...
EATING & DRINKING - Baxters * Britannia View Restaurant * Cafe Expresso * Costa Coffee * M & S Simply Food * Ma Potters * O'Briens * Ocean Bar * Ocean Kitchen * Palace Chine * Starbucks * Zinc Bar & Grill * Zizzi.
On the top floor there is a 12 screen cinema.
It's very bright ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Superb situation Disadvantages: It's a shopping mall
...The mall in question was, OCEAN TERMINAL in Leith.
Edinburgh has almost always been a prosperous city, but with the opening of the Scottish Parliament, it has become something of a boom-town with several areas undergoing major development. Leith is just one of those.
The old port of Leith has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years from a crime-ridden, drug-infested, slum of urban decay and industrial ... .../>
OCEAN TERMINAL is a fairly new (2001) shopping and entertainment complex in the heart of the rejuvenated western dockland area of Leith.
Developed at a cost £120 million, it comprises department stores and other retail outlets, bars, restaurants and cafés, a 12-screen cinema and a cruise-ship terminal.
The whole shebang is centred around the Britannia Visitor Centre, where you can access the former Royal ... more
Don't you just love the build-up to Christmas? Don't you just love to go Christmas shopping? Carols playing softly in the background, twinkling lights and festive decor, excited children waiting their turn for Santa's Grotto and gazing in wonderment at the toys they hope he'll remember to bring them. Those seasonal displays with the little all-singing, all-dancing, animatronics in a sea of cotton wool liberally strewn with coins intended for the less fortunate. The hustle and bustle, the pushing and shoving, the arguing and barging, the rudeness, the stress, the blatant commercialism that verges on extortion, the knowledge that everyone's piling on more debt than they can possibly afford, and the realization that whatever you buy, come January it'll be half the price you paid - not to mention the hordes of shop-lifters, pick-pockets, fraudsters, muggers and all-round baddies that home in for the easy pickings. And the worse thing is, this all starts around early November.
Reading between the lines, you might just detect the fact that my nick-name is not 'The Happy Shopper'. So why do I do it? Have you ever seen Mrs P looking disappointed and ever-so-slightly homicidal amongst a litter of 'not-what-I wanted gifts?' Neither have I, and I don't ever intend to.
This is why I found myself, one day last week, wandering aimlessly around a shopping mall. The mall in question was, OCEAN TERMINAL in Leith.
Edinburgh has almost always been a prosperous city, but with the opening of the Scottish Parliament, it has become something of a boom-town with several areas undergoing major development. Leith is just one of those.
The old port of Leith has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years from a crime-ridden, drug-infested, slum of urban decay and industrial degradation into one of the most cosmopolitan, chic, and desirable areas of Edinburgh. There are exclusive new luxury housing developments, disused warehouses have been renovated into stylish apartments, art galleries and exclusive shopping all sit comfortably amongst the quay-sides and cobbled streets which somehow manage to co-exist alongside the harsher, gritty landscape that still pertains in much of Leith. This is especially true on the Waterfront. Over the next few years, there are plans to further develop the Waterfront quite substantially with over 10,000 new homes, millions of square feet of office, retail and leisure space, and around 1,000 new hotel rooms.
OCEAN TERMINAL is a fairly new (2001) shopping and entertainment complex in the heart of the rejuvenated western dockland area of Leith. Developed at a cost £120 million, it comprises department stores and other retail outlets, bars, restaurants and cafés, a 12-screen cinema and a cruise-ship terminal.
The whole shebang is centred around the Britannia Visitor Centre, where you can access the former Royal Yacht, which is permanently berthed here.
The complex is designed like a sleek, titanic ocean liner encompassing nearly half-a-million square feet on three floors, and with multi-storey parking for 1600 cars at the 'bow and stern'. The building is extensively glazed and affords spectacular views over the surrounding waterfront, across the Firth of Forth, and into Fife.
What's inside?
There are around eighty retail units spread over the three floors and around the central gallery. Some of the cafés and bars are distributed in various locations, but the main food court in in the centre of the building and covers two floors. This area is completely glazed from floor to ceiling - in fact so is the ceiling - so it's almost impossible to not find a table with a sweeping view over the Forth.
DEPARTMENT STORES - BHS and Debenhams.
FASHION - Adams * Allsports * Burtons * Dorothy Perkins * French Connection* GAP * La Senza * Logo * Prego Leather * S3 * Schuh * Top Shop * Trespass * Wallis.
BOOKS, GIFTS, CARDS, MUSIC & PHONES - Art * Athena * Bear Factory * Boredom Free Zone * Baxter's * Britannia Gift Shop * Clinton Cards * Earth Squared * Gadget Shop * HMV * Special Occasions * Thomas Kinkade * Waterstones's * Fonehouse * Orange * Phones 4 U.
HEALTH & BEAUTY - Aquaspace * Boots * Herbal Inn * The Body Shop * The Perfume Shop.
HOMES & INTERIORS - Athena * Au Naturalle * Viva Sofa.
EATING & DRINKING - Baxters * Britannia View Restaurant * Cafe Expresso * Costa Coffee * M & S Simply Food * Ma Potters * O'Briens * Ocean Bar * Ocean Kitchen * Palace Chine * Starbucks * Zinc Bar & Grill * Zizzi.
On the top floor there is a 12 screen cinema.
It's very bright and airy inside which is due partly to the light-coloured walls, but mainly because of the huge amount of natural light emanating from the glass panels.
I parked in one of the multi-levels and it was quite awkward trying to enter the main mall. As far as I could tell, the only way in was by having to walk all the way through Debenhams. Not a major problem, but I hate being forced to negotiate my way through a department store whether I want to or not. I suppose I could use one of the other entrances the next time.
The complex has that brand-new feel about it even though it's been open a couple of years now. It's very roomy and very airy, but that may be because I was there on a Tuesday morning - Saturday afternoon is probably a whole different crowd-jostling experience.
ROYAL YACHT BRITTANIA
Close on a million people have visited the Britannia since it first opened to the public in October 1998. In February this year it was awarded a Five Star World Class Visitor Attraction grading (impressive, eh?). It was also voted the Best New Attraction in the UK and is now one of the top visitor attractions in Scotland.
The Britannia was launched at John Brown's on 16th April, 1953. Not the John Brown whose body lies a'mouldering, I hasten to add, but the shipyard in Clydebank where it was built, as was the Queen Mary, The Queen Elizabeth and the QEII (I think it's fairly safe to assume that they knew a little bit about boat-building).
No longer in service, The Britannia is open to all visitors - even those who didn't pay for its upkeep through excessive tax duties. It's supposed to be pretty amazing, but I'm afraid I'm really not interested in having my face rubbed in the inequity of having a monarchy, so I didn't visit. They also have a gift-shop in the mall.
Fair enough, but how do you get there?
By car:
Much of Fife, the Central Belt and the Borders are within a 45 minute drive. Follow signs for Leith / North Edinburgh and the brown tourist signs for Britannia.
By Rail:
Nearest train station is Waverley in Edinburgh city centre, then catch the bus and it's 10 minutes away. Leith will be serviced by the new tram system...whenever that's built!
By bus:
There are buses every 5 minutes from Princes St. and surrounding areas - numbers 1, 11, 22 ,34, 35 & 36 will all bring you directly to the terminal. MacTours buses also stop outside the main entrance.
By air:
Ocean Terminal is approximately 20 minutes drive by car or taxi from Edinburgh airport.
By cruise-liner:
Around 60 cruise liners are expected to dock at the terminal annually and plans are afoot for ferry services to mainland Europe.
By heliochopper:
Nah, I'm kidding...
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 8pm Sat 10am - 7pm Sun 11am - 6pm
The bars, restaurants and cinema are open until midnight.
Official website: http://www2.oceanterminal.com/index.html
Trivia: If anyone was watching the recent MTV awards (and I know I wasn't), the venue was in a temporary structure adjacent to Ocean Terminal. Somehow, I resisted the temptation to gawp at the celebrities. FOOTNOTE: The big question that's on everybody's mind is, did I manage to get something suitable and worthy for Mrs P's stocking....something she'll appreciate and thank me for with showers of wet, sloppy kisses? I very much doubt it. But I did manage to severely dent my bank balance, so no-one's a loser....apart from me.
Advantages: clean, bright, airy, good selection of shops and facilities, easy parking Disadvantages: can be a little too quiet at times, not a vast range of shops
...altogether better shopping malls is Ocean Terminal, which sits in the port of Leith, a massive regeneration area for Edinburgh which is not dissimilar to Londons docklands. Leith is now an up-and-coming area that attracts developers, so it's an attractive place for a shopping development. Ocean Terminal sits alongside the famous Royal Yacht Britannia, and so has frequent bus links from the city centre, making it attractive to tourists as well as ... ...hard to come by.
Ocean Terminal has been criticised for it's lack of shopping, and it was certainly a quiet place with little atmosphere when it first opened in 2001. It's taken time to fill all the retail units but it's now a far more lively shopping centre with a good selection of shops to choose from. I find clothes shops are always more abundant than anything else in shopping centres, and here you will find French Connection, Dorothy Perkins, ...
molelover 05.04.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)
Advantages: Free Parking, Layout, Disadvantages: None so far
..."Edinburgh waterfront welcomes you to Ocean Terminal. Being curious we packed the children in to the car and headed down to ocean terminal for the first time. Sit back and enjoy my review ===What is Ocean Terminal===
Ocean Terminal is a large (half million sqft) shopping centre set on the lovely up and coming waterfront near to Leith in Edinburgh. Set over three floors, ocean terminal offers a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and bars not to ... ...roof at Ocean Terminal. ===How to get there===
Thanks to LRT (local bus company) Ocean terminal is served very well with buses, you will see buses leaving Ocean terminal every 5 mins at peak times. Buses will take to you princess street and other surrounding areas to allow to you either get a train or connect with another bus. Car - If within Edinburgh you can expect to get to Ocean terminal with 30mins from most areas, Easy to follow signs from ...
marcellep2 01.07.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)
Advantages: Clean, safe, classy, lots to do and see, free parking Disadvantages: None for us
...to a shopping mall called Ocean Terminal which I must say looked stunning from the outside, especially as it was all decorated ready for Christmas.
We went by car and parked in the large multi storey car park next to the mall and the parking here was free, which was a nice surprise. It is also possible to get to the Ocean Terminal by bus from Edinburgh City Centre using Lothian Bus number 1, 11, 22, 34 or 35.
Ocean Terminal forms part of the redevelopment ... ...screen Vue Cinema.
The Ocean Terminal also has a website at www.oceanterminal.com/home which gives all the details of what is there and also details of what's on at the centre. They have various events such as Farmer's Markets, Mall Walking (a fitness event based on walking round the mall) and special store events.
We began by working our way up the escalators to the third (top) floor in order to take our tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. The ...
SusanLesley 11.12.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)
Advantages: Possibly the Smallest and Most Accessable Shopping Centre I;ve ever seen Disadvantages: None, maybe it doesn't have enough Stairs.
...means I can compare the Ocean terminal to them. To give you a unique Perspective.
Little bit of Background, The Ocean Terminal is located, as the name would suggest, near the sea. It's ten minutes drive from the World Famous Princes Street in North Edinburgh. Follow the signposts from the Motorways or Edinburgh by-pass to HMS Britannia. It's about 10 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley Station and 30 mins drive from Edinburgh Airport.
Possibly the ... ...light relief (shopping) in the Ocean Terminal. We'd briefly walked through to get to the ship, and once we came out, we decided to look around. Now in Manchester we have a similar Quayside development called The Lowry Centre, which is supposed to be a "Designer Outlet". I go to the Lowry Quite regularly, and it is boring, it has an M&S outlet, about the most well known shop in there. It's about as fun to visit as the Dentist. Compared to the Lowry, ...
stuartackers 05.04.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)
Advantages: Empty cimena Disadvantages: Poor selection of shops for males
Ocean terminal has been open for years; part of the problem seemed to be they opened up to early when there were only the main shops set up. This totalled 5-6. The rest of the units hadn't been sold. Due to this it scared people off as they thought there was nothing there. Now after some time it has now got all units sold and all shops are open, unfortunately there is very little selection for males.
As there are other Shopping centres in the Edinburgh ... ...no reason to visit ocean terminal.
The only redeeming factor it does have it that it usually is very quiet which suits me fine if I need to shop. Also the cinema is deserted most nights, so if you want to snuggle up in the back row this is the cinema of choice. If also you are like me very tall 6'5" the seats they have cater for this, I think it's the first time I haven't had to sit with my knees under my chin.
There are a few resteraunts within ...
John_severn 09.03.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)
Prices
Is it worth visiting?
Transport links
Family Friendly
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)"
Advantages: great service and nice atmposphere Disadvantages: can get busy
A friend and I met for lunch at OceanTerminal in Edinburgh. We decided to go to Ma Potters Chargrill which is on the second floor of the centre and is accessible, by escalators, stairs or by the lift.
As you approach the restuarant, which is not behind glass, you get the delicious aromas of the food! MMMMM we thought.
We walked into the pleasantly decorated restaurant and within seconds were seated before even reaching the 'Please wait here to be seated' sign. We got a table right next to the window which overlooks the water and the Royal Ship Britania! It is lovely to sit here and watch the ships sailing on the water or just to look at the Britania.
We had menus placed on the table, so we got settled and started to look at what to have. There is a variet of toasties like cheese and tuna, Paninis with bacon lettuce ...
Advantages: Spacious, bright and airy interior. Clean and ample facilities. Disadvantages: The exterior. An architectural square peg in a round hole.
accessible for wheelchair users. Guide dogs are welcomed and there is a fitted induction loop for visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing. A crèche is available and there are baby changing / feeding facilities and wheelchair / pushchair loans.
Getting to the Scottish Parliament is easy - I walked down the tourist route (down the Royal Mile). Regular buses also run to the Holyrood area (Lothian Bus numbers 35 and 36) from Edinburgh Airport and from the OceanTerminal. The Parliament building is a 15-minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley train station. There is plenty of car parking spaces (pay and display) opposite the Parliament building
And so after spending a few hours in the building, I still hated the design enormously but have to admit that a lot of effort has been made to make visitors welcome and comfortable! I would recommend ...
Advantages: Very Clean, Easy to get around, Lots of Space Disadvantages: Too few shops,not on two levels,not that easy to get to
The Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh which opened in October 1993 is one of 4 main shopping centres in Edinburgh. The others are Cameron Toll, St James Centre, Waverley Market(Princes Mall) and OceanTerminal. There is also Westside Plaza but this isn't exactly what you call a main shopping centre and Straiton park,Craigleith(The Quarry) and Fort Kinnaird are all Retail parks.
The Gyle is a approx a 10 minute drive from Edinburgh International Airport by car/taxi. It is approx a 30 minute drive from the City Centre depending on the time of day and the route you take to get there as it is often very congested nearby due to it being directly opposite Edinburgh Park(Home to the RBOS headquarters and a whole host of big companies) .The area round the Gyle is mostly businesses and there is are many houses nearby within walking distance ...
