We take a look at London’s Westfield shopping centres, as they launch a range of services for the group and coach market.

One of the most exciting names in shopping destinations, Westfield, is launching a range of initiatives to ensure groups have a great experience at their London centres. Well-known for their excellent mix of stores, entertainment, restaurants and services, Westfield now wants to make sure that groups also get to enjoy all the benefits. Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City will both be offering:

• Coach drop off and pick up bays
• Free coach parking when pre-booked
• A ‘meet and greet’ service provided by their concierge teams for pre-booked coaches
• Group rates in the top restaurants at each centre.

Early next year, Westfield will also be launching a brand new section of their websites, specifically for the groups’ market and trade.

WESTFIELD LONDON

Westfield London is an exciting and architecturally-striking shopping and leisure destination in London. Over 310 retailers and more than 750 brands showcase their best in the centre, with House of Fraser, Waitrose, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Next as the anchor stores. A focus on fashion retail has resulted in 14 brands making their UK debut at Westfield London, with 40 luxury brands housed in a special premium space called The Village.

Great dining is also available, as more than 60 venues offer around 25 styles and nationalities of cooking. A cluster of 15 restaurants runs the length of Southern Terrace, the pedestrian street of dining, and open cooking brings drama to the collection of 17 counters on The Balcony and Loft, where fresh food is prepared fast and to order.

Westfield London also houses the UK’s biggest and most technologically advanced, fully digital, 14-screen multiplex cinema, Vue Westfield. With 82,360 square feet of cinema space, 14 wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling screens, including five 3D-enabled screens, and a VueXtreme screen which offers customers a ‘super-sized’ sound and vision experience, this is Vue Entertainment’s most ambitious development to date.

Gymbox has opened a flagship gym at Westfield London with more than 100 classes to choose from, an Olympic-sized boxing ring, 70 state-of-the-art cardio machines, an indoor sprint track, the city’s largest free weights area, cutting-edge nightclub interiors and live DJs.

Westfield London features a large central atrium which plays host to cultural and educational events throughout the year – from photographic exhibitions through to spectacular fashion shows and world film premieres. An on-site state-of the-art library serves the local community.

Transport links make Westfield London the best connected shopping destination in the UK. Four underground stations provide on average a tube every five minutes, an overland station connects Clapham Junction and Watford Junction to Westfield London, while two bus stations provide, on average, a bus a minute. 4,250 parking spaces are located directly beneath the centre and to make parking easier than ever, intelligent software leads motorists to available spaces with directional lighting.

The Village, a luxury shopping space located inside Westfield London, is home to over 40 premium brands including Prada, Louis Vuitton and Mulberry. The focal point in the heart of The Village is Searcy’s Champagne Bar, ideal for complementing the luxury shopping available in the space. The Village also plays host to various cultural events, including art exhibitions, fashion installations and entertainment evenings.

WESTFIELD STRATFORD CITY

Hundreds of thousands of visitors have had a glimpse of Westfield Stratford City as they hurried through on their way to the Olympic Park for London 2012 events last year, or for the Anniversary Games and the Open East Festival this year. It is hoped that many of these visitors will return to the shopping centre in its own right to make the most of this key retail and leisure destination.

Located at the gateway to the newly-named Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with spectacular views over London, Westfield Stratford City has over 250 stores and more than 70 dining options, as well as the Great Eastern Market, a unique food market. The anchor stores are John Lewis, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, and Westfield Stratford City is also home to three hotels, the UK’s largest All Star Lanes bowling alley, a 17 screen all-digital Vue cinema and London’s largest casino by Aspers.

Over 58 trains per hour connect the centre to the city in just eight minutes, Docklands in 11 minutes and to the West End in only 20 minutes. For those driving to the centre, there is a 5,000 space car park. Once inside, interactive kiosks ensure shoppers can establish the best route to and from one store to another and concierge staff are on hand to personally answer any questions.

Art and design have influenced Westfield Stratford City and the results of the Studio East project have touched every corner of the centre; young designers under the guidance of Tracey Emin, award-winning designer Tom Dixon, renowned fashion designer Roland Mouret and supermodel Erin O’Connor created everything from light fittings to uniforms, sculptures and energy saving innovations that have been built into the fabric of the centre. A commitment was made to achieving high standards in sustainability and Westfield is setting a new benchmark for an urban retail-led development by housing its own Combined Cooling and Heating Power (CCHP) plant on site.

Both Westfield centres aim to provide an all-round convenient and enjoyable experience. With this in mind, they offer customers a range of services that go above and beyond those usually found in shopping centres:

• ‘Handsfree’ Shopping This service takes the strain off shoppers, leaving them free to continue to enjoy their day. Customers collect a hand-held device which they buzz ten minutes before they wish to leave, so that their bags will be ready for collection. For those using the valet parking service at Westfield London, bags will be packed ready and waiting into cars as well.
  • Home Delivery, Cloakroom and Bag Storage Westfield offers home, hotel and international delivery options, all at competitive prices. The cloakroom is a great solution for visitors on holiday or for those who have too much to carry and who simply want to drop off some items while they shop or eat. 

• Family Services Both centres offer ‘kiddy cars’ available for hire, family rooms that are fully equipped with changing facilities and feeding areas, and Playworld for children under five. 

• Free Wi-Fi and mobile app The app includes a handy route-finder so that users can navigate the centre with ease, locate their favourite shops and restaurants, access the latest offers, events and fashion news, find out what’s on the cinema and thanks to a built-in travel guide with links to transport updates, it can even help visitors work out how to get home again. 

• Chauffeur Service (Westfield London only) A luxurious car and a uniformed chauffeur can be booked to drive customers to their destination in comfort and style. 

• Valet Parking (Westfield London only) Experienced valets park visitors’ cars - ten minutes before they are ready to leave, they simply buzz the hand-held device and their car will be waiting for them.

• Find My Car (Westfield Stratford City only) Users simply type the registration number of their car into the mobile app and they’ll see a photo of their car along with a map showing where it is and easy directions on how to get there. 

• InSpiration (Westfield Stratford City only) This is a multi-faith worship and prayer area. Shoppers can drop in for some quiet time or to speak to one of the volunteer chaplains.