This big blocky brute of a shopping centre dominates central Dun Laoghaire. In many ways, it feels…read morelike it was here first and everywhere else was just built around it, hanging off the fringes. Like a shanty town on the edge of some medieval castle. Still, it's a good shopping centre. One of the few shopping centers, in fact, that doesn't impose wrist slittingly mundane easy listening on you. This is something which makes the place tolerable, pleasant even, by comparison. Further allusions towards the civilised world include the welcome addition of a public house and, most important feature of any shopping centre, multiple exits.

I think it was mahatma Gandhi who said "you can't polish a turd", though I might be misquoting…read morehim... Anyway, this was disproven on the show Mythbusters recently (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI) ... But speaking of polishing undesirable things, the Dunlaoghaire shopping centre; paint it as often as you wish, lower the ceilings, add some nice lighting...and it is still it is horrible to its very core... plus they charge you for parking No, not a fan.

Nice place to buy a birthday present or gift, Irish t-shirts, Irish souvenir, etcread more

Blackrock shopping centre is one of those places that makes you wonder what kind of mad psychotic…read moredesigned this country. It's got an open roof, this is the wettest place in Europe. Que the most overworked maintenance staff in Dublin. Has a waterfall inside though, and as a kid i used to love the shopping trolley friendly escalators.

As it goes, this shopping centre doesn't quite fit the bill and lacks for me! Upside is the…read moreSupervalu (formerly Superquinn) huge grocery store so always rely on it! It also is open air so got a great feel to it on a good day however as Irish weather goes... Hmmmm... The benefit is lost! It's a centre I go to for a specific purpose, not the browsing sort of centre! Would love to rate these types of centres more to drive ppl to shop locally but struggle when variety of shops just ain't there ;-(

This I think is my favourite shopping centre as it is small but contains most of what I might need…read moreon a regular basis.

Had to buy a gift for my mother and as I am a man I am terrible at buying women's clothing but the…read morestaff were extremely friendly and helpful and I got the perfect gift. Would recommend everyone to pop in for a look.

From the owner: Choice Boutique Sandycove is situated on the main street of the small, idyllic village of…read moreSandycove, Dublin. We are here in business for 27 years having been the first Choice Boutique opened by the O'Rourkes in 1986. We tailor to women in their thirties and upwards. We stock several brand names such as Lauren Vidal, Masai, Steilmann, Peruzzi, Rene Derhy, Bellenisa, Myrine&Me, Salsa.

Nothing wrong with the shopping centre itself however the manager of the shipping centre is a…read moredisgrace!! I overheard her giving out to a mother because they child was crying when getting his hair cut, in a KID FRIENDLY hairdressers! This behaviour is absolutely apwaling and despicable! A parent should be entitled to get their child's hair cut. It is a stressful time as it is for both parents and children, the last thing they need is a grumpy staff member to add to it. The manager of the shopping centre should feel ashamed and be held accountable for making customers feel this way. The staff member in Kiddies Kutz was brilliant so this is no reflection on her but the manager should be ashamed of herself! Wouldn't return.

Ah the great Irish tradition of buildings that do pretty much the exact same thing sitting directly…read moreacross the road from one another. It started with churches, then the nineties hit and we could afford something other than guilt-so they put two shopping centers either side of the Blackrock 'bypass'. A triumph of public planning. The only real difference between the Frascati and Blackrock shopping centers is that one has Superquinn and the other has Marks and Sparx. Also, Frascati has a MacDonalds. Whooo!

Meadows & Byrne is a pretty cool home and garden shop in Dun Laoghaire. It's one of those places…read moreyou walk into with no intention of buying anything, and then leave with a whole range of interesting items you never knew you'd ever want or need (but you need them now!) They sell all sorts, from kitchen furniture to glasses, to 'slurp' soup mugs, to banana leaf trays and garden settings. My favourite item in store is the wall-mounted wine opener, which comes in at a pretty 139 euro (ouch, but once you see it no price is too great!) A good place for some Sunday shopping if you're of the inclination. They also have an Insomnia cafe attached for those who tire of their partner's browsing habits.

This is a nice big open store with plenty of ideas if you are furnishing your home...at a price…read more Good selection of cooking and kitchen gear and they are mostly where I go when I am looking for something in particular as they generally have it. Think Ikea but more expensive so keep an eye open for their sales as they generally have a good bargain to be found. When you do bite the bullet and buy something you generally still love it even after a few years and their stuff is always good quality so perhaps they may be expensive but worth it.

Barnardos are a children's charity that aims to make Ireland a better place for children and to…read moreattempt to ensure that no child gets left behind. They do a lot of fundraising and a key element to this is their charity shops. Okay, I've been holding out on you guys long enough. I've reviewed a few charity shops, but this one, this one is my favourite. I don't know how they do it but Barnardos in Dun Laoghaire always have the best stuff. A few years ago I got a Baumler tuxedo (a fancy one, basically) for ten euro that was practically bespoke it fit me so well. It was the best thing ever owning my own dress suit, I felt like a high society debutante every time I opened my slide-robe. I was in there recently and they had around ten, fairly low-quality, but still really cool looking , old and abandoned 35mm SLR cameras that, I imagine, will take slightly over-sepia'd, 1970s looking photographs. So, yeah, really a great charity shop, my favourite by a long way and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area

This shop is ok, some good finds can be had but it is a little sparse on merchandise and although…read moreit is spacious than most other charity shops they could fill some of the space with more things to buy, especially books. But over all a nice shop, with friendly staff and they do have a table laid out at the moment with brand new Christmas gift ideas including cards makeup sets and tea sets.

I bought a kids picnic table on line. a large box arrived with DPD. I opened it and saw a tiny…read more'table' the size of a small domestic notice board slid in with some bubble wrap. honestly this thing would have fit in an extra large plastic envelope. only fairies would use this. when I stood it down o the floor it reached a little higher than my ankle I asked their so called customer service to send a return label and refund me when they got it back. surely if DNP deliver they'd have an agreement for returns? Nope. I have to pay either DPD or a post myself. I don't have an account w either so they would charge me the dimensional weight of the oversized box not actual weight. alternatively I can drive it to their store costing me fuel and parking not to mention a waste of time. I'll never buy anything with this company again.

Excellent service and staff very helpful and friendly. Needed to be measured for a bra fitting and…read morestaff member was very helpful.