Aves Maria Centro Comercial is one of only two modern malls in the southern Medellín suburb of Sabaneta. With the exception of the Exito store, the mall hasn’t been too busy the times I have visited except when I went recently during the holiday season.
The mall also had some vacancies when I visited recently. However, with the growth of Sabaneta — there are many new apartment buildings being built here — this should change rapidly.
There are several nice residential buildings located close to Aves Maria. In my last apartment search, my second choice was located in a building next to Aves Maria.
There are also some nice views to be had from the upper floor of the mall.
The Shops in Aves Maria
The anchor tenants of Aves Maria are Exito, a four-screen Cinemas Procinal movie theater and Gimnasio Uros gymnasium.
The Aves Maria mall has over 150 shops, which include stores selling clothes, shoes, home furnishings, mattresses, eye-care and several other categories.
Exito is a supermarket that also sells electronics, clothes, kitchen items and home furnishings similar to a Walmart in the United States. The Exito in Aves Maria has grocery prices that are somewhat lower than the prices found in Exito stores located in El Poblado.
Make sure to sign up for Exito Puntos (points). This is a frequent shopper program where you accumulate points that can be used to help purchase items on sale in the future. To sign up you just need an ID: cédula or passport.
An Exito savings tip is that fruits, vegetables and meats are 20 percent off every Wednesday.
Cinemas Procinal in Aves Maria is a movie theater with five screens. The movie theater is sometimes busy considering that I believe it is the only movie theater in Sabaneta.
In Medellín, Cinemas Procinal has six locations: in the Aves Maria, Las Américas, Florida Parque, Mayorca, Monterrey and Puerta del Norte malls.
The movie theater chain also has cinemas located in Apartadó, Bogotá, Barrancabermeja, Cartagena, Rionegro and Villavicencio.
Aves Marie has a Gimnasio Uros with the typical equipment you will find in gymnasiums. The gym recently added a new Crossfit room.
Gimnasio Uros also has another gym located in the Estadio barrio.
Food Options
Aves Maria has a food court located on an upper level with over 20 different options to choose from including fast food and restaurants.
You will find several of the typical fast food places in Medellín here. You will also find some restaurants in Aves Maria including A la Parrilla and So Happy.
Conclusions
Pro’s – It’s one of only two modern malls in Sabaneta and it’s a nice mall with an Exito for groceries, a five-screen Cinamas Procinal movie theater, a convenient food court, a Gimnasio Uros gym and several shops with good prices. There are also some apartment buildings nearby.
Con’s – There really is nothing found in the Aves Maria mall that you can’t find in the other malls in Medellín.
My Verdict – Aves Maria is smaller than the big malls found in El Poblado or Mayorca mall in Sabaneta and is not worth visiting unless you live nearby or are visiting Sabaneta.
How to Get There – You can take the Metro to the Sabaneta station and then hop on a bus route that costs 1,800 pesos and goes from the metro to Aves Maria. Or you can take a quick taxi ride from the metro station to the mall.
