Ellsworth Place

"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I recently visited Ellsworth Place and had a fantastic experience. The location is incredibly convenient (especially off Colesville Road), with plenty of parking and easy access to public transit. The variety of shops and eateries available is great — something for everyone whether you want a quick bite, a cozy cafe, or to browse specialty stores.

The atmosphere is clean, well-maintained, and welcoming. Staff in the stores I visited were friendly and helpful. I also appreciated how safe and comfortable the walkways and common areas were, which made the trip relaxing rather than stressful.

Overall, Ellsworth Place is a solid destination if you’re in Silver Spring looking for a pleasant shopping or dining outing. I’ll definitely be returning!"

Duke DeAndre Hanumanteshwar

"I used to come here when I was younger and it was City Place mall and it's been upgraded but I still enjoy going to Outback, Burlington, TJMaxx and Ross. The Dave and Buster's has a great happy hour and Majestic Movie Theater is always nice to see a film. I've enjoyed seeing the transformation from a dead mall to a great addition of shops and places to eat. I've been coming here since 2005!"

DeAndre' Jackson

"This review is for the indoor play area on the lower level at Ellsworth Place. The playground features two playhouses with manipulatives attached, a slide, Arial tunnel, ground tunnel, slide, balance beam, all on carpeted surfaces with one main entry/exit point. These are all great features.

The challenge is that the play area is 1) FILTHY. My child caught influenza a this past winter from playing in the play area. Even though the rules ask kids not to bring food, they do. They also bring trash - in the form of either food wrappers or droppings or toy wrappers or droppings. During the multiple times I tried to patronize the play area with my child over several months, I have seen a staff member come into the clean maybe twice (?) and that's with a broom and dustpan (no vacuum or disinfectant wipes). Take a look at the white surfaces - if you can. They're mostly gray with black smudges - i.e. they are not wiped down. I cannot tell when the last time they were wiped down. The houses feature windows. Look through them. They're almost translucent like frosted glass...but they're supposed to be transparent. The final straw was when my wife reported to me she saw a mouse under the bench while I was in the bathroom. We have not been back since. The play area needs a DEEP CLEAN. Then it needs to be closed periodically during the day for comprehensive cleaning. Tysons Center has a similar play area - it closes 2pm-2:30pm daily for thorough cleaning, plus it is cleaned after the mall closes - each day. Take note Ellsworth Place.

2nd, the play area is breaking down. I've reported to a representative (good luck finding one on the regular) about the bench inside the larger playhouse needing repair plus a visible hole in the carpet that needs to be addressed. Months later, still not addressed.

3rd, while I know there is supposed to be an honor system with respect to the rules - they are not followed regularly. Mall representatives should come through periodically to check and enforce the rules. I've seen kids older than 12 there unsupervised. I've seen kids under than 12 there unsupervised. Food is brought in. Toys and wrappers are brought in. Older kids are running around and horseplaying right next to toddlers and younger kids. Kids are climbing up on top of the playhouses and other equipment they should not be climbing on. All these behaviors intimidate some parents and children from coming and playing. But then again, this is the only free, enclosed play area with lots of equipment and room to run - so I can see parents coming in and dealing with issues so they can have a few minutes of peace while their kid runs wild.

This review is overdue - I meant to share during the early spring when my wife saw the mouse but didn't get to it until now. The play area has lots of potential. But grime, damaged play equipment, and bad behavior have lost Ellsworth Place a potential steady customer (we patronized multiple stores while playing in the play area)."

Shameek Robinson