Bal Harbour Shops
Published On: Oct 24, 2006

The Bal Harbour Shops are a collection of famous designer shops set in an open air mall that shows off the tropical side of Miami. First opened in 1965, the Bal Harbour Shops was the first mall with stores that typically stayed in the New York shopping areas.

The developer of The Bal Harbour Shops had the foresight to design a mall that would become the standard for designer malls to come. The first store that came to Miami was Neiman Marcus. Neiman Marcus started in Texas as a high end clothing store that sold the best that the world's designers had to offer.

With the decision to open another store in the newly opened Bal Harbour Shops it became the solid anchor from which to build on. One of the things that set Bal Harbour Shops apart from the other malls is the quality of the shops. There are very few places in the world where you will find Gucci, Prada, Sergio Rossi, Cartier and Bulgari as well as Dolce and Gabbana within one hundred feet of each other.

These designers all have stores in the fashion centers like New York or Paris but they were never in a mall setting before the opening of the Bal Harbour Shops.

The Bal Harbour Shops are relatively small in size, around 500,000 sq feet, but they achieved the number one rank for the most productive shopping center. Each square foot at the Shops represents $1350.00 in retail sales. This is more than three times the national average.

Why is that important? Because it shows the commitment to quality that the Bal Harbour Shops are famous for the intimate setting of the Shops, the quality of the stores, the easy access from Miami Beach and mainland Miami.

There are six restaurants located in the Shops and all have capitalized on the open air quality of the Shops. The Bal Harbour Bistro is a favorite with its Mediterranean style food and garden setting. There is indoor and outdoor seating available for you to enjoy the quality but moderately priced dishes.

Carpaccio is another great place to eat and it also has caf� seating outside as well as its elegant indoor dinning. The house specialty at Carpaccio is linguini with lobster served with a spicy tomato sauce.

With most of the restaurants having outdoor seating, you get to see the weather of South Florida at its best. Even when the temperature is in the nineties, when you are in the shade with the gentle breeze of a ceiling fan it is very enjoyable. It should also be noted that in South Florida with the diversity of its tourist and local residents, people watching is almost an Olympic sport and the outdoor caf�s are perfect for this.

The designer stores are still the strongest draw for the Shops. From the fashions of Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and J.W Cooper to the leather goods of Fendi and Salvatore Ferragamo the Bal Harbour Shops have whatever your heart desires.

For jewelry there are stores like Tiffany & Co. and Cartier. Specialty stores for children's clothes like Baby Gap and Mini Oxygene will keep your children stylish. Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are there to anchor the Shops but it's the diversity of the stores that makes the Bal Harbour Shops the shopping experience that it is.

The Bal Harbour Shops
9700 Collins Ave
Bal Harbour, Fl 33154
Concierge Service 305-868-6638

Mall Hours
Mon - Sat 10am- 9pm
Sunday 12pm- 6pm