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IF you were to take a straw poll of what sort of attraction Bahraini residents would most like to see brought to the kingdom next, another mall would likely fall somewhere between ‘more sheesha cafés’ and ‘a wider selection of shawarma restaurants’ at the bottom of the list.
Yet, there’s a new challenger in town (or as it turns out, so far from the town it’s positively rural), in the form of Seef Mall Muharraq.
Located right next to Arad Fort, the mall, which is still undergoing finishing touches, offers spectacular views of the ancient structure on one side, while showcasing the modern on the other as Bahrain’s 21st Century skyline rises above bright blue seas and mighty palm trees.
The BD20 million project, which covers 72,000 square metres, is mostly targetted towards residents in the Muharraq district and surrounding areas such as Arad, Hidd and Amwaj Islands. However, with 132 shops – 30 of which are exclusive outlets not featured in the original Seef Mall, multiple restaurants, a Géant hypermarket, a food court and a Magic Island to entertain the kids, there’s plenty of scope to attract visitors from all across the kingdom.
That isn’t to mention a planned 14-screen cineplex, soon to be featuring Bahrain’s first IMAX screen, which is set to open in May and details of which feature on the cover of this week’s issue.
What struck me most about Seef Mall Muharraq (apart from the slightly daft name; I eagerly anticipate visiting the renamed ‘London Mall Manchester’ next time I go back home and fancy a day out at the Trafford Centre) was how easy it was to get to.
As someone who detests the rabid cattle market thinly-disguised as ‘trying to park’ in some of the kingdom’s other shopping complexes, I’m not quite sure why there have been numerous complaints about bottlenecked traffic in the area. There was no such difficulty here, with plenty of car park spaces to choose from and clear signposting to remind me afterwards of where I had parked, thus preventing the familiar ritual of wandering aimlessly around a car park frantically hammering the unlock button on my key in the vain hope of seeing flashing lights nearby.
Mohammed Nasir, from Manama, who was visiting the mall for the first time with his wife Sabeen, had similar musings. He said: “I came to see the new mall because I heard about it and saw a picture and it looked very attractive. Now that I’ve seen it personally, I’m even more impressed and I will always come here from now on. It’s so much better than other malls as there’s not much traffic and it’s much easier to park. There’s a range of shops, but with nicer views and fewer people pushing past so I can take my time and relax.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell the poor fellow that these thoughts might be a bit premature, as only 75 per cent of the stores are currently open and come March the site will be fully functional and word-of-mouth will have spread.
Aesthetically, the interior was a typically wide, open concept mall but with a layer of cleanliness and shine. As I wandered round slightly dizzy from the intoxicating smell of fresh paint (white, of course … very white), I found the layout intuitive with its slightly circular approach as opposed to the maze-like corridors of its competitors. It was easy to navigate and exploring both floors offered a full perspective without the nagging feeling I’d missed something.
If there’s one thing I would recommend, however, it’s installing a couple of ‘you are here’ plaques detailing the mall’s layout as there is currently no information about where certain shops are, which may lead to frustration down the line as customers march up and down escalators in a trial-and-error fashion.
Although many of the stores had only opened that morning, eager visitors were already enjoying what Seef Mall Muharraq had to offer.
Colin Burrows, a retail manager who was visiting the mall with his wife Tracey, a yoga teacher, said: “We actually live in Budaiya but we’ve come to see the new mall as we’ve heard a bit about it.
“I have to say the layout of this one is lovely, and the views surrounding it are spectacular. We went up to have a look at the restaurants and we can imagine it’d be lovely to eat there with the views. To be honest, we’d probably still go to the original Seef Mall if we were to go shopping as it’s more convenient, but that’s not to say we wouldn’t come back here for another look once it’s fully open to see if there’s any different brands here than the other malls.”
Speaking to store managers themselves about their new location, there was certainly plenty of excitement and confidence in the air. Daniel Sagaya Raj, store manager of fashion outlet Bossini, said: “We have a very nice mall here, the surrounding area is lovely.
“We are still waiting for the customers to come as not all of the stores are open yet, but we are very confident that once they come and see the fantastic location, they will keep coming back. We have some great designs here that are exclusive to our Seef Mall Muharraq store.”
These were sentiments shared by Jayaram Nambiar, operations manager of clothes store Splash in Bahrain. He explained: “We are so excited to break into this particular area, there’s no other big mall round here so it’s an opportunity to grab people. It’s a big pull for the area and Bahrain as a whole.
“Within a couple of weeks the mall should be 100 per cent functional and I expect attendances to shoot up. I have high hopes for this store in particular as it’s the first standalone Splash in Bahrain after our other retail offerings were part of the larger Centrepoint brand.”
Due to the bizarre and mystifying aspect of Bahrain culture where distances of more than 100 metres are met with howls of ‘it’s too far’ (I’m equally guilty of this myself; if my mum asks me to pick up some milk from the supermarket just down the road, it’s met with burning resentment and a frustrated grab of the car keys, yet back home I’d walk half-an-hour into town in biting wind without complaint), it remains to be seen if the mall can attract visitors from the far reaches of Bahrain and from across the causeway.
However, with stunning vistas on the outside and a drive to be different on the inside, this could easily become a cool place to visit.
