All The Frustrating Reasons This Costco Location Is Considered One Of The Worst

Well, I did it. Despite swearing, "Never again!" more times than I can count, I visited my "other" Costco last week, and once again remembered why I despise going there. I realize I'm lucky enough to live equidistant between not one, but two full Costco locations, with a gas station and everything. But there's a reason I focus most of my trips on the one south of me in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood rather than driving north to the Costco in the suburb of Shoreline. You'd think a suburban Costco would equal more space, a better layout, and fewer crowds vying to take advantage of America's most affordable grocery chain, but ... hoo boy ... you'd be wrong. Officially named the Aurora Village Costco, in Shoreline, Washington; it's one of the worst ever, for multiple reasons.

To start, the food selection seems more minimal here than at other stores (though it has a bizarrely large clothing section). I've theorized this is because it's relatively close to a Costco Business Center that has more options and perks. But the checkout lanes are always a mess, with a frequently changing front end that makes it confusing to know where the lines actually start. Then there's the exit, which is down a narrow passage that gets crazy backed up thanks to being sandwiched between the food court and special offer services. As an added annoyance, there rarely seems to be boxes available for loose items, so you're stuck putting everything into your car individually, unless you bring your own.

The Shoreline Costco store can't seem to get it together, inside or out. Just getting to the front door is a big pain, and I'm not talking about its geographic location. Where the store is situated would be perfectly fine — convenient even — if the parking lot and streets surrounding it were laid out better. It's tricky getting into the parking lot as the entrances are either narrow or have very limited turning space. And — as I've seen many times — it often gets blocked with drivers trying to go in different directions. 

The parking lot itself is overburdened thanks to being shared with Home Depot and a dozen other stores. On weekends, this place gets so crowded that I've actually given up on finding a spot and have just driven away on at least two occasions; much like how I usually give up on grabbing one of those famously cheap Costco hot dogs whenever I do finally make it inside because the food area is so cramped.

Then there's the gas station, which is a whole other beast. Unlike many Costco gas stations I've had the pleasure of experiencing, these gas pumps have a small waiting area with only two pumps a lane and no assisting visual screens to let you know when a pump ahead of you is free. And, just to keep things extra spicy, the gas lines also merge with a bus depot, which frequently results in metro buses holding up customer traffic.

Since this is the Seattle area where Costco is headquartered (I happen to be near the original one that opened in 1983), there are multiple Costco Wholesale clubs in the surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. I've visited them all, as well as Costcos in other states. I've even been to a Costco in Canada! Sadly for the Aurora Village one, it's tough not to compare it to its brethren, and, thanks to that, it continues to convince me it's one of the worst. 

For instance, the Costco in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood does have visual screens at its gas pumps, which are pleasantly three to a lane. It also doesn't share its parking lot with other stores, the entrances and exits are pretty unfussy, and while it does get crowded, I've always been able to find a parking space. The Costcos in the surrounding suburbs, meanwhile, feel considerably more spacious inside and out compared to Aurora Village. The Issaquah location gets bonus points because it's right next to company headquarters and often gets new products and services for testing.

I'm not the only shopper in the area who feels this way, either. In December 2024, Seattle Met ranked all Costco locations in the Seattle area, putting the Issaquah store first and the Seattle SoDo store second. The Aurora Village Costco came in dead last out of the 10 in the metro area.