** 1/2
Like virtually every other shopping mall in the US, the outside of Phipps Plaza is a complete and total disaster. The architecture is terrible, it is surrounded by a huge moat of parking, is actively pedestrian hostile, and it does a terrible job of blending into the urban environment.
With that said, most of us have become zombified when it comes to the appearance of the outside of shopping malls. Our brains become disconnected and only come back to life once the inside of the mall has been accessed.
The interior is nicely done, relatively speaking. Grand staircases, hardwood everywhere, marble, and decent (though not great) use of natural light are hallmarks of this mall.
There are lots of high end stores but also a mix of "everymall" stores such as Brookstone. Once in a while a lower end store somehow finds its way into the mix but rarely lasts. I suspect this is usually a case of a local shop owner getting too ambitious and forgetting who is their true clientele.
The food court is on the small size but manages to have a reasonable variety of cuisines. The mall is home to several sit down restaurants including Twist, an outpost of The Grape, and Katie Couric favorite, The Tavern. I find it weird to go to a mall for fine dining but once you're in most of the restaurants, it is easy to forget the rest of the mall is just outside the door.
The mall is kept clean and the bathrooms are nicer than the airport like bathrooms across the street at Lenox (and let's not even get into the other malls around the metro) but there are places here and there where the paint is peeling or the carpet shows wear. Though Phipps (thankfully) attracts nowhere near the crowds that Lenox does, it is still difficult to keep everything polished all the time. Nevertheless, presenting the mall as the ultimate in upscale is a bit of a stretch.
There are plans to add a tower to the southside of the mall parking deck, which could help tie together the mall and the rest of the city but because it is next to a hopelessly autocentric underpass, it is doubtful that it will help much. Perhaps someday Phipps will add a Grand Arcade leading from Peachtree Street to the mall. Until that happens, it is just another relic of our attempt at cartopia.
If you do drive, there is plenty of parking on the various levels of the parking deck that envelops the entire mall. Phipps also has valet parking available.
For those taking MARTA, the Lenox rail station is between a five and ten minute walk, with the Buckhead station being about five more minutes away. Do be aware that getting from the sidewalk to the mall entrance can be an adventure in dodging automobiles whose drivers see you as more points on their quest for the high score in "Pedestrian Slayer". The free BUC shuttle services Phipps and both MARTA stations should you not want to walk.
