A Centre Like No Other – Rouse Hill Town Centre

Rouse Hill Town Centre
Opened in 2007, and continually growing to this day, Rouse Hill Town Centre is the biggest shopping centre in the North West Sydney region. Located right next to the newly built Rouse Hill Station, the town centre sits on what was once an old golf course, and is an interesting take on the traditional Australian shopping centre- being a combination of the traditional values and streetscape of a contemporary market town, whilst integrating sustainability and outdoor landscapes for its visitors, and is home to over 230 specialty stores, learning spaces, a library, as well as interactive play areas for children, and rest areas for families.

Winter Comes Alive Carnival
Sponsored by IMB Bank, the Winter Comes Alive Carnival and Ice Rink during the July school holidays, was a pop-up Winter Carnival that took place at the Rouse Hill Town Centre, allowing people within the community to enjoy the winter carnival joys that are difficult to come across in Australia.

Carnival
And as an outdoor centre, Rouse Hill Town Centre becomes the perfect place to host this unique event. Parked on Main Street, the Winter Carnival offers a variety of rides for the children to enjoy such as a Ferris Wheel, Bungees, a Jumping Castle, other games and more.

Ice Rink
Located on the right of the Rouse Hill Station, the Ice Rink is just a street crossing away from the Rouse Hill Town Centre. You’ll find that the rink is decorated with cherry blossoms and coloured spot lights, giving the rink a nice spring spin.

Blends and Brothers
Located in the heart of Rouse Hill, Blends and Brothers is a combination of a rustic urban café, and an old-school barber. So if you’re hungry but also in need of a haircut- Blends and Brothers is the place to go.

Upon entering the place, customers will find themselves in the café section, with the barber on the other side of the store. From either side you are able to see the other section, making room for an interaction between customers on either side.

A fairly small café, customers are invited to find their own tables, and as the store is not run on table service customers are able to reach out for their own menus located at the counter. Once we were ready to order, we went up to the counter and placed our order. A fairly short wait, we were given our drinks first. We ordered a latte and banana honey smoothie, both of which were extremely good, and not long after, came our food- a Blends Breakfast Burger, Big Breakfast for one, and Canadian pancakes.

The food was quite good-being both good in quality and quantity for a fairly low price compared to your average café, and although you may question the hygiene of a store that combines haircuts with hospitality, the cafe’s food and the atmosphere seemed extremely clean and well kept.

Pros and Cons.
Rouse Hill Town Centre, despite its fairly small reputation among the rest of Sydney, is an outstanding and special concept of a shopping centre. It has all the stores both locals and visitors will need, as well as a connection to community- something uncommon in many modern day shopping centres. The only con would be the centre’s location from a driver’s perspective, as it is located on the busy Windsor Road, however, as with the installment of the Metro, the centre sits in the most convenient location for those travelling by public transport.

Overall Experience
Honestly speaking, Rouse Hill Town Centre truly exceeded my expectations- both in size and experience, as I never really encountered such a place as this. What was meant to be a day where I was supposed to simply review the centre, turned out to become an enjoyable day of entertainment and discovery. Rouse Hill Town Centre is definitely another place I would like to visit once again and explore.

Reference:
https://www.rhtc.com.au/centre-info/about-us
https://www.blendsandbrothers.com.au/about