Debenhams saved me! I was in need of a very specific electric kettle and they had it - correct…read morecolor and all. It was also nearly £30 cheaper than the same kettles (different colors) over at Fraser. Their women's collection looked decent, too. I briefly looked around for a new coat, and while I didn't find anything I really loved, the selection of dresses and tops had a lot going for it. Finally, the woman who checked me out could not have been friendlier. She enquired as to where I'm from, if I'm enjoying Edinburgh, and wished me well on my travels. Considering the selection and the service, I'd come back here in a heartbeat.

Officially the world's most confusing department store. And therefore the most annoying…read more For some reason, rather than being one whole shop this place is laid out as two individual shops back to back - a Princes Street side and a Rose Street side. Consequently, you spend 99% of your time inside trying to navigate to the floor where you want to get to as opposed to actually shopping. All I wanted was a dress and yet it took me a good fifteen minutes of wandering around in circles before I finally gave up and asked a sales assistant before I eventually found the womenswear bit. But this brings me to my next grumble: as far as Debenhams go, this one is really small and so there's really not much selection ot choose from.

The nes M and S in Livingston Centre is fanastic, far better than the Edinburgh Princes Street…read morestore. There is a ver wide range of stock, a great cafe and the staff are really helpful. Rubbish home range though!

Marks and Spencer in Almondvale has a good range of clothes but not as many as larger stores like…read morethe Gyle. Some Ladies clothes are downstairs and you can go on the escalor to mens, home, shoes, lingerie etc. There are changing rooms on both levels which are manned and staff willing to get another size if you need it. I like the Food hall which has a wide range of food and is very popular when they have meal deals for £10.Their flowers are great value too. The bank area is good and we have used it to buy euros. If you shop In Marks regularily it is worth checking out the Credit card so you get vouchers to spend throughout the year. A good addition to the shops in Livingston and if you want to rest try something in the coffee shop.

On a visit we used this shop often to get some food and items for souvenirs. Nice selection of pre…read moremade salads and snacks, as well as amazing flap jacks! We lined the set up and it was clean and efficient. We would go back again for sure as they had most items we were looking for to make our stay enjoyable.

I love Marks and Spencers. I tour them all over the UK. I get a lot of my food souvenirs here…read more At THIS one, I found local Scottish honey! Delicious. I bought as many as I could fit in my suitcase. Since I saved my receipt, I can tell you they were (on sale!) 5 pounds each. I also bought packages containing 8 meringues (1 pound 80 for 8!) and packages of eclairs (2 for 1 pound 70)- because a girl has to eat. Croissants (which I picked up for my breakfast) were 90p. Carrier bags are 5p (but you can bring your own bag and pay zero- or use a backpack.) I always stock up on food here because it's so much cheaper than eating out. And I'd rather have a decent spartan meal from M&S in my hotel room, than spend money on food I don't really want at a middling restaurant. The other offerings at M&S looked good- and I walked around briefly, but I was only at this store to buy food.

Harvey Nichols or Harvey Nicks as it is often referred to, is a large department store, just…read moreoutside St James Quarter in Edinburgh city centre, a large department store in a grand building, this is a nice place to shop if you're looking for something a little more premium with a selection from food to fragrance. The store feels high-end so is fancy and well laid out, and the staff are friendly, with many creams and products on hand to test out before purchase. The store closes at 6 pm between Sunday and Wednesday, opening an hour later between Thursday and Saturday, regardless I feel this is far too early for a large department store in a big city, the shopping hours are not well catered to workers, and those who prefer to head out in the afternoons. There are places to sit and take a break while shopping in the store, which I appreciate, and the vibes inside the store are very nice, overall, with some nice products, so it is well worth a look in if you have time while shopping in Edinburgh. The store has five floors, including a Brasserie and Bar on the Fourth Floor, with impressive views of the city, including the Old Town. 4*

At the very top of this mall there is a terrace overlooking St-Andrews monument. It's really cool!…read moreMy friend and I got some drinks and some chips and had a great time. I got a margarita frozen and they were very generous with the alcohol! The chips came with this really delicious dipping sauce (and only cost 4 pounds). Would really recommend grabbing a drink here.

This particularly large Primark opened last December and honestly, I can't get enough of it! Every…read moretime I go to Fort Kinnaird, this place is usually my first stop so that I can avoid the afternoon chaos later on. The layout is much better than its sister store on Princes Street and since it is all on one level, getting around is pretty easy as you can see everything from when you enter and you won't have to negotiate any of those dreaded escalators that make you go ALL the way round to the other side of the sales floor to get to the next one. The men's department is an adequate size and is conveniently located near the front of the store. The only downside to this, is that you will have to walk all the way to the back of the shop if you want to try something on as that is where the fitting rooms are located. Speaking of the fitting rooms, they are modern, bright and have never been subjected to horrific queues when I've visited. (Unlike the shambolic Princes Street store.) One thing that annoys me is the checkouts. They are also at the back, on either side (one set in lingerie and the other in homewares) and usually have slow moving long queues. This is not ideal when all you are buying is a t shirt, a pair of jeans and some sweets. Another thing that bugs me is the till staff. I know it must be horrible working 9-5 in Primark under the harsh fluorescent lighting and with demanding customers but a smile would be appreciated. It could be stocked a bit better and they should assign more workers to the checkouts to cut down queues but other than that, this store provides a less chaotic experience to the city centre store and is much better in many ways.

So this is a fairly small store with everything all on one level but stocks everything you need,…read morefrom clothes, homeware, lingerie, to kids and mens clothing too, the staff are lovely and helpful and all do a great job. There is only one complaint however in that you have to leave your basket if you want to try anything on which makes things a bit of a hassle. Apart from that well worth a look and with mcdonalds right next door what could be better.

Fan shop in the st James center. It has a number of floors for clothing, homeware, appliances and…read morekitchens, bedding and soft furnishings, furniture.

John Lewis is the anchor tenant of the St James Quarter shopping centre, it's my favourite…read moredepartment store in Edinburgh city centre, down to its' location, as well as being a large, modern department store with a good range of products in all categories, other than food, which is quite minimal. It's over six floors, which extends past the mall, however, it does have multiple entrances on the mall level, do be warned that you won't be able to use the same lift for all floors, for some reason to get to the higher floors, you need to change lifts, or use the escalator, not a big deal, but this isn't well signposted, and it's easy to get lost. I did like the look and feel of the store, the technology section was huge and had everything from phones to laptops and TVs, while also having an Apple section, the area overall was much nicer and more modern than other technology sections in other John Lewis stores, so a big plus. The upper level has nice views of the Edinburgh Old Town. Other facilities inside the store include a Cafe as well as a selection of men's and women's clothes, fragrances and accessories, there's even an Optician's. A very big and very good department store to serve the Scottish capital.

Today I decided to visit the café in here for the first time, and I was actually quite impressed! I…read morehave always been a bit iffy about Marks & Spencer cafes but I will now be frequenting them. I had a luxury hot chocolate and it was very nice. I also didn't have to wait very long even though they were very busy. I also had a millionaire shortbread which was crumbly, caramelly and delicious. It was also pretty cheap as well. In Starbucks, it would have came up to about £6 but here it was only £4. My only complaints about the cafe are bad cell service, the dirty floor and the generally soulless atmosphere. There is a very high warehouse style ceiling which adds to this effect. Onto the store itself. It is big, but not overwhelmingly big. There are women's clothes, perfume and the food hall at the front, men's clothes in the middle and homewares, kids' clothes, the café and the toilets at the back. I used to think that the food hall was quite small but today I ventured further into it and found that it was much bigger than expected with a good selection of stock. I only bought a bottle of water, and it was only 65p compared to £1.50 in the heaving Princes Street store. This is a much nicer alternative to the busy store in the city centre. It is much quieter, the food hall is brighter and airier and the cafe is much better with fast service.

If Bra fitting was not a necessity i would have let down it... Pretty bad service…read more Better to take an appointment...

A great branch of Debenhams that seems to pad out Ocean Terminal a bit. I was lucky enough to snap…read moreup some bargains on my visit a few days ago. They had Fake Bake tan reduced from £40 to £20 and I also got a Cath Kidston Wild Rose bath and body set reduced from £30 to £15... the discount got better when I took my items to the till to find out it was 10% off day. Result! They have a good range of premium make up including counters from Benefit, YSL, Dior, Chanel and my favourite; Lancome. In addition, they have a good range of men and women's clothing and I spent longer than I should have in their Warehouse concession where I got the most gorgeous kaftan I've even seen in my life.

I had some difficulty writing this review as I do frequent the place when in Ocean Terminal, but…read moremore as 'part of' the Ocean Terminal visit and I wanted it to be positive, I wanted to like it and tell people how nice shopping here is..but I can't. I am ok with big department stores. I loose several hours checking out current trends. And cheap last season things. Debenhams is however not my favourite. The place is a mess. Dusty and frumpy. Most of the time I am in the men's section checking out the designer garb - Jasper Conran, Rocha, Levis, Maine, St George and just as many times I leave with an empty mind.. it doesn't inspire me to try things or buy things. They also have a 'kitchen' section where famous names flog their wares. ( I find TKMaxx to be more appealing to be honest..) - this may be a department store for some, but to me it is just a collection of market stalls.. Don't get me started on the canteen like restaurant on the top floor. Nope.. just don't.