Not just a shopping center - a day out! (Bluewater)

Member Name: Beanie8844

Product:	Bluewater
Date:	05/09/08 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to park, loads of shops and restaurants

Disadvantages: quite a drive, busy at times

My experience:
As a man I'm designed to hate shopping, however the Bluewater Shopping Centre has made the whole experience so easy and pain-free, I've actually started to quite like it! I had never been before and must admit I was rather intrigued to see what it was like as I had heard many people talk highly of it in the past. Living in London I found it hard to justify driving around the M25 purely to go shopping for the day, but as soon as I arrived I realised why I had driven so far. To start with there were 13,000 car parking spaces - no need to worry about where you are going to park the car and with well over 320 shops the place basically has everything you could ever want; almost all the top high street retailers and department stores. If this isn't quite enough for you it also houses a thirteen screen multiplex cinema! Bluewater is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and I believe one of the best. The architecture of the place is a treasure in itself!

The centre is shaped like a huge triangle so its easy to find you're way around. Each side of the triangle is a separate mall: Rose Gallery, Thames Walk and Guild Hall; at the end of which there is a John Lewis, House of Frasier and Marks and Spencers (these are the biggest shops). In between these along the three malls all the other shops are situated, you really can buy almost anything you want. I bought a pair of trainers from JD Sports, a jumper from River Island, a shirt from Burtons and a pair of trousers from Next. As usual my girlfriend bought far more stuff than me from a variety of different shops. We were both very pleased with our purchases and decided to go for a bite to eat at Nando's to rest our legs after all that walking around. In total we were at Bluewater for four and a half hours, but the time just flew, it was great. The centre wasn't even that busy, not sure if we got a lucky day or if its always like this but I have heard it gets busy at times.

Places to eat: The Food Court (fast food)
Burger King
Harry Ramsdens'
McDonalds
EAT
Krispy Kremes
KFC
The Water Circus (restaurants)
Tootsies
Nando's
Pizza Express
Pizza Hut
La Tasca
TGI Fridays
Yo! Sushi

How to get there:
By car - at a place called Greenhithe, 2 miles from M25 Junction 2
By bus - there are over 60 buses an hour to and from bluewater
By train - 130 trains per day
Tel: 0870 777 0252

Conclusion:
I thought that Bluewater shopping centre was a fantastic place to go and spend the day. You can have an enjoyable shopping trip without the hassle of wondering where you are going to park the car or if there is such and such a shop AND there are loads of places to eat afterwards or during your trip, depending upon whether you want a sit down meal or an ice cream. I would definitely recommend it and will be returning soon.

Thanks for reading. (This review is also posted on Ciao).

Summary: great shooping, some bargains to be had - i'll come again!