Altona Gate Shopping Centre

Altona Gate represents the closest suburban shopping centre for those living out west from Newport to Altona of course. Highly visible just as you take the turnoff from the Westgate freeway onto Millers Road, there’s plenty of car parking spaces from the open air to the adjacent multiple level and (shudder) basement. I was there on a Saturday arvo, yes the one where it belted down with rain, and it was pretty full.
AG isn’t flash. It’s actually pretty tired looking and could do with a huge revamp. Highly needed improvements include brighter and more lighting especially in the covered car park spaces and in the basement in addition to a new lick of paint and new tiling. But enough about improvements as that’s bound to happen sometime hopefully. Onto the shops!
You could say its main tenants are Kmart, Coles and Woolworths. There’s a Dick Smith, Reject Shop, Best & Less, a food court and several ladies fashion shops too. You’ll find a full listing of shops on their website (yes, AG may be daggy but it’s going with the times) and there’s a wicked «mostly» 2 $ shop which I got several really useful and decent looking household items. Shhhh… don’t tell anyone!
I would warn you again that this isn’t exactly a place to see and be seen BUT it has the shops you need to for day to day living all under one convenient roof and if you live nearby and don’t want to trek to the other side of town. There’s a Caltex Woolworths next door too and that one has the discounts on petrol AND gas. Further up Millers Road is are drive through Maccas and KFC. Further along you’ll find an Autobarn, Subway and even further along a large format Bunnings Warehouse (ace) which I’ve been to a few times now and will post my review soon.
Although my impressions of AG aren’t exciting and I’ve rated it two stars, it’s because I’m a visual person and have all my life been priviledged to have access to bigger better flashier places but it doesn’t mean I won’t return. It’s still very popular with the locals and I would return again as I mentioned it’s got all the day to day living shops under one roof.
Be sure to check it their website for a full listing of shops. My review is just based on a first time ever visit and does not reflect all the businesses operating there nor the services they offer. I’m sure I’ll warm up to it.
Oh and parking is free.