Shops, Food And Entertainment! (Trafford Centre)

Member Name: criple

Product:	Trafford Centre
Date:	24/11/02 (5845 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty Of Shops, Excellent Facilities, Free Parking

Disadvantages: Busy, Takes Ages To Get Around

Some people may say that I have no addictions, I don't smoke, don't take drugs and very rarely drink (I just can't take it!) well I have to confess that I do, one big addiction, shopping!

Oldham is not entirely renowned for its array of shops and department stores though it is getting better. Manchester is your average city centre that I always get lost in. I once came out of the wrong exit in the Arndale Centre, completely lost my bearings and ended up in China Town. I had to ask a policeman for directions back to where I parked the car.

Where can one satisfy her addiction? There needs to be loads of shops of all different kinds, especially at Christmas time. Sports shops for the lads, clothes shops for the girls, toyshops for the kids, pampering shops for me, restaurants (for me) gadget shops, (for me) food shops, (for me) well everything for me, really. Most importantly once I'm there I don't want to get lost. That means I need well-directed and signposted information, not just for the journey there but getting around the shops as well. If you visit a city centre you will generally have to move from one place to another, one large dept store to another, one end of town to the other in order to satisfy a great lust for shopping. Along the way, if you're like me, you will find yourself asking for directions every two minutes, where's Debenhams? Where's Marks and Spencer? Where are the bloody toilets?

I think I have found the answer in the Trafford Centre. I have been there four times and four times just isn't enough. To be honest I could probably spend a week there solid and just camp out each night in order to get through all the shops. I first went with my husband a long time ago, we had out daughter with us which always makes shopping stressful. We therefore couldn't appreciate the Trafford centre in all its glory. The second time, wait for it was to meet the Sugababes! You will probably (even
tually) hear about this in another review but they were there to turn on the Christmas lights. Now we didn't just mingle in the crowd to get a glimpse, we actually met them in a private room and had a good chat with them for around twenty minutes along with getting those all important signatures. How? Well, Key103 were doing a charity auction for Manchester Kids and I placed a bid, (another one of my addictions is auctions) it cost me £580 to meet and greet the Sugababes but with that we also got £500 worth of Trafford Centre vouchers! Bargain, wouldn't you say?

This meant I could spend some more wonderful time browsing around the shops getting everyone some wonderful Christmas presents. The only trouble is that my daughter thinks I can just spend them on anything before Christmas even though we're skint because 'it's not real money' The vouchers you get from the Trafford centre are actually cheques and anyone can buy them in denominations from £5 upwards. The payee line is blank and the accepting retailer simply writes or prints the details along with the date of the transaction, you don't have to sign anything. This means they can be given as presents to children as well as adults as no signature or ID is required. Each cheque has a serial number like an ordinary cheque so it's a good idea to take not in case they are lost or stolen, there are no stubs, so once they are spent there is no transaction record for yourself other than the receipt. You will find that most shops put each cheque through separately, so this can be time consuming if you are using a lot. The advantage is of course that each cheque number is recorded on the receipt. If you buy these cheques you will not get change if you don't spend the full amount, some retailers will give you vouchers back. The best thing to do is spend slightly less on the vouchers and top it up with cash if possible. You can add to the vouchers by any other acceptable payment m
ethod (see individual stores) businesses can buy these vouchers as gifts for their employees too!

Some shops do not accept them but most do. You can get a list of none participating shops from the customer services in the centre or visiting their website at www.traffordcentre.co.uk you can even spend them in restaurants and the cinema.

I did say cinema! The Trafford Centre hosts one of the magnificent UCI cinemas with 20 screens including IMAX (3D) there are a grand total of 44 places to get something to eat or drink ranging from, KFC, McDonalds, Chinese, Indian, Pizza places. You name it; it's there. The cinema and most of the food outlets are situated in The Orient part of the centre, easy to find, slap bang in the middle on both floors. This is the only place where smoking is permitted in designated areas.

The Trafford centre has a ground floor and first floor with access by escalator, stairs and lifts. They advise anyone using buggies, pushchairs or wheelchairs to use the lifts. Although I?m not disabled myself I do have difficulty with stairs, the Trafford Centre has received many awards and one of them is 'positive about disabled people' they also received a national safety award 2000 by the British Safety Council. I think one of the reasons may be their awareness of child safety. It is easy to loose children in such a big place. You can actually get wristbands form the information centre on the ground floor. I think this is an excellent idea as I have been through the trauma of loosing my daughter when out shopping and it is not an experience I?d like to repeat. There are many things for children including a crèche, adventure play and kidz club.

So not only is the Trafford centre a place to shop it is a place for a day out, from going to the cinema, having fun with the kids and enjoying good food and drink. A word of warning about the cinema and restaurants, they can be very busy. When we went last night there
were queues at all the places to eat and the cinema was heaving. We arrived at 6.15 p.m. and wanted to see either Harry Potter or Die Another Day, the earliest we could see Harry was 8.00 p.m. and James Bond was 10.00p.m. The best thing to do is book your cinema tickets first and then go and do your shopping or get something to eat. Another thing is that they don't always pre-allocate seats. If there is a few of you then don't wait until the last minute to get your seats, you won?t be seated together! You can always book you seats before you set off by phoning on 08700 10 20 30.

OK, lets get down to business, after all this is primarily a place to shop! There is every type of retailer you could possibly think of. There are 5 large Department stores, Debenhams, Bhs, Boots, marks & Spencer and Selfridges. You may find more than one of the same shops in the centre also due to the shear size of the place. I'll give you a few examples of the ranges available.

Men's: Gap, French Connection, Next, Ralph Lauren, Scotts,
Ladies: Ann Harvey, Bay Trading, Dorothy Perkins, ELLE, Etam
Children's: Adams, Tammy Girls, Baby Gap, Disney Store, Quicksilver, Next,
Footwear: Clarks, Barrats, King Of Trainers, Dolcis, Schuh, Footlocker, Nike
Jewellery: Beaverbrooks, Claires, Ernest Jones, Swarovski, H.Samual
Health & Beauty: Beverly Hills Nails, Body Shop, Dr & Herbs, Holland & Barratt, (sorry girls, no Lush!)
Music: HMV, Sony Centre, Music Zone, Musicians World

I could go on forever, but there is lots to choose from, Travel agents, hairdressers, opticians, Toy shops, Cards & Gifts, Books, Audio, Sports and specialist shops such as Ann Summers, The Bear Factory and Aqua Massage.

The facilities are excellent with no less than 14 free car parks, bicycles, motorcycles and coach parks. Unisex parent and child toilets, baby changing and breast feeding rooms. Not forgetting those that bottle feed, you can warm
bottles in a special unit in the food court in the Orient. There?s a creche for 2-7 year olds and play area for 0-10 year olds. You can even hire buggies to save the hassle of loading up the car. You can pick up a battery-operated scooter or manual wheelchair from the shop mobility unit, booking is advisable with two forms of ID needed, you can do this by phoning 0161 749 1728. All public areas, toilets and elevators are designed for wheelchair use. Lenses for the visually impaired are available free of charge at the customer service desk. Trained access officers offer service and information to deaf and blind visitors, the first service of its kind in any major shopping centre in Europe. They won the SOCAP award for innovation in customer service, 2001.

There are some banks and plenty of cash machines so if you do run out of money you can get some more! There's also a Texaco petrol station so don?t worry about getting home afterwards.

Opening hours differ depending on if it's the shops or restraints/cinema. Every weekday the shops are open from 10.00a.m until 10.00p.m and on Saturday it's 9.00-7.00. They are open on a Sunday from 12.00-6.00 but for a full run down you can phone 0845 60 20 314

To get to the Trafford Centre by car you will need to come off either junction 9 or 10 on the M60 (formerly M63)

You can also travel from anywhere on the Metrolink to Stretford where you can then catch a shuttle bus direct to the Trafford centre. If you need directions you can phone them on 0845 60 40 608, don't ask me because although I found my way there I got lost coming home (long story) for bus information phone GMPTE on 0161 228 7811

You can contact customer services on 0161 749 1510 if you feel there is anything else you need to know or check out their website at www.traffordcentre.co.uk for a full list of shops and services. You can also buy online from some of the retailers but their own terms & condition
s/delivery charges will apply.

Prepare yourself for a long and tiring day if you visit and don't expect to get around all the shops. If you can plan your day first and make a note of where the retailers you wish to visit most are situated. If you are coming down the M62 from Leeds, Bradford (can't remember exactly where) area there are some road works as you hit the M60 so avoid rush hour and plan extra time for your journey, above all have fun!

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