Scene: A damp and dreary November morning. Bristol…read more Mission: Find a bikini for impromptu holiday in the sun. Jenni's reaction: Panic. Sheer panic. Having not actually gone on holiday for the last three years, I'd seem to have misplaced all my bikinis and so I was set the unenviable personal challenge of trying to find swimwear, in England, on the run up to Christmas. House of Fraser laughed and H&M asked, "You want a bikini in November?" Things weren't looking good. And then I remembered Debenhams. Lovely Debenhams. The place I used to consider "quite classy" as a child, and where I used to go with my Nan to try on perfumes. I hadn't been into Debenhams for over a year and it hadn't changed one iota. It was a little bit like stepping back into my childhood; smiling made-up ladies behind the counter, unflattering lighting, mums and their children looking for sensible shoes. I approached the nearest shop assistant and looked pleadingly into her eyes. Swimwear? "Let me show you Madam," said the lovely woman as she led me to the first floor sale section. There, in the furthest corner of the store, four bikinis - 70% off. A bit behind the times, but very reliable!

To fully appreciate Debenhams take a trip to Primark first. After the barely controlled chaos (well…read morethat's a slight exaggeration) to the latter shop, Debenhams will feel like a paradise of tasteful muzak and neatly folded clothes. The staff are keen, sometimes overly so, to help you out. The quality is always good - the suits in particular are lovely. Excellent ranges up on the upper floors in the home and electricals departments. Unfortunately this all comes with some hefty prices. Although the new Harvey Nichols has probably taken the crown for Bristol's most expensive department store Debenhams comes a strong second. This is probably why it's so empty of customers, and makes the rock-bottom prices of next door Primark all the more attractive. Give everything in there a 30% discount and I would be in there like a shot, at the moment Debenhams offers good stuff in a pleasant setting but is just a bit too pricey.

Love ordering items that you want for your house and would prefer to recieve the products straight…read moreaway? Well then if you drive down or get a bus to an Argos store you can do just that. Or you can order online and wait for it to be delivered within two days, it's entirely up to you. If you do go down to an Argos store then as soon as you get there look to see if there is a space, waiting for you to grab it with both hands so that you can have your turn to look for the item that you want to buy. Then fill in a small bit of paper which has printed out an area for you to write down the products number code for each individual item that you want to purchase. You get the products code number by checking their mini computers, once you have dones this, then you take your piece of paper to a member of staff that is on a till and wait your turn... Once that customer has served you, you go to take a small ticket from ticket machiene, which will have a number printed onto it, then you sit down in the seats provided, if there are any spare seats you are allowed to sit down and wait your turn... It is often a very quick service and the staff are helpful and friendly, the prices seem great for nearly every product within the shop and with nearly every product that I have bought from Argos does also.They sell arrange of different gifts suitable and perfect for everyone's house. I sincerely recommend this shop there too...

The genesis of most businesses is a pretty uniform one. It goes something like this: the future…read morebusiness owner spots an untapped niche in the market. He develops a product or a business model designed to capitalise on this niche, providing a service that is unavailable anywhere else, or is, at least, better than anywhere else. Then, the business owner slips into this niche with a minimum of fuss and starts turning a profit. Argos is different though. Business owners usually ask themselves "what do people need" and then develop a single product to sell. Argos asked themselves "what do people need", and then their lunatic ids shouted back at them "EVERYTHING! PEOPLE NEED EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW!". So that's what they sell. Everything. And whilst most businesses try to slip in and market their product gently at first, with great deals, Argos hits the market with the subtlety of a jackhammer-wielding meteorite. It's a business model that works. Kind of like the capitalist equivalent of the scorched Earth approach to war.

Argos is open until 8 and for that reason alone, I give it 4*. Right on the waterfront in a tiny…read morelittle development that contains a KFC, Morrisons and a Focus DIY shop this little argos extra is really well placed for complete convenience. What I love most about it is the lack of fussing around that you find in the Cardiff Bay branches. Instead you can get in and out with minimal grumbling, which in my experience is practically unheard of for Argos.

Less crowded than Cardiff stores.Friendly helpful staff.read more

This is well located near some other retail parks, easy access and a big car park. There is a…read moreblockbuster's attatched to the car park and there's a petrol station. Be very careful exiting the main car park on a motorbike, they have a very tight turn with a slanty slippery brick strip right on the apex which will have you off in the wet. There's a large bike parking area though.

It's not huge but it's well stocked generally, 25% off of clothes on bank holiday weekends is nice…read more! Small cafe is a bit rubbish

there is a booger, in my drink glass. the prices are ridiculous, the selection is good, and i like…read morethe bald man. but there is a booger. the service is nice.

This is the best Marks and Spencer I've ever come across. Its located in a retail park so has its…read moreown car park. Its also very, very big. Set over two floors its quite possible to get lost while perusing the underwear section. The food section is of course my favourite bit and its really big and has so much choice I can even find what I want when they have their £10 meal deal offers on. It also has a great range of plants and flowers and gifts. You've gotta love M&S staff and these lot are very helpful and friendly and will even help lug your shopping to the car if you can't manage. Also its open till 10 during the week so you can do all your shopping after work.

The House of Fraser is a British department store with over 60 locations in the UK and Ireland,…read morethis location its-self is quite big, located on St Mary's Street in Cardiff and even has a Caffe Nero attached, which is a coffee shop which seems to be all over Cardiff, yet interestingly I didn't seem to visit on my recent trip to Cardiff, so this review focuses on the House of Fraser Department store in general, and not a Caffe Nero inside it, despite confusion I can confirm I have been to the branch of the listing in question, where I offer feedback in terms of a review here today, which I'm pleased to add, with it being nearly 6 years since HOF's last review, which once again for a busy location in a city centre, of a capital City (of Wales) nonetheless, this is quite shocking and in a way it is sad. As mentioned above, this location is on St Mary's Street in Cardiff, fairly close to Cardiff Central Railway Station, and of course right in the Cardiff City centre, which was also close to my Hilton hotel and Cardiff Castle, from my recent weekender in Cardiff. The store did seem quite nice, and was a typical high-end department store, although it seemed to lack the class I have seen in other branches of House Of Fraser, such as in the branch in Manchester, which has a lot of history to it, meanwhile this branch seems newer and the only history I'm aware that this branch has, is Cardiff Castle not far from here. This did pretty much seem to be your average department store with high-end labels and high-end prices, as a fan of the Hugo Boss brand it was a shame not to see them having a selection here in Menswear. Here is a full list of there in-store brands here, in Menswear, which is the only part of this review copied from the House of Fraser website, which I feel is useful to add a more in-depth analysis and conclusion to this review Alexandre Armani Jeans Barbour Berwin & Berwin Bjorn Borg Bugatti Calvin Klein Corsivo Criminal Diesel Dune Emporio Armani Failsworth Farah Fred Perry Fulton Gant Hilfiger Denim Howick Howick Tailored Hugo Boss Jack & Jones Kenneth Cole Label Lab LACOSTE CN Levi's Linea Lyle and Scott New & Lingwood Original Penguin Paul Smith Jeans Paul Smith London Peter Werth Polo Ralph Lauren Polo Ralph Lauren Golf PRETTY GREEN CN Pringle PS By Paul Smith SIMON CARTER Sloggi Ted Baker Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Sport Turner & Sanderson Overall, this department store is okay, although it just feels like something is missing, a bit of class, that added sparkle, and it isn't the nicest places to shop, and I would much prefer John Lewis, a similar nearby department store which even has an Opticians, and friendlier staff, so sadly I feel HOF deserves two stars and as Ofsted would say "Requires Improvement".

I absolutely love the James Howell & Co. building that is presently the home of House of Fraser in…read moreCardiff. It is just utterly beautiful and displays a number of different styles that chart the rise of its once formidable position as an independent Welsh store, founded by a homegrown entrepreneur. Occupying a prominent position on St Mary Street, it does a lot to maintain appearances amid the decaying grandeur and decadence of this once fashionable and up-market strip. The original structure was built in the late 19th Century, and lends the place its unmistakable ornate façade that sits proudly, in gorgeous symmetry on St Marys Street. In the 1920s a large and well-proportioned neoclassical extension was built reaching to the end of the portion of St Mary's Street that meets Heol-y-Cawl. A unique result of this extension was that Bethany Chapel was absorbed into the design of the building, with its fascia being incorporated into the interior of the new building. Further extensions were added throughout the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s, bridging the gap between the more ornate Victorian style of architecture, and the ground-breaking, Modernist movement, with is minimalist style, of the '60's. Howells Department Store was originally a family run business, but was sold out in the 1950s to Welsh banker Sir Julian Hodge, who subsequently sold the store to Mohammed Al-Fayed, the then owner of House of Fraser, ultimately causing the loss of its Welsh independent business status. It was then sold onto the Icelandic investment company, Baugur, at the end of 2006, around the time when Iceland decided it was time to buy up the rest of the world, and, as we know now, to somewhat disastrous effect!

This is how I like to shop - pop in pick a number wait a few minutes for the staff member to get…read morethe product, then leave the shop with the product. No browsing, no trying things on, no sales people approaching you asking if they can help you. If I need help I'm not to shy to ask, thank you very much. I also like this particular branch of Argos because if you're buying a big item then you can park directly outside and the staff can help you carry the product to your car. It doesn't get easier.

From my reviews of other Argos stores around Cardiff, you'd get the impression that I don't exactly…read morelike Argos. And you would be absolutely, positively 100% in that assumption. I am not a fan. I find Argos to be expensive, annoying, soulless and unashamedly capitalistic. However, that doesn't change the fact that sometimes you need shopping and sometimes you just want someone else to do it for you. And that's where Argos Extra in Cardiff Bay comes in. You see, the Argos in town is a troublesome beast. There's nothing quite as annoying as buying a very heavy piece of furniture and then wobbling through the streets of Cardiff like a Chuckle Brothers sketch as you try to wrangle the damn thing back to your car. And the City Link store just off Newport Road has the unfortunate distinction of being in the City Link retail park, which is one of the murky shopping areas of Cardiff, populated by roving biker gangs and the Splott/Tremorfa run-off. Cardiff Bay Argos avoids these problems, whilst still allowing you to shop by filling out a piece of paper and then ordering a member of staff to carry the gear to your car. It's a laziness that appeals to our kingly sides.

Despite being brought up to be confident enough to feel I can fit in anywhere, I still feel a pang…read moreof self doubt whenever I enter a high-end store. I'm all to paranoid that the shop assistants nonchalant stares are really saying "you're not welcome here... don't touch the things, you're making them dirty". All this self consciousness lifted when I walked into Harvey Nichols. As the doorman pulls back the door and welcomes you with a warm smile, you can't help but feel at ease even though you know in your heart of hearts (if you're anything like me) that you can't afford the bags their lovely products come in. All the staff are wonderfully cheerful and laid back; no pushiness to force you to make a purchase - but again, maybe because they know in THEIR heart of hearts you won't be making a purchase. To call it a department store is probably unfair to properly sized ones, with this Harvey Nicks feeling like a taster of what you'd get in one of their larger outlets. But there's still enough for you fashionistas to gawp at and long for including Moschino, Chloé and Vivienne Westwood. Not a realistic shopping venture, but a great place to play "when I win the lottery I will buy..."

I was really excited about this store coming to Bristol and now I have mixed feelings. What it has…read moredone is bring a whole new set of shoppers into the city, and their money of course, which can only be good for Bristol. It also holds up Cabot Circus with its central spot on the main stretch. However with its bouncers outside it really intimidated me and it took me weeks to go inside after it opened! It has the sparse layout of you-can't-afford-this and even some areas have the we-don't-even-have-price-tags level of you-can't-afford-this. Needless to say with my budget that I haven't been back...