Beach Road. It's far from the disaster that some portrayed it to be a few weeks ago, just after it opened.

Good speed Free WiFi also.

When schools will start again weekdays will be nice and quiet as the focus is quite heavy on families with children.

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

How do you mean? What would be the 'right' location?

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

How do you mean? What would be the 'right' location?

if you like the location, up to you.

it will be MT in 2 years

Bigger better will come in better location.

Where is this?

wot

You are living the dream life ! lucky you !

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

Where is this?

Pattaya Central Road next to Foodland.

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

How do you mean? What would be the 'right' location?

if you like the location, up to you.

it will be MT in 2 years

Bigger better will come in better location.

I have no opinion on the location but you have.

You claim it is in the 'wrong' location but you can't tell us what you think is the 'right' location, so what is your idea of the 'better' location?

Never mind, I see your subsequent post suggesting Beach Road. I guess the weekend gridlock that has resulted since Central Festival opened and the double-parked tour buses for the island tourists on Beach Road hasn't come up on your radar yet.

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

i would call beach road a good location for a small mall.

and you think central road. .up near sukhumvet good for a small mall

RIGHT ON MATE

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

i would call beach road a good location for a small mall.

and you think central road. .up near sukhumvet good for a small mall

RIGHT ON MATE

They named the Road, "CENTRAL ROAD" because it is CENTRALLY located in the CENTER of town....Are you getting it?

Some people, very dumb people, might consider the CENTER OF TOWN a bad location.

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

i would call beach road a good location for a small mall.

and you think central road. .up near sukhumvet good for a small mall

RIGHT ON MATE

They named the Road, "CENTRAL ROAD" because it is CENTRALLY located in the CENTER of town....Are you getting it?

Was that it,

'Change', I think you're dead wrong on this. I don't know where you live; but for people living on the east side of Suk, this location is MUCH easier to get to, and return from, than anything further west. Are you a downtown guy? That's the only explanation I can think of for believing that Beach Road (REALLY?) is a better location for a small mall than where Harbor is located.

Think about the fact that it IS a "small mall". What reason would anyone have to deal with the downtown traffic to go to a small mall that's located close to the massive Central Festival?

If I owned a business, I can guarantee you that you would not be on my list of interviews for a marketing position!

come back in two years and report

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Is there anything at Harbor the others don't have or is it just the same old shops?

All business have a flurry of activity when they first start

Lets see how well its doing in 1 or 2 years time.

its in the wrong location.

CENTRAL ROAD, you know, the main road that goes thru the middle of town? Intersects with Sukhumvit, 3rd. Rd., 2nd Rd. & Beach Rd. is a bad location?

Tell me more.

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Exactly! I think that many of the folks who live on the west side of Suk are truly unaware of the population explosion that has taken place on the east side over the past 10 years. I moved here 10 years ago, and I can tell you that it has at least tripled. There are dozens of new villages; several big condo/apartment buildings; and hundreds of smaller shop house type strips.

As I've complained about before, there is NO large supermarket on this side. So, when people need to do some major food shopping, it's necessary to cross Suk to either Big C Suk, Lotus Suk, Big C Extra, or Foodland. All of those markets are much more accessible for us than anything further west, even with the disruption from the pork barrel tunnel.

Now the folks going to Big C extra or Foodland can make a 2 for 1 trip, and hit the Harbor Mall in one, relatively easy trip. ... But yeah, it's a terrible location.

The parking garage is located at the back, and is, I think, 5 levels. Plenty of covered parking. We had to go up 3 levels to find a spot today. Parking and security people were visible on every level. The parking spaces are wide enough for a full sized sedan to fit easily; and the traffic lanes are wide enough to navigate with ease.

I would disagree with you that the traffic lanes are wide enough, if you compare them to Central they are rather narrow.

When I parked my full sized sedan on level 3 at Harbor Mall reversing the car into an space with no other cars either side felt "cramped"

when leaving there where cars on either side and it took 3 bites to get out of the space without hitting the rather low retaining wall on the outside of the building or scraping other cars...maybe I was having a bad parking day ?

"Central Festival is a roaring success.

Location , Location, Location. that.s why,

Pattaya does not revolve around people from the dark side, "

Yes, and Big C Extra and Foodland are ghost towns, right?

I am pretty sure you'll find that most people on the east side (really shouldn't be called the "darkside" anymore) are more than happy to leave the lifestyle of downtown Pattaya who enjoy being surrounded by the ladyboys, criminals, ripoff tourist traps, rude and ignorant tourists, and violent drunken farangs to those who enjoy that lifestyle; and the constant massive traffic cluster <deleted> that goes with it. There is, of course, an element of all of that here; but it is truly a significantly smaller percentage on all counts.

If the day ever comes when a large supermarket, and, perhaps even a Harbor sized mall, open on this side, most east side residents will rarely cross Suk. I know I wouldn't. My only trip over there would be the necessary trek to Immigration every 90 days.

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Would you not agree BigC is a very different animal than the Harbor Mall.

Or are they the same ?

Is there anything at Harbor the others don't have or is it just the same old shops?

I didn't see anything exceptionally "new" on the 3 floors that I visited, other than a couple of food places that I haven't seen before. But I'll caveat even that by noting that I haven't done a lot of exploring of Central Festival, so many or all of these may exist there, as well.

As I've said, it's just a smaller, less extravagant, and (for SOME) more convenient alternative to mushing through the Pattaya traffic mess. If you're looking for a special "high end" clothing store, or some specific unusual shop, you probably won't find it at Harbor. At least not yet. As with any mall, it will evolve over time, depending upon the customer volume and demands.

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Would you not agree BigC is a very different animal than the Harbor Mall.

Or are they the same ?

Are we invoking the TV Forum Poster Only One axiom?

And is Harbor Mall a very different animal than Welcome Town?

While a number of good reasons can be given for the desirability of that location for the mall, you haven't given any good logical reasons for the opposite.

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Would you not agree BigC is a very different animal than the Harbor Mall.

Or are they the same ?

Are we invoking the TV Forum Poster Only One axiom?

And is Harbor Mall a very different animal than Welcome Town?

While a number of good reasons can be given for the desirability of that location for the mall, you haven't given any good logical reasons for the opposite.

How about the dearth of hotels that you can walk to Harbour Mall, unlike Central which is surrounded by hotels.

Try getting a Baht bus up Pattaya Klang, lot easier to get one down Beach Rd, or Second Rd.

I've been today. Packed with kids on lower floors, loads of animals on display including a couple of large beautiful owls just outside Starbucks. Goats, snakes & things in the basement.

It's a great place to eat with good choice of coffee shops too, wth plenty of seating and free wifi throughout.

Plenty of people will fill this place all year round, not necessarily tourists, in fact seems to be more locals than tourists that frequent this place at the moment.

Some off topic bickering posts and quoted replies have been removd

I've been today. Packed with kids on lower floors, loads of animals on display including a couple of large beautiful owls just outside Starbucks. Goats, snakes & things in the basement.

It's a great place to eat with good choice of coffee shops too, wth plenty of seating and free wifi throughout.

Plenty of people will fill this place all year round, not necessarily tourists, in fact seems to be more locals than tourists that frequent this place at the moment.

Yep, two beautiful nok huas.

Sorry, the uploaded twisted my pic again...turn head or phone 90 degrees ?

We been waitin' 15 years for the Central Road location to kill off Big C Extra--esp after the unthinkable happened in 2011 when Big C took over from Carrefour, which was supposed to be THE END.

Would you not agree BigC is a very different animal than the Harbor Mall.

Or are they the same ?

Are we invoking the TV Forum Poster Only One axiom?

And is Harbor Mall a very different animal than Welcome Town?

While a number of good reasons can be given for the desirability of that location for the mall, you haven't given any good logical reasons for the opposite.

How about the dearth of hotels that you can walk to Harbour Mall, unlike Central which is surrounded by hotels.

Try getting a Baht bus up Pattaya Klang, lot easier to get one down Beach Rd, or Second Rd.

No problem as customers will mostly drive to the mall as they're doing right now. Besides, if there's a real need, more baht buses can run on Pattaya Klang. It's not like there's a shortage. Once there were few baht buses traveling on Soi Buakhao, BTW.

You'll need to get over the idea that Pattaya is somehow as static as Pyongyang.

Central was once surrounded mostly by monger fleabag hotels. It preceded The Hilton, for example.

But now we've got less than 5 months to go before we can verify your doom prophecy. Shorter time limit than onemorechang's year or two. Our senior doomsayers, now, know better than to put time limits. That way they can live forever in anticipation of that delicious "I told you so" post and continue citing eyeball "evidence" year after year after year . . . .

Those that say it will be a success have stated their reasons why it will be. The city is changing, the demographics are changing and society is changing. These are all pretty undeniable facts.

Those that say it will fail have offered what reasoning? Their empirical and exhaustive knowledge of Pattaya beer bars that have gone tits up?