Shopping a hobby this place proved I could not live without (MetroCentre (Gateshead))

Member Name: topsyturvy

Product:	MetroCentre (Gateshead)
Date:	08/10/04 (293 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: variety, day trip, fun

Disadvantages: too big at times

On Wednesday I had to go down to Sunderland but decided to make a day of it since the drive down from Edinburgh is 2 and a half hours. So to waste some time I decided to go to the Metro centre but before going I looked at the website to see first if there were any shops that would be of interest to me. I noticed that the day I was going was the day a new mall was opening making it once again the biggest shopping centre in Europe. I have only ever been to this centre once before so what are the odds of picking to go on a major day like that?

On the drive down just passing Newcastle on the A1 heading for Gateshead there are signs making it clear the centre is coming up and to turn off. Once arriving there it is up to the parking. There is a multi-story car park and also the different coloured car parks. When I was there to get a space I had to drive behind a man with a set of keys in desperation for a space. Also I noticed when I was coming out a woman shouted at me to see if I was coming out because she had been there for 30 minutes trying to park. I don't know if the parking situation is always this ridiculous but parking here can waste a lot of your day if you are not lucky enough to find a space quickly.

Since the new red mall had opened I parked outside there which is the entrance outside the new Debenhams. This part of the centre had shops such as USC, H&M, Clinton cards, Faith, etc. Many shops perfect for women...and men. This being the new part, meant that two shops I had wanted to visit were not yet open so Mango and New Look will open later. There were a lot of shoe shops and clothes shops but in some shops I felt instead of crushing in so many small shops they could have fewer but bigger shops. I noticed in the clothes shop Jane Norman it was smaller and hardly had anything nice in it whereas the Jane Norman's I have been to elsewhere have nicer presentation and better stock.

When walking around for a long time, drinking, obviously it is toilet time. I did however find that there were always toilets and well signposted. Obviously there were arrows pointing for toilets everywhere. Usually when there are signs it means there are long walks but here there were toilets on each side of the aisle between shops. The toilets were in good condition and very clean.

Another thing that I found useful was that there was a point where I was beginning to get lost and I was looking for shops I had wanted to visit. I found the information desk which again is in the centre of each mall so you can find your way. There is a map of the whole centre separated into the mall colour and below are all of the shops with a colour and number beside them so that you can find where they are. This was useful as I did find every shop I wanted by this guide.

What I liked about the centre was that you could find affordable food here and there was food always within a short walking distance. I ate at a restaurant serving meals not snacks and it was reasonably priced. It was also surprising that the drink with the meal was in a tall glass full to the top, with no ice I was amazed because usually everywhere I eat a drink is about £2 for a small glass half filled with ice. There were a lot of coffee places servig cakes and sandwiches but there was a Greggs for a more affordable lunch so they do cater for everyone.

I liked the House of Fraser there but it is very big and easy to get lost in. So many designers under one roof in that shop. I have to say out of all of the malls I did prefer the red mall but maybe that was because I was more awake when going in there and by the time I reached the other malls I was exhausted. I made most purchases in the red mall though. There are shops for everyone here and to find your way there are arrows on the signs to point the way to the other malls.

One bad point about the centre is that there sometimes feels like too many shops to the point of ridiculous. I saw some shops two of them but just in different malls. Certain shops were unecessary and it was too much under one roof. A good thing on the other hand is that you can always find something here because there is such a wide variety and you can make a real day of it here knowing you will find whatever you want. There is a lot of walking to be done here and I don't think I would ever use the word quick if I was looking around here because it seems every corner I turned there was somewhere else I wanted to visit which is not good when you are trying to save money.

I did see every shop I wanted. I like the fact some shops were original in that I had not seen anything like it before. I can definitely believe this is one of Europe's biggest centres. There are obviously good and bad points to it but it is easy to get to by car and there are buses going in and out daily. It has a lot of choice of shops and there is a lot to fill the day if you are wanting to make a day of shopping.

Summary: