... There I was, stood outside this magnificent building that looked far too posh to be a shopping centre, hoping that the shops inside wouldn't be all designer and that I would be able to afford to buy something from there.
I'm lucky really - the Trafford Centre (from now on I will refer ... Read review
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Advantages: Wide range of shops, plenty of places to eat, easily accessible by Public transport Disadvantages: Can get very busy, especially in the school Holidays & at Xmas
I remember the day when the Trafford Centre - one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, opened. There I was, stood outside this magnificent building that looked far too posh to be a shopping centre, hoping that the shops inside wouldn't be all designer and that I would be able to afford to buy something from there.
I'm lucky really - the Trafford Centre (from now on I will refer to it as the TC) is literally 5 minutes drive away ... ...I work. I visit the TC at least once a week - sometimes not to shop at all, but to have a walk around, get some lunch and generally window shop for a full hour. Anyway, before I talk about the TC nowadays, I want to take you back……..
The Beginning
The Idea of the TC was conceived in 1984 by Peel Holdings, who are the largest privately owned landowner in the North West. Another one of peel Holdings more popular ... more
I remember the day when the Trafford Centre - one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, opened. There I was, stood outside this magnificent building that looked far too posh to be a shopping centre, hoping that the shops inside wouldn't be all designer and that I would be able to afford to buy something from there.
I'm lucky really - the Trafford Centre (from now on I will refer to it as the TC) is literally 5 minutes drive away from my house - and 2 minutes away from where I work. I visit the TC at least once a week - sometimes not to shop at all, but to have a walk around, get some lunch and generally window shop for a full hour. Anyway, before I talk about the TC nowadays, I want to take you back……..
The Beginning The Idea of the TC was conceived in 1984 by Peel Holdings, who are the largest privately owned landowner in the North West. Another one of peel Holdings more popular 'buildings' is Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The idea was approved by the House of Lords in 1995. Building started near enough straight away and 27 months later, on September 10th 1998, the TC opened to its expectant public.
The Building The TC is surrounded by attractive landscaped areas, consisting of woodland and well kept grass verges. Walkways to the actual building, from the car park, are lined by trees - even the walk in is pleasant!
Upon waling into the TC, via the main entrance of the Orient, you are greeted with granite floor and large 'Roman' looking pillars.
It is clear to see that lots of attention has been paid to the building and design of the TC. There are a number of themes running through the TC. However, the main theme is to give the feel of 'shopping streets' and 'Town squares'. The centre of the TC is a large Dome which is a sort of meeting point between the shopping streets and the leisure area.
The leisure area in particular - the Orient - is based upon an Ocean Liner and even has 'decks' at the top! There is a 'false sky' with stars that twinkle at night.
Each theme - one being New Orleans have their own set of murals, pictures and statues.
What is the Trafford Centre? The TC is a huge indoor shopping centre jam packed with popular High Street and Designer shops (details of shops further on in the review).
The site on which the TC stands covers 150 acres on contains over 118,700 square metres of retail space and over 29,900 square metres of catering (i.e. Restaurants) and Leisure (i.e. Cinema, Bowling) space.
The TC is located in an area locally known as Trafford Park (one of the largest industrial estates in the UK) in Manchester. It is about 20 minute's car drive away from the centre of Manchester.
The TC is, as well as being a shopping centre for locals, a Tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the UK. Regular coach trips visit the TC and many a people are seen taking pictures of their family members in front of the picturesque interior of the TC.
Over 6,000 people are employed at the TC.
What can the TC offer me? The TC attracts millions of visitors per year - in fact nearly 30 million people visit so it must have something!
To start with, before you even get into the shops, there are 10,000 free parking spaces. All car parks are constantly monitored with CCTV to protect shoppers and prevent car theft.
The TC features Europe's largest Food court with seating for around 1600 people - this seating is provided for people attending the Fast Food restaurants in the Orient food hall, such as McDonalds, KFC, Shere Khan Curry house, etc.
There is then a further 6,000 seats available in the 36 restaurants in the upper half of the orient food hall. Restaurants such as La Tasca, Shere Khan and Pizza Hut feature here.
A wide range of food is available from the restaurants, such as Chinese, Organic, Tapas, Indian, as well as your 'traditional' English food.
There is then the 20 screen UCI cinema showing up to date movies until around 2am in the morning (far too late for me, though!).
There is a Namco Station for the kids which features a multitude of Arcade games, Laser Quest and Bowling - children's parties can be held here at around £7.00 per child (from what I can remember).
Finally, there are currently around 280 stores - heaven! There are many designer stores, such as Selfridges, Designers at Debenhams, Reiss, Morgan, Elle, The Pier and now John Lewis which opened in May 2005 (I can't keep out of here at the moment!).
High Street stores feature highly at the TC - Top shop and Miss Selfridge are very popular as well as Boots, Marks & Spencer, New Look and Next.
There is a wide range of shops from jewellers - such as Beaverbrook's and H Samuel to book shops such as Books Inc and W H Smith.
There are also many Ice Cream 'stations' situated all around the TC, supplying ice creams and drinks to thirsty shoppers!
I don't feel it is appropriate for me to list all of the 280 shops, for fear of cluttering my review - I feel the best way to explore the stores more is to visit the TC website - traffordcentre.co.uk
What else The TC is constantly winning awards for their shopping experience. Such awards are 'Secure Car Park Award', Positive about Disabled people Award, Safer Shopping Award and the North West Tourism Award.
Their Customer Service, which I have had to use on a number of occasions (when I got lost!) are extremely helpful. As well as having people on hand to help, they also provide a range of services, such as Crèche, Children's Pushchairs, Bottle warming facilities, etc. A full list of services is available from the Customer Service Station, currently located outside Selfridges, downstairs.
The TC is well known for shopping but also has a brilliant (if not sometimes rowdy!) nightlife - there are a number of pubs in the Orient and two restaurants - Tiggis and American Exchange Bar & Grill change in to clubs at night. They are usually open until around 2am.
Disabled Customers are looked after well at the TC and there are special car park facilities for disabled customers as well as battery operated scooters and wheelchairs which can be borrowed from the mobility shop next to John Lewis.
Opening Times The TC is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am - 10pm. The Restaurants and Bars in the Orient are open much later - the TC state 'Midnight and beyond' - far too late for me!
They open from 10am - 8pm on Saturdays and 12pm - 6pm on Sundays.
How do I get there? The TC is easily accessible by car, coach and public transport, with its very own bus station situated within its grounds.
If travelling by car/coach: Situated at Junctions 9 & 10 on the M60 If travelling by Bus (from Manchester City Centre): The 250 and 251 go to the TC from Manchester City Centre every 15 minutes or so. If travelling by Metrolink Tram (from Manchester city centre): Trams from Piccadilly to Stretford Tram station are around every 10 minutes. Shuttle buses will ferry customers to & from the Centre & Stretford Metro link station every 15 minutes. The total journey time is only 11 minutes.
Overview The TC is extremely convenient for me and when it first opened, I was overawed by it - it seems to have every shop within its walls. It has a nice happy atmosphere and has a number of bonuses that other shopping centres locally do not: Free parking Exclusive shops otherwise not available in the North West Late opening hours Children's facilities Undercover Pleasant environment Clean
I must admit that the TC gets VERY busy in the school holidays and have recently had their fair share of 'hoodies' invading the gaming part of the Orient but there are redcoats on hand to deal with any problems and offenders such as there are told politely not to come back.
I would generally stay away in the School holidays and around Christmas and Sale time - not only does the TC get very busy but Traffic Jams build up very quickly (I'm only telling you that cause the traffic jams stop me from getting home from work on time!).
It's a great shopping experience and a good day out - you definitely do need a full day top get around all of the shops.
Advantages: All you need under one roof Disadvantages: Can be busy
The Trafford Centre, Love it or hate it the choice is up to you.
Personally i think it is a god send. How can something which employs thousands of people and create enjoyment for many people be a bad thing?
Lets start off with the structure....
When i first visited the Trafford Centre when it first opened, i thought it looked quite spectacular. Starting off with Debenhams at one end with a small glass dome on the top and then along the mall to ... ...following on from that to the dome above the Dolphin fountain, (on to that soon) All in all it looks pretty good outside with pillars, statues, water features and plants.
Inside is a work of art. There are palm trees in the middle of the malls, marble and grannit floors on entrances to all rows of shop units. Looking up at the ceilings and some walls you will see many oil paintings resembling works of art from the reniesance. With the brass fixtures ...
dizzych 12.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Trafford Centre
Advantages: Everything you could possibly want and more Disadvantages: Very very busy on Saturdays
The Trafford Centre is the biggest shopping centre in the North West. It is enormous. Just about everything you would possibly want to buy, and many things you would not, can be purchased at this maharaja of malls. Come with me, and I'll take you on a guided tour of Shopping Paradise…
Getting There
+++++++++++++
The TC is situated between junctions 9 and 10 of the M60. It's very well signposted from the motorway (just keep following Trafford Park ... ...frequent buses from Manchester to the centre's own bus station, and the Metrolink (which you can get on at lots of stops in Manchester city centre or at its railway stations) connects to the buses at Stretford.
You can't miss it. It's a colossal domed affair, totally befitting a temple of consumerism.
Parking
+++++++
The TC has seven large car parks, a coach park and a special Shopmobility car park. That's TEN THOUSAND car parking spaces in all. ...
sandrabarber 08.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Trafford Centre
Holidays are looming, the family needs new clothes, suntan lotion, cameras etc the list goes on.
I cannot face another day traipsing round town centres, not knowing whether to put a coat on or even if I should take a brolly. (British weather)
So I decided to take the family to the Trafford centre. It has been up and running for a few years now, but this was my first visit, and yes I will definately go there again.
All under one roof suits me fine, ... ...in the rain. The centre itself is warm and friendly, with two floors of shops, shops and more shops what more could you want. The floors are made of granite and marble very attractive and clean, no more doggy poop and other nasty surprises waiting for you to step in, there are also water features dotted around. Dolphins shooting the water 20 metres high is a sight for sore eyes and fascinating for the kids.
Shops include big names such as Selfridges, ...
gill1960 08.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Trafford Centre
Advantages: Fantastic shops, facilities and entertainment Disadvantages: Can be very crowded, queues for all food outlets, restaurants
...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 ... ...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 ...
criple 25.11.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Trafford Centre
Advantages: huge,big sales,clean & tidy, all the brands Disadvantages: too far away from Manchester
...was by lots to far the biggest, most completed, most tidy and many many pros more.
A friend of mine suggested it to me so I took Mrs aek21 to go by train. When we arrive in Piccadilly station we knew were to go. Thanks God ‘cause the town is in a very big mess and no one knows where to go. Anyway we went to Manchester Piccadilly bus station ant we took the bus 250. We paid £3.60 pp return and after a 20’ drive we end up to the Trafford ... ...We decided to enter from the Selfridges entrance, as it was very convenient for us. I will not start explain the design of the shops, but I just want to emphasise on the outstanding effort that those people paid in order to accomplish such a state of modern art, a modern Ark of shops.
Everywhere white with grey watermarks marble and palm trees. Alongside the pathway little small shops selling ice cream, savoury, scarves etc and everywhere clean ...
aek21 01.02.2002 (13.04.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Trafford Centre
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