Free Parking in Greenhills, Festival Mall, Power Plant Mall, and Robinsons Place Metro East

After running a 5 minute errand in SM Megamall and finding out that I had to pay P35 whether I stayed 1 minute or 3 hours and 59 minutes was quite annoying. I always felt that parking fees were so anti-consumer by their very nature that I felt that instead of being rewarded, I was being penalized for staying in the mall and spending my money in the various establishments there.

Thus began the search for the remaining few spots in Metro Manila that still had free parking.

The ones with the outright no conditions free parking are Shopwise and Cost U Less Libis in Pasig, Festival Mall in Alabang and Robinson’s Place Metro East along Marcos Highway and Robinson’s Fairview. Shopwise Libis has both outdoor and indoor parking, but it’s not like a mall that you can go to other establishments aside from doing your grocery shopping in Shopwise.

Festival Mall as well as Robinson’s Place Metro East and Fairview have the advantage of both being a mall and having an indoor parking lot. Robinson’s Place Metro East’s and Fairview’s parking lots, in particular, are so spacious it’s staggering. One can easily close and open car doors without fear of hitting any car beside it.

Both Greenhills and Power Plant Mall give a free 15 minute opportunity to anyone who parks in their malls. So if you plan your tasks really well, you can dash in and out without being charged any parking fee.

In Shopwise Cubao, a grocery purchase of P300 or more in their grocery will entitle the grocery shopper to almost 3 hours of free parking. I like that particular incentive because I feel I’m being rewarded for shopping in their store, instead of feeling punished. Plus, it’s near Gateway, SM Cubao and Ali Mall, so one can easily go to the other malls before or after the grocery shopping.

Blue Wave Mall along Manila Bay uses the same principle by allowing validated parking tickets be free of charge for the first two hours.

As a last note, if you ever feel like joining the throng of exercising people at Greenhills Shopping Center or having an early breakfast, make sure to arrive 6:59am or earlier. If you do so, your parking fee in the open parking areas will be free till 8:30am.

Make sure to leave before 8:30am, because if you leave after that time, your parking fee will be based from the time that you arrived, and not from 8:30am onwards. For example, if you arrived at 6:30am but exited 11am, you will be charged from 6:30am-11am.

And once you arrive 7am or later, you will not be entitled to any free parking at all, except for the aforementioned 15 minutes.

Well, this is not about free parking but a friend of mine has told me that Shangrila Hotel in Makati has assigned a number of parking slots near the entrance leading into the hotel for—guess who—women drivers! Half of me am aghast at this sexist move, but at the same time, the other half of me that makes me wear high heels despite the pain and inconvenience is applauding and cheering.

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