Reviewed by C
Overall: Best room at Westfield Chatswood! Nappy change, rest, feed, play. Clean and spacious.
Good Points: Easy entry – big sliding frosted glass doors. Nappy change area separate to food prep area. Decent size play area. Two darkened private feeding cubicles. Clean and working microwave. Separate sinks for food prep and nappy change areas. Extra seating just inside the entrance. Big loo and little loo.
Bad Points: No powerpoints in feeding cubicles. Feeding cubicles are a little small. No paper towel at the nappy change bench. Shop staff like to use the microwave. Sanitary bin between big and little loo.
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| The sign at the front of the door so you know you’re in the right place |
After a lovely half hour of awesome playtime at Softplay (never been to a timed play centre before), we were ready for some foooodd!!!! So what else are you going to do? Head to the food court! Yippee!
We got the lift from Level 6 down to Level 4 and made our way across to the food court. Bub and dad went to Subway, while I went to Maccas. Yep, Subway is definitely the better choice but the Happy Meals had My Little Pony’s! And I…oops!….and Casey really wanted a pony.
Anyway, looking around checking out the parent and child friendliness of the food court, I spotted the signs for the toilets and saw there was a Parent Room there too! Very very happy mummy. The hallway to the bathrooms and Parent Room is in the far right corner of the food court, between a kebab outlet and Oporto (I think) Look for the signs hanging down from the ceiling – cannot miss it.
The food court is okay. Has all the usual suspects of fast/semi-fast food. Some healthy options which is good to see. There were a couple of high chairs dotted about the place, and various seating options – from chairs through to cushy stools and booths. Like most food courts, it’s manic during lunch hour so can be a bit tough to navigate with a pram. Umbrella strollers, however, are a cinch.
So the Parent Room! It has my favourite kind of door – big sliding frosted glass door with a big green button to whack to make it open. These doors make life soooo much easier. Once inside, it’s a pretty lovely Parent Room experience. Floating floorboards (or something that looks like it), green, creams and brown for the fitout – nice and soothing.
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| The decals on the front sliding door are so welcoming. Love these doors. Perfect for the larger prams |
Directly to your right as you walk in, there is a little extra seating area. I guess if the feeding cubicles are full, or your partner/hubby/friend/mum etc wants to give you some space or something, these couple of extra chairs come in handy. Directly to your left (opposite this little seat nook) is the toilet.
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| Extra seating just to the right as you enter the Parent Room |
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| Big loo and little loo |
For the most part, the toilets get my approval – apart from the sanitary bin being between the 2 loos, instead of between the wall and the big loo. Anyway….the good thing is there are 2 loos!! Yay! Each has it’s own toiler paper dispenser, plus individual sink and soap. And there’s paper towel for drying hands – yay again!! Much more hygienic than hand dryers, and teaches little people to dry their hands properly before leaving the bathroom. I like it! It’s a pretty good size bathroom………definitely would be able to get a pram in there (if you don’t mind shunting the door open with the pram – one of those annoying pressure doors).
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| Love big and little sinks, with separate soap units |
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| Spacious change area. Three change bays, two sinks |
For little people requiring nappy changes, the change area has 3 bays, each with a sink to the side. The sinks have soap dispensers, and nappy bins are in pullout cupboards underneath the bench. The area is clean and well fitted out. Just make sure you have something to dry your hands on (eg a flannel or tissues) as there isn’t a hand-dryer or paper towel within arms reach.
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| Separate food prep area, including separate sink. |
At the far end of the Parent Room is the food prep area and the private feeding cubicles. The food prep area is pretty simple. Long bench, paper towels, sink with filtered water tap and soap dispenser, and a microwave tucked away in the corner.
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| Clean and working microwave |
This is a lovely spacious food prep area. The only down side being it seems store staff like to use the microwave too! While we were in here, a nice young woman was in a store uniform, using the microwave to heat up her lunch. Don’t they have staff rooms in Westfield?
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| Club chair inside one of the feeding cubicles |
To the left of the food prep area are the two private feeding cubicles. There is a comfy club chair and little side table in each room, and a curtain provides privacy at the front. The cubicles are darker than you’d normally find in a Parent Room, which is a nice touch. Helps to make bubs more settled when feeding if the light is not so harsh. The downside of these cubicles is the size. They really are quite small. Just you, bub and the pram will fit in without room for anything or anyone else. The plus side is you get a very cosy feel.
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| The very fun play area |
And now for the fun part! The play area!! Yep, when little ones are all clean and fed, you can let them loose in the secure play area. It has some funky artwork on the walls, including mirrored decals. There’s a couple of wall mounted activity units, a flat screen television, and some big fat round cushions/blocks to jump, sit or play on. The only problem I found was getting my little one away from this place. She was not interested in leaving! Fair enough, really.
All in all, this Parent Room at the Food Court in Westfield Chatswood is the best the shopping centre has to offer. It’s probably the most modern and definitely caters best to your needs in a Parent Room. I’d happily visit this one again for sure.
Check it out and let me know what you think of it!