Bluewater, Kent > Reviews (24)

Bluewater is like a giant mother and baby centre and I love it!

If you know a little bit about Bluewater please skip the basics I have to cover first before getting on to my experiences.

-BASICS
Bluewater is an enormous under cover shopping centre in Greenhithe Kent (DA9 9ST for your sat nav). Junction 2 off M25 for A2/M2 it is very well sign posted. With 13,000 car spaces including lots of parent and child spaces, especially in the under cover John Lewis car park on the ground floor. They have just recently added more in this area and I very rarely have to park in a non child friendly space. By bus is relatively easy within Kent especially nearby towns/villages serviced by Arriva buses. If arriving by train you will still have to get a bus as no stations are in walking distance. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm Saturdays 9am to 9pm and Sundays 11am to 5pm.

There are 3 main department stores on each corner of the centre. Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser and John Lewis. Although there is a large amount of shops I would say they are mainly clothes stores and if shopping for white goods/electrical/furniture Bluewater is not my first shopping destination. The shops tend to be mid to higher end of the market so if you love Primark brace yourself there is not one here yet.

Other attrations include a multi screen cinema which has a great snack counter and very comfortable seats however the air conditioning can make it a little cold watching films, I always take an extra layer to wear inside there than I would just walking around the centre.
Moulton Brown has a spa here, it is not cheap but I'm told by friends a very relaxing experience. If you want a spa day they would recommend going to a purely spa facility so you can use a swimming pool, jucazzi,sauna,gym etc.
Restaurants/eating places are in abundance here and as you would imagine the variety is excellent, I highly recommend the amazing seafood restaurant Loch Fyne, one of their newest places to eat.

-Baby friendly
When you walk around you will see lots of buggies here as it is a very popular destination for yummy mummies. The baby changing areas are excellent, always very clean and you are never far from one. My favourites are the facilities in John Lewis and by the food court area as they both have dedicated breast feeding areas that make you feel comfortable and confident feeding when out and about. If feeding in Mothercare there is no special area just one room for feeding and changing. So be aware dads may be coming in to change nappies not just mums if this makes you uncomfortable.

It is not very widely known but you can hire a pushchair from the conceige desk for free with a £30 refundable deposit, ID is required. Also available from this desk are wrist bands for your children. They are strong, brightly coloured and waterproof with your mobile number on them. An excellent idea if your precious little one gets lost. This is especially good as I rarely see any actual Bluewater staff walking round the centre and places don't like to put out lost child tannoys now.

I know there is already several Bluewater reviews but after visting Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, which is no where near as baby friendly I realised just how fantastic Bluewater was. I couldn't find any breast feeding areas and we only came across one baby changing station. Finding it to be inconvient for people with new borns is a shame as there retail park by the centre has an amazing variety of stores.

I hope this has been of help to everyone especially new parents.