I like this branch of John Lewis which is located at the Trafford Centre with plenty of parking,…read moremaking it super easy to pull up and head straight in. It's also very neat and tidy which is pretty important to me as I hate it when a shop is in total disarray (think the hellhole that is Primark) as it just makes the whole shopping experience more stressful than it should be. I've always found the staff to be approachable and friendly and will happily dispense advice on the best toaster or coffee machine for your buck, if you so desire. John Lewis is definitely one of the more premium department stores (not quite Harvey Nics but definitely not Debenhams) so the products and prices obviously mirror this but if you are after gifts or items that are of a higher quality then it's a brilliant option. Another major plus point for John Lewis is that if you sign up for their loyalty card online they send you vouchers for free coffee and cake every month - this sweetens the shopping experience no end!

This is just for the Cafe, Not for the Shop…read more We ordered a couple of coffees and come cake while browsing through John Lewis. I'm gonna keep this short as there isn't a lot to say really. The Cafe is drab and so is the food. I don't know why it's so busy. The staff eren't very friendly either, I can think of 10 places much better only a few minutes walk away. No second chances on this one i'm afraid.

Yes the store is VERY nice and very upmarket. The Selfridges store (huge!) in London's Oxford St is…read moreIconic in many ways - it was the FIRST department store in the UK and founded by an American who wasn't able to do his thing in the US - there is a TV series about it. It was the first store where women of the day felt comfortable and safe shopping alone.... Growing up in the UK my parents would take me there at least once a year (almost every time we visited London actually - so maybe 3-4 times a year. Yes there were upmarket things, and recently we were there and sure there are many expensive brands with absurd prices. But there are also more "normal" goods for sale. Not so much in Manchester - all Louis Vuitton and simile booths all around. A good friend who knows London very well explained that the smaller Selfridges don't have the room for affordable goods and it is all for the very affluent. So come prepared to go home broke or enjoy a window shop! Even the restaurant upstairs seemed very toffee nosed to be honest- not fun :( Review #4 2020

This is a large Selfridges store, although I do prefer their Birmingham location and their flagship…read moreLondon Oxford Street location (this location appears to be much more basic and laid back than those two, which are both in stunning buildings which stand out massively). I do think this is a good department store, it is one of the largest and more high-end department stores in the city centre, which is a fading game with Debenhams on Market Street closing and House of Fraser on Deansgate soon to follow. The store looks pretty good and is opposite Marks and Spencer in the Manchester Arndale, sadly Selfridges doesn't have a Food Hall similar to their other branches, at this location, this is a real shame - perhaps that is due to the Basement level of Marks and Spencer (a different business) having a large food section? There are two different San Carlo restaurants in terms of eating or drinking inside, I would have loved to see at least a different brand to add something a little more different, similar to what you see in other department stores such as Harrods etc. They do have some unique experiences here occasionally, Manchester City did bring the Premier League and Carabao Cup trophies here a couple of years ago which was super exciting for me as a big City fan. It can be pretty difficult to navigate at first, but they do have a store plan which is somewhat helpful, the store remains modern and clean. Some of the staff seemed a little snobbish and unhelpful, this was mixed as other staff members seemed great and happy to help. 4*

The place feels like it has got left behind. I prefer the Trafford Centre or Liverpool ONE.read more

Over priced £1 for pva glue what on earth caused such money…read moregreed not to mention is maze like structure and the so called reusable bags that I'm sure are recycled condoms

Despite what my husband may think I'm not a big fan of shopping and spending time in mammoth…read moreshopping centres and hot, stuffy department stores where the exit is nowhere to be seen (think the Father Ted lingerie department episode) puts the fear of God into me. However, needs must and sometimes shopping can't be avoided so if this is the case I want somewhere that will make it as easy as possible. I like this branch of John Lewis as it's easily accessible by road (just off the M60 and Handforth bypass) with plenty of parking, making it super easy to pull up and head straight in. It's pretty big, spread over 3 floors, but still doesn't feel like it swallows you up and everything is very easy to find. It's also very neat and tidy which is pretty important to me as I hate it when a shop is in total disarray (think the hellhole that is Primark) as it just makes the whole shopping experience more stressful than it should be. I've always found the staff to be approachable and friendly and will happily dispense advice on the best toaster or coffee machine for your buck, if you so desire. John Lewis is definitely one of the more premium department stores (not quite Harvey Nics but definitely not Debenhams) so the products and prices obviously mirror this but if you are after gifts or items that are of a higher quality then it's a brilliant option. Another major plus point for JL is that if you sign up for their loyalty card online they send you vouchers for free coffee and cake every month - this sweetens the shopping experience no end!

Love the convenience of the café. John Lewis has always provided the best and delivery services and…read moreinstallation for all the appliances. This particular visit was for curtains. One star off because while there are many sizes and styles listed online, the stores usually only carry one or two of each variety leading you to have to purchase them online and have arranged for either pick up in store, or home delivery. So it is best to use the store to inspect the individual items first before purchasing, but you might end up going online to order them anyway. Prices were excellent as always and delivery was free and of course John Lewis has a wonderfully large parking lot. That is also free of charge. For online pick up or Customer Service head around to the parking behind the store and enter from the rear entrance.

House of Fraser is one of Manchester's oldest and most iconic department stores, it was founded in…read more1836 and the huge, impressive building on the heart of Deansgate is still going strong to its' day, despite being part of the House of Fraser group since the 1950s, and having its' current name since 2005, I like how they've stayed true to the roots and history of the store, by having its old name "Kendal, Milne and Co", still being clearly visible at the store's entrances, or Kendalls as it was known to locals. At Christmas, the decorations help light up and add to all of Deansgate, bringing a festive feel which even a Scrouge like myself can appreciate (but come on, just not in November - that's too early!) The facilities inside the store are good, for me with the fragrances, and high-end brands, as well as multiple lifts in the lobby, this feels like one of the Big American department stores, which I've only ever seen before in NYC, and London. The store isn't as good as it used to be, with some facilities/businesses located inside here closed, including a whole floor. With The Restaurant at House of Fraser gone, all that remains is a San Carlo Cichetti, which strangely is located directly opposite their main location in the city on King Street West. 4* - Pretty cool department store, it is sad to see the store deteriorating up until the inevitable closure which has been talked about for the past couple of years. This is currently one of the few branches remaining with many HOF stores closing down.

There's a touch of 1970s sitcom Are You Being Served? about House of Fraser. It's not just the fact…read moreit's the oldest and grandest department store in the city, it's the slow elevators, the confusing floor layouts and the fact you have to buy your clothes from the area you picked them up rather than any till. Trust me, I've tried and failed on different occasions! The thing that really makes me feel I'm wandering around Grace Brothers department store however, is the staff. They're not quite as camp or witty as Captain Peacock, Mrs Slocombe or Mr Humphries but there's definitely an element of disdain and snootiness when you approach them. This might infuriate some people but it always tickles me and makes me wonder if it's part of the staff training! There's beauty products on the ground floor, furniture and electronics on the top floors and lots of men, womens and childrenswear inbetween. Some of it I wouldn't be seen dead in but I usually see at least half a dozen things I like from one of their emerging or established designers. The only problem is, is there anyone to serve me?!

Always my go-to when in need of essentials. Nice affordable…read moreclothing selection (at select stores) Food is very reasonably priced and good selection.

In keeping with our pattern of behaviour on our tour of England it's M&S cafes for great coffee and…read morecake, WiFi, clean toilets, iced drinking water and air con which was useful today as the weather improved a tad. Another two weeks touring ahead. Hey ho.

Harvey Nichols is a chain of department stores, founded in 1831 in London, home of their flagship…read morebranch, they now have 16 stores around the country, including this rather nice branch on New Cathedral Street, alongside many other high end stores such as Hugo Boss, it is easy to find from Manchester City centre, being fairly close to Exchange Square and Manchester's other high end department store - Selfridge and Co. The store is really nice, with a big tall cylinder on the end of the actual store, which I presume to be the restaurant, alongside the food hall they have a really nice, posh restaurant which can be found as soon as you get out the lift on the second floor. This store is really nice and high end, as you walk in from New Cathedral Street, they is a very small level and then a staircase onto the main shop floor, or a lift available which is quite hidden, located near one of the other exits and a small staircase. This branch of Harvey Nichols does something not many stores do, even the lifts are really cool, with shiny silver plates around the lift, to make it quite a cool place and not your typical old fashioned lift, most stores already have. I've been stuck in lifts before, and had so much trouble with them, being stuck in 6 lifts for around the hour, but this lift is actually nice and I was amazed, walking into it for the first time. On the second floor, there is a Bar and Brassere, which is located right after you come out of the lift, and is your typical high-end place with Afternoon Tea available, or you can just come in for drinks. Also on the second floor is a menswear section and a Foodmarket. All the food here seems very nice and high end, with a large amount of posh coffees, with Monin flavouring syrups, and other, less well known brands and other types of coffee and drinks. They even had a small piece of chocolate which was latte macchiato flavour, which looked pretty cool, although through looking at it and the packaging, it was hard to tell what it was. The staff here seemed quite friendly, and they did greet me to make sure I was okay, they seemed to know the brand very well and told me, they didn't stock the Pots & Co, a high-end, premium, moose-like dessert, and he told me, they'd probably only stock it in their flagship Knightsbridge branch, which is a similar situation to nearby Selfridges who also only stock it in their flagship London branch, which is a little frustrating. This store had a nice feel to it, with some really nice products and the store was a nice place to walk around and have a look, although the food market was slightly smaller than Selfridges at the Trafford Centre and Bullring, I still feel it is quite a nice, more modern place and overall a nicer department store, to most other department stores I have visited across the country, including nearby stores such as Marks and Spencer, House Of Fraser and Selfridges and due to this, I feel Harvey Nichols deserves a strong 4 stars as it is a nice place to shop, and with only few locations in the UK, and then around the world, it is well worth taking a look in, if you're a tourist in Manchester, or even a local. UPDATE: The store just feels to me to have declined a bit in terms of Food Hall selection and I feel originally I was amazed as the store was all new to me, but now the novelty seems to have faded and now I feel this store is barely average and instead warrants around a two star rating rather than two.

Staying on the subject of decadence, I decided to do a bit of role playing on Saturday and wander…read morearound Harvey Nicks imagining I was one of the cast of Desperate Housewives. Getting into the part I picked out the following: Christopher Kane high volume dress Mary Katrantzou silk whisky dress Matthew Williamson silk party dress Richard Nicoll panelled wool dress Erdem embroidered alvita dress Vivienne Westwood cowl neck dress & Alexander McQueen dogtooth skirt and jacket Alas, when I looked at the price tags and noticed that they were all between £350-£3,000 I gasped with horror and politely handed them back to a member of staff. Imagine if I'd ripped one whilst trying them on? The only way to have avoided a hefty bill and damaged dress would have been if I'd had Eva Longoria's face and body!

For what it is you know the M&S cafe in Handforth dean is alright!…read more Short and sweet from me; it's reasonably priced, the staff are cheerful and the self-help system actually works well for soft drinks and other snacks. It cost me £15 for a chicken Tagine, chocolate lolly, a tea, flat white and a Diet Coke - now I think that's value for money! And the Tagine was absolutely delicious! I would definitely eat there again whilst shopping in Marks and Spencer. I go there regularly for my weekly shop, so it's nice to know I can trust that the food & drink is up to scratch, in case I need to stop for a bite once again!

This branch of Marks and Spencer is quite a big store located in Handsforth Dean, and is in a big…read moreretail complex with quite a large Tesco store. This store can be a nightmare to get to, as it is situated on a large number of roundabout, coming from Manchester for a conference here, they must of been a good 5 roundabouts along the Handforth Bypass, but other than that it is easy to get to, get the motorway towards Birmingham (M60) and just follow the A34, hence coming off the motorway at J3. The car park is quite big as well, with the regular Tesco car park and just one for the standard retail park. This is quite a big store, with a good sized food and clothing section, it can be actually quite hard to find everything in away, especially due to the lack of organization with certain people sending me the wrong way, left right and centre, even the co-ordinator for the event, and I actually had to phone the store to get someone to assist me as they was no staff about - which is totally unacceptable. The event co-ordinatior works for Marks and Spencer, and did make false promises and taken her time to do everything. They is 2 cafes in this store, and they are quite nice cafes, they is one big one, where the event tasted place, and it even has trackers on the tables so the server knows where you are. The cafe isn't great, although some of the staff were good, running around to get me a gluten free sandwich, to the shop floor and the other cafe. The cafe still wasn't great as my iced tea was quite expensive costing about £2.50, and it did taste home made but absolutely awful, and very watery. The store has a good sized free from range, compared to other stores, for example the branch at Bury, where it is a struggle to even grab a sandwich, however they are far too expensive, and as the event co-ordinator is a coeliac, she should do something about it, she even admitted to me in private she knows the range is expensive, but I know she told a few white lies in the presentation. Overall, this isn't the greatest Marks and Spencer's store, even though it is huge, considering issues with the lack of knowledge from staff and staff in general, pricing, lack of organization and simply being a nightmare to get to, roundabout after roundabout, as it is located off a slip road from one, they are unavoidable really and this makes the store, one to not visit rather than to go through all the kerfuffles of the many, confusing roundabouts to visits. I can't give this store any more than 2 stars.

'Are You Being Served', most would agree, disseminated a fairly rose-tinted view of the department…read morestore. If you hear one of the shop assistants in Westgate talking about their pussy it's probably not a beloved cat they are referring to. Of course they would be; the word now only has undertones of 'cat' where it used to be the opposite way round. But back to Westgate. Though there might not be any Mr. Humphries or Mrs. Slocombe characters bouncing around the shop floor the place does reek of a former era, when men were men and wore kipper ties. The menswear section features racks of trousers in various shades of beige and hangers of navy blazers (there are some Barbour jackets amongst the blandery but the range is small and very expensive.) There is some indulgence of the 'yoof' market with a concession selling various coloured oxford pumps, jeans and t-shirts by Bck & Hrsy and Ringspun. The women's fashion department seems to have a similar issue to the mens, with stands from Ann Harvey and Playboy and seemingly nothing in between. Elsewhere in the store, the bedding and homeware department is filled with the sort of chintz that's not even cool in an ironic retro sort of a way and the electronics department is filled with desirable enough items but which are so highly priced I can't imagine anyone would bother. And this is the problem with Westgate; a lot here is simply outdated and what isn't is too expensive to consider.

Chestergate department store in Stockport is part of the coop group and they have a wide range of…read moreproducts. On the basement floor they have home items and a cafe. The ground floor has womens and mens clothing ranges inclusing Jane Norman, Morgan, Bay trading, Principles and many more. They also have cosmetics with outlets such as Clinique, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden. The first floor sells furniture and electrical items along with a really good range of bedding items. There is another small cafe on this floor. Most of the staff are helpful in this store and its well laid out with some good offers on.

Enter via Deansgate or St Anne's square, you'll find an interesting mix of independent businesses…read morein a beautiful Victorian structure of iron and glass building dating back to 1871. There are shoe shops, hairdressers, Australian travel, damn good sandwiches, a bridal store, jewellery stores and Kitchen restaurant and bar. I can imagine you'd find yourself in the arcade looking for something specific rather than just a browse. There's a lack of excitement and bustle in here, but if you're looking for that just go up to Market Street. Or not.

As if Barton Arcade is a Grade II Listed Building!…read more I'm not suprised, it is a gorgeous little shopping arcade but it's just such a waste! There's nothing there! I popped in the other day as it was raining and it's a good short cut from Deansgate to St Ann's Square. I was shocked by just how bare it was. Literally about four shops and a bar (watch this space for the review). Edwards, of course, is an institution in Manchester so I'm glad that's still around. Where has everyone else gone?! I seriously hope that some more tenants are found soon because it's such a shame to let such a gorgeous place die off. Maybe a cafe would liven it up a bit?