Always Something New... (Meadowhall)

Member Name: angeelu

Product:	Meadowhall
Date:	07/09/02 (2070 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge variety of shops, Easy access

Disadvantages: Easy to get lost if you haven't been before or very often

Meadowhall is huge shopping centre located on the outskirts of Sheffield. With easy access from the M1, (off junction 34), it's easy to get to from a number of locations.

The town in which I live, although not too bad for shopping, does have a limited range of different shops on the High Street, therefore if you fancy a good retail therapy session it's best to travel to another town. As Sheffield is approximately an hour away from where I live, it's fairly convenient.

WHAT'S THERE?
Well, for a start, there's more shops than I'd care to count! Meadowhall contains over 270 stores so no matter what you're shopping for, you're quite likely to find it.

Shops range from electrical retailers, cards and gifts, footwear, hairdressing, books, sports equipment, menswear, ladieswear, food stores, health and beauty, childrenswear, toys, opticians, and a variety of specialist shops.

There are a huge variety of shops within each of the categories mentioned above, from those that you find in almost every High Street of every town (Next, Marks & Spencer, WHSmiths, Boots, Debenhams, HMV, Miss Selfridge, New Look, The Body Shop, Carphone Warehouse, Going Places), as well as those that are no so regularly found in smaller towns (including French Connection, Schuh, Warehouse, Gap, Kangol, Ted Baker).

In addition to the major stores, you'll also find a section within Meadowhall known as The Lanes. This area consists of a variety of smaller, and probably independent shops and stalls selling yet again a huge variety of different products. Some of these shops are quite specialist and others contain a multitude of gifts, clothes, games and the likes. Shop names include the Formula 1 Shop, The Music Box, The Tool Shed, Funky Monkey, Funaholics and Candletime.

Should you require banking facilities, or indeed a cash-point, you'll find HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Yorkshire Bank and NatWest a
ll located within Meadowhall.

EATING...
In addition to the shops there are also a variety of takeaways and restaurants that are mainly located within an area called Oasis. This is a circular area covering two floors. The bottom floor consists of plenty of chairs and tables in the centre of the circle, and more than a dozen different food outlets located around the edge of the circle. This is great when you are with a group of people and all want to eat different things, as you can each purchase your food from a different retailer (including KFC, Pizza Hut, Fresh, Harry Ramsden's, Pasty King, Singapore Sam as well as others), and meet up at a table in the centre to eat together.

The top floor of the Oasis doesn't have a floor in the centre, therefore you can see down to the lower area, and obviously, if you are downstairs you can see the other restaurants upstairs. In the upper area, as opposed to takeaways there are mainly restaurants where you can sit down and enjoy a meal just as you would in any other restaurant. Included in this area is Pizza Express, The French Cafe, Thyme, Margarita's, Mamma Amalfi Italian Restaurant and Ma Potter's Chargrill.

In addition to the top floor area of the Oasis containg restaurants, you will also find a Warner Village cinema, 'Le Grand Casino' and Wondrepark amusements.

OPENING HOURS...
Very conveniently, Meadowhall is generally open from 10am - 9pm Monday-Friday, which is great if you work during the day. All of the shops within the complex remain open until 9pm, so you get the same choice from an evening visit as you do during the day. There are also a few shops within the centre that open at 9am.

The Oasis area has slightly different opening hours to the rest of Meadowhall. On Monday-Friday, Oasis is open from 9am - 9.30pm (great if you want breakfast before you start your shopping spree, or something to eat at the end of your retail therapy ses
sion). On Saturday, Oasis is open 9am - 9pm and on Sunday from 10am - 6pm. On Saturday the centre is open from 9am - 7pm, and on Sunday from 11am - 5pm.

MORE INFORMATION...
Meadowhall have a careline on 0845 600 6800 where you can get more information about how to get to Meadowhall, opening times of specific shops and general information on the centre etc. In addition, they have a comprehensive website at www.meadowhall.co.uk which contains information on the centre itself, the shops, getting there, jobs, gifts online and much more. At the centre itself there are information points, with staff that are happy to help point you in the direction of a particular shop or answer your questions.

TO CONCLUDE...
Meadowhall is great shopping centre with a wide variety of outlets all under one roof. Parking is ample and free and it is also accessable by tram, train and bus/coach. The centre itself is generally clean and tidy, and there are plenty of signs to help you find your way around (as well as maps that are provided for free!). As with all shopping centres it does get busy at peak times of the day and at weekends, though that is unavoidable in nearly every town. I would certainly advise visiting in the evening as it tends to be slightly less busy.

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