There's not much to say about me i'm afraid! (not good at reviewing me) x
There's not much to say about me i'm afraid! (not good at reviewing me) x
Member since:22.02.2006
Reviews:85
Members who trust:26
Living only 25 minutes away from Lakeside, since the first day I can remember its the only place I would go if I want to go shopping. There are other places which are about 15 minutes from me but they are not as easy to park in, totally sheltered and they do not have such a range of shops.
Lakeside, as many of you probably already know is a shopping mall located in Thurruck and it has been around longer than I can remember, the mall itself is located in the middle of a retail park also, making the shopping experience an even bigger one, there is something for everyone here.
What is there?
The main part of Lakeside is obviously the mall which is filled to the brim with over 250 shops, clothes shops for all ages and styles, furniture, electrical, jewellery, books, everything. Also Lakeside has an eating court for hungry shoppers and now has the Boardwalk which I often go to just for the cinema or to eat.
The Boardwalk
In the centre of level two of the mall there is a walkway called Brompton Walk which breaks away from the rest of the mall and has smaller and more specialist shops like boutiques and a wedding shop. At the end of this walk is The Boardwalk which is a big lake with a row of restaurants along it, a cinema and a giant boat which houses an
Old Orleansrestaurant.
Names on the Boardwalk
Vue cinema there is another cinema about 5 minutes from the mall which is quieter, but this cinema is clean and friendly and located at the end of the Boardwalk behind the Old Orleans boat.
Giraffe Restaurant - This is located on the strip of restaurants on the lake and is mainly a good place to eat for a breakfast or a light lunch, I have only been in here once and it was ok!
Las Iguanas This is a Latin restaurant located on the boardwalk, I have never eaten in here but it always looks buzzing and the smell outside is always nice.
Wagamamma I love Wagamamma noodles, I have never eaten at the one in Lakeside but I have heard good things about it.
Spur Steak and Grill I go here quite often as it is cheap and easy and the menu is all very nice, again this is located on the Boardwalk near the boat and the staff are always friendly and the food is always nice.
Nandos I am Nandos greatest fan, and the one in Lakeside is no exception, located on the Boardwalk over the lake, it is lovely to sit outside and eat chicken. Old Orleans This restaurant is the biggest spectacle on the Boardwalk as the restaurant is set on a three tiered Mississippi steamer boat and the restaurant inside is gorgeous. Sometimes it is very busy though and the service can dip slightly too low for me to sing its praises fully.
There are other places to eat on the Boardwalk, but these are all I can remember and are my favourites. The lovely thing about the Boardwalk is there is a range of restaurants to suit everybodies taste buds and price range but they are all located in a romantic and stylish way meaning that just going the 25 minute Journey for a burger is always worth it for the atmosphere.
The lake is also a host to a watersports and diving centre which I have never visited, but in the summer when other people are out on the lake it just makes it even nicer to sit outside and have a coffee or a salad!
The Mall
For me, the mall has everything. I usually go to Lakeside for clothes shopping and I spend most my time in the following shops
Zara
Primark
House of Fraser
Debenhams
Aldo
Schuh
Choice
But the above list of shops is tiny compared to the amount which Lakeside has. The Mall has three floors, a lower level, an upper level and the third floor is a food court which has lunch places like -
KFC
Burger King
Jackets
Indian deli
Chinese Deli
A Cafe
Etc etc
But located around the mall there is also the odd sandwich shop, and McDonalds ensuring that you never go hungry.
If you need to go shopping this mall will nearly always have everything that you are looking for and everything is easy to find because of the layout of the mall. Layout
The Layout of the mall makes it easy to park at one end then enter through the shop you are parked by (Debenhams or House of Fraser) then browse from one end to the other, then go up or down (depending on which floor you are on) and walk back! Simples!
The mall has escalators, lifts and stairs and also has easily found toilets, help desks and everything you would need for a good long days shopping. Opening hours
Monday Friday 10am 10pm
Saturday 9am 9pm
Sunday 11am 5pm
Bank Holidays 10am 6pm
My favourite time shopping is a weekday evening after about 6pm, this means that I can leave work, drive straight there, and the mall will not be heaving with children and crowds, I do not have to queue hardly and I do not feel like Im being rushed, I can calmly walk about and look in whatever I want without being put off by the crowds, which leaves me to my first disadvantage of this shoppers haven
Disadvantage 1
Saturday shopping It is very easy after a hard and busy week to assume that the best time to do your shopping is on a Saturday. Wrong.
Saturday at Lakeside is always stressful for me and now I refuse to go there unless necessary on a Saturday. The mall is full of crying children, double buggies and bored men who have obviously been dragged out by their stressed looking wives. The queues in each shop are ridiculous and the crowds cover half of the things that you would want to look at.
I have been Lakeside on a Sat and came home with nothing accept a headache and a loathe for woman with buggies (sorry).
Its not worth it!
Luckily this is the only real disadvantage I can think of with Lakeside, but really its more a disadvantage with shopping in general as Saturdays everywhere are similar!
I have had no bad experiences with Lakeside and I have been shopping there for years. So who goes there?
As I have said there are shops here for everything and everyone so its not very restricted but normally it is mainly woman who like shopping. Although do not be fooled, the mall is full of men, although unlike woman they normally know what they want and walk straight too it!
Getting there
It is very easy to get to lakeside as it is located straight off of the M25 and is signposted.
If you do not drive there are also trains, buses and coaches which go there, although I have only ever drove there so cant review the ease of this Im afraid.
Outlook
The main things I love about Lakeside are that it has everything that I would want on a hardcore shopping trip including a range of restaurants located on a beautiful lake, it is also a very clean and tidy, well looked after mall which just makes the whole trip more pleasant.
Thats all I want from a shopping mall and therefore I love Lakeside 100% and would suggest that if you havent been and you live within 30 mins you get down there!
Pictures of Lakeside (Thurrock)
The Boardwalk is beautiful day and especially night x
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Advantages: all the usual high street names, plenty of restaurants for evening entertainment - and a Cinema Disadvantages: you might run out of money - so take 'him' along!
Apr 18th, 2009
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
