Chicago Premium Outlets

I visited the here on a recent Saturday and had an enjoyable experience. I was able to find everything I needed and a few other items.
This was my first time visiting since the new expansion and it definitely is nice. It made the mall feel less crowded and helped to relieve the terrible parking situation. The expansion brought in some great new stores and I especially love Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth. The Converse store also moved into a nicer, bigger location.
My only complaint is that the food court is extremely over priced… a $ 10 popcorn chicken meal… no thanks!
I’ll definitely be more excited about coming back thanks to the the new expansion. I only wish there were some better food options.

This place is crazy. I have never seen so many suburbanites! The parking is insane. The stores were packed. Although the checkout guy told me I must not come here much because it wasn’t busy by his standards.
The store selection is amazing. The set up of the mall is smart. The deals are great.
But I think I’d rather shop online.

This review is for the outlet mall food court. I am giving 1 star because all the food stores in the food court don’t like to give waters. They want to sell you bottle water and a pop. I think all restaurant should give free cold water to diners … Please take note serving is small and it is not good at all

Great store good prices and friendly staff. Expect to wait in line outside when the store is crowded.

This place blows. Overpriced, overcrowded, and after being harassed for the last time for not agreeing to join someone’s bible study, I’m done.

Newly renovated with lots of new stores! Also a giant new fountain and a mini playground for the little ones!

Came here a couple weeks ago with my husband on a hunt for a nice new purse. I was looking for something purple but open to other colors. We walked in in at first the girl seem very helpful but once I started asking questions and looked for a specific product the girls became very not helpful. Basically it was kind of one of those things where it’s like sorry we don’t have that anymore we don’t have it in that style we don’t have it in that size too bad. Typically I experience with customer service at a retail store that they might try to locate one for me but they didn’t try very hard at all. I think they need a little bit more training if they want to make customers happy.

First things first, like others have mentioned, this is not exactly my cup of tea. I am really more of an online shopper but sometimes you have to go to the store. There are a lot of stores, which is good, however I’m not really buying the «outlet» thing that is being pushed. The merchandise didn’t seem any cheaper than what you can find online and oh my goodness the traffic and the crowds. If you want a ton of stores, with a ton of people shop here.

I’ve only been here once plus this is my first and only outdoor mall i’ve been to in my life. The place is really beautiful, but if this was the winter time, i’d prefer to be in an indoor mall but that’s my opinion. There’s so many high end stores i’ve never seen or heard of in my life and everything costs way more than my weekly paycheck. I’d come back though in a few years.

A variety of different stores to shop in and there are some pretty good deals in some of the stores. I didn’t think they were that great compared to the normal retail stores so unless you live nearby or are travelling through like me, it prob isn’t worth driving here just to save a little money.

For the times i need to get some major shopping done… this will always be my spot. What a place! Shopping junkies’ dream. Kate Spade (great deals on the weekends), Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers’, Nike Store, Timberland, Coach, Michael Kors, Ugg, 7 For All Mankind, Carters, Janie and Jack, Swarovski… *deep breath*… that’s just a few of the stores they have!
The mall is waaaaaay out on the middle of nowhere, so it sucks driving here. I didn’t mind too much, as i was with a friend, but seriously… i cannot imagine doing that alone lol. We visited on a Saturday and got there as soon as the mall opened up (10AM). Most of the stores were pretty empty, but Kate Spade had a great deal going on (60% off entire store + extra 20% off handbags)… and we entered the store about 10:45 and it was pretty busy. It wasn’t bad enough to put me off though… just generally busy. I haven’t visited during holidays but i can imagine it would probably be nuts. The best thing to do when visiting here is to plan plan plan. Premium Outlets have an excellent website that lists all their stores, the map, and even what stores are offering sales/​deals and for how long. If u plan … u will avoid the crowds. We had no issue finding parking… but after visiting the outlet mall by the airport, i defo think they need a parking garage like that. I’ve read this outlet mall generates a HUGE revenue for Simon Malls. if that’s true, they should totally add the garage. Would change a lot of people’s minds about visiting.
I had a very pleasant experience doing major shopping here (we were lugging bags back and forth to the car lol). There’s a Starbucks and we also had Auntie Anne’s pretzels… we didn’t go to the dedicated food court. Overall… great experience.

Firstly, I have to admit outlets are not my thing. That being said…
Super crowded, overpriced, boring.
Good luck finding parking on the weekends or god forbid the holiday season.
Lots of people will say it’s cheap, but those are the people coming from Chicago/​Naperville/​Richer towns that expect expensive stores. An average, lower-​middle class citizen is going to find it expensive.
The most exciting thing that happened was the smash and grab. Gotta give it to the mall for cleaning it up quick though.

I hate clothes shopping. The one thing (s) I hate more than clothes shopping are outlet malls. This one is really crowded and annoying, similar to all outlet malls. Sometimes there’s no parking and you have to drive out back and park in a field, and then walk 20 minutes to get to the mall. The stores are outside, so you are at the mercy of the weather. If it’s cold, then it’s a horrible experience. If it’s between Christmas and New Years, it’s super crowded, so it’s horrible.
But my family likes this place because it’s cheap and they would rather be uncomfortable for a few hours to save a few bucks on socks and the like. To each their own.

I seriously love this mall even though there are many stores in the mall with non-​outlet pricing.
Of note the Kate Spade, Coach, Nike, Adidas, St. John, Hugo Boss, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lucky Brand Jeans, Talbots, Cole Haan and Banana Republic have great offers/​sales regularly which makes this mall a favorite. During the holidays, the Sunglass Hut (all three of them), True Religion, Ugg and Michael Kors generate a serious crowd. As in –stand in line in the 30 degree cold for an opportunity to go in — type crowds. TR offered 40% off the entire store and Kors offered 50% off the entire store plus 20%. Judging by the shopping bags carries by lots of shoppers, the deals were great!
The newer section of the shopping complex is on the east side and has an ice skating rink, Saks Off Fifth, Vera Bradley, Movado and Robert Graham.
As it relates to food, there’s a churro stand, Auntie Annie’s pretzels, Starbucks and a food court.
Parking is free and voluminous in the eastern lot (newer area) and also in the front left corner near the entrance. I have never circled for a spot but perhaps it is also because I will park far off and walk to shop without blinking. Haha.

I will start out by saying if I built this outlet mall, I would have built parking garages to accommodate all of the people that shop here. It is not uncommon to see large outlet malls have parking garages these days, especially the higher end malls. I arrived maybe an hour after they opened and there were barely any spots left. I shudder to think of what would have occurred if I arrived mid afternoon or gasp! During a holiday.
The second time I came was during December. It was unseasonably warm and there were so many cars in the lot. I imagine things are better during the week.
The mall has a good selection of stores but there are quite a few empty spaces. The stores are factory made for the most part, although some carry last seasons items. Coach, Kate Spade and MK generally have good sales and make this mall worth the trip from the north shore.
I like that the mall is well organized, unlike the Wisconsin outlets. I also like the «mall» feel despite being outside.
Parking situation is a bit much for me, so only leaving 3 stars.

I agree with other Unilocalers, arrive early! As this is an outdoor mall, the parking surrounding the mall is very limited and even the closest spots are quite some distance to the mall!
This mall has expanded/​renovated since the last time I was here in early 2015; they now have a new wing that includes stores such as Off 5^th, Abercrombie & Fitch, Clarins, Under Armour and Vince to name a few.
If you are into skiing/​snowboarding, they have a Spyder outlet here with a lot of snowgear with deals to be found!
I travel down to Chicago a few times a year to do some shopping and this outlet in Aurora is worth the trip, as it is quite some distance from the city, there tends to be less people.
This mall has free WiFi throughout (mostly outdoors, the signal isn’t bad); check-​in with Unilocal and receive a free coupon booklet from guest services.

After new addition done to it it’s great. Lots of parking from Bilter rd, lots of new stores. Restrooms are always clean as well sidewalks and trash cans. On the back side of existing mall you can see still some construction going on but mostly appearance which doesn’t bother me. Overall great experience. New store that were added that I was interested in are under armour, Columbia, american eagle, amberctombie etc. Definitely worth the trip to shop here.
Forgot to mention that new parking lot is huge — at least 2x bigger than old one right of Farnsworth. Access is of Bilter rd.

Clean place, great selection. Crowded on weekends but that is expected. Coupon. Book for $ 5 at management is worth the money, but if you buy a gift card it is free. Under expansion now so selection of stores will get even better. Clean food court! Make sure you visit Fossil

Like any outlet, this place is a hub for people looking for a great deal!
My first advice is to arrive early! After several years, they are still working on expanding their location including the parking. You know it’s bad when the employees have to be bused in.
My second advice is to sign up for becoming a VIP member. This will allow you to get exclusive coupons for all participating stores in ADDITION to whatever sales they are offering!
Downside to this place is that their food options are not that great so if you want to eat healthy, plan ahead!
Don’t forgot to always ask for the «deals» which the sales people will tell you it’s one day only but usually that is the everyday deal!

I miss living close to this mall. It’s not necessarily a full outlet mall since maybe half of the stores are outlets. Others are definitely charging full price for their merch. You do have to look at the title in the store names to see if they are even advertising themselves as «outlet» or not.
The hubs and I love making a trip out here even if we have to drive 35 minutes to arrive. Our favs tend to be J. Crew, Banana Republic, Reebok, Nike, Lucky Jeans, Aldo… to name a few.
They are going through a ton of construction right now. Tons of new stores and parking are being added. So we’ll have to visit again once that is all finished. Hopefully the parking situation gets a little easier.
Food court is pretty disappointing. Same fare as any other mall. Greasy, gross, and overpriced.
Word to the wise — totally not worth visiting on the weekends when it’s sunny and 75 degrees. Unless you want to wait 40 minutes to find parking and another 40 minutes for each dressing room line and another 40 minutes in each checkout line. Come on a weekday when you have a day off or maybe in the evening.