I've only ever properly explored the part of Rossiters that sells lots of gifts and knick knacks,…read morejust near the shop's entrance inside Royal Arcade - but in this section alone there's lots of lovely stuff I'd like to be able to afford! From funky ice cube trays to fridge photo frames, it's a great place to pick up small presents. There are some beautiful greetings cards, items of jewellery, well-made children's toys, a few men's accessories, travel bags, purses, umbrellas and much more. The whole place is more intimate than large department stores such as House of Fraser or John Lewis, and the feeling is one of quality over quantity. For me, the gift and homeware areas are probably the most appealing, but glancing into their other 'departments' they have a Homes & Gardens area, a kitchen department, a range of furniture, plus some fabrics, lamps, mirrors, and more. They also offer an interior design service, though I dread to think how much that costs.

Shops like this get me really excited. I'm a big girl when it comes to furniture, home and…read morekitchenware. I just want everything. If I had my way, my house would look like something out of 50s magazine. This store is surprisingly big, considering it's in an arcade, and there is so much in there. The kitchen section is my favourite, because it sells the most adorable retro baking things and teapots and really funky utensils and gadgets that I've never seen anywhere else. Their gift section is also fantastic with brands like L'Occitane and Burt's Bees for toiletries, some really pretty scarves and jewellery, and then beautiful gift bags and paper to wrap them in. It's a shame this department store is hidden away and now has to compete with John Lewis, because it sells such beautiful things and it could be so easily missed if you didn't know about it. It's expensive, but everything is so nice that if I want something, I have to have it however much it costs.

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!

I went to John Lewis Cardiff having bought some wallpaper online which was absolutely nothing like…read morethe picture. having this experience, I decided to go into John Lewis. The sales assistant Henry could not have been more helpful, charming and he ordered my samples online in store. Has made me want to go shopping again, It might be convenient to order online certainly not convenient when you try to return things that are not what they appear to be. Thank you great experience

John Lewis Cardiff 3th floor coffee shop. I was there few…read moreweeks ago in Cardiff. I went to the John Lewis 3th floor coffee shop 2 times. One day I had breakfast , another day I had lunch. The service was slowly, my latte was terrible. It's looks like they have staff , who never done before coffee . The staff are just hanging around there laughing. Tables were dirty. Looks like out of control there. I used to work in the catering business before! They provided really poor service! I am not going there anymore! I didn't expected form John Lewis!

With the arrival of John Lewis and the much needed improvements to House of Fraser I haven't really…read morevisited Debenhams much recently. I have noticed however that there's actually been quite a bit of refurbishment done to the place. To be honest though it merely seems like they've merely moved things around rather than drastically improved the place. Women's clothing (which includes brands such as Topshop, Jane Norman, and Miss Selfridge) is now upstairs, and they have extended the shoe, beauty and bags sections. I must admit the fact that they now stock GHD straightness did impress me, but aside from that, I wasn't particularly fussed. I wouldn't let my less than positive opinion put you off; this Debenhams is fine, and far superior to the one in Swansea. I also think that if you're on more of a budget it's a very good alternative to Cardiff's two other department stores.

Debenhams has certainly grown a lot with the arrival of St. Davids too and its own makeover…read more Previously it felt very crammed and confusing, now its just confusing. I think I'm right in saying they have just knocked through the upstairs which makes it longer and gives it an additional entrance in the new section. The shoe department is much better now and the whole new part seems much younger than the rest of the store. I personally like the beauty section in this store, and they even have a Clarin's Skin Spa is you fancy a bit of extra spoiling. Worth checking out are the designer at Debenhams like Betty Jackson and Julian MacDonald and I really like the Red Herring selection.

I had no idea what The Range was when I went in there, I thought it might be homewear stuff so I…read morewas kinda right. It actually sells pretty much everything from garden plants, to electrical equipment, arts and crafts equipment and decorative items. It seems much lighter and brighter than the likes of B&Q and I for one spent a very long time in there so I was glad it also had a coffee shop to refuel! Price wise I was again pretty happy, cheaper again than other DIY type stores with a range of own brand items as well as..

The Range is aptly titled for what is does. It's one of those department stores that seem to trade…read morein anything that may otherwise go in the "misc" pile. In this place you'll find everything from electrical goods, to plant pots, to easels and canvases for art students. It can be a little disconcerting at times, but thankfully, the entire place is laid out in at least a semi logical manner and there are signs up showing you where to go if you need a particular thing. The prices here are fairly cheap; you can come in and end up buying everything for your house that you never even realised you needed until you saw it, and it'll all cost you less than £30. If you have someone with a DIY-ish bent, The Range is a nice alternative to the B&Qs of this world, instead offering something a little gentler and more homely looking than the Terminator-esque utilitarian layout of most hardware stores.

This branch of Next is a really large store over two floors on Queen Street, it is currently having…read morea refurb going on and opening in October 2016, but it is still open now, despite the enterence still being abit of a mess! This is a big store with even a Next Home on the top flood, with a large, spacious and modern franchise Starbucks Coffee store, with menswear also on the upper floor. One flaw about this store is its' size it is like a jungle and it can be hard to just wonder in and take a look, as I like in a shop. I was frustrated that the only lifts were at the back of the store, so I had to get all the way there to only work my way back when reaching the upper floor. The mens section was very good with a nice selection of clothes, mainly jeans and shirts, they even had nice multipacks of shirts, some were a pack of 3 for just £39 I'm not normally a fan of Next but they do have a great selection here including one of my favourite branches of Starbucks in Cardiff, however I sadly feel I can't go any higher than a high three star rating, as the refurb is really needed as soon as possible, and more lifts need to be added to make the shopping experience so much easier.

I have to agree with Laura, this place has really benefit from the recent refit. It now has a…read morereally big range of their fashion, work wear, occasion wear and shoes as well as a good sized home-wear department. I think it must be my age but Next is becoming more appealing all the time. The prices don't seem as bad as they once did and I just love that I can come here and get some work clothes and look for something to wear to my cousins wedding all in one go. Of course its also great that if you can't find the right size then they'll order it in for you. I had a bridesmaids dress from Next last year that was lovely and it was great that the bride could get us to try them on and then have them sent to us at home. Really nice men's stuff too. Would just also have to agree that there never seem to be enough staff on the floor.

A quick question; how do you classify Argos? I mean, what category do you put the shop in. Is it a…read moredepartment store? It certainly has different departments; there's the electronics department, the clothing department, the kitchenware department, the jewellery department. It's just that these departments exist in the abstract, with the contents actually strewn about the warehouse in uncared for piles. In that case, is it a warehouse? It has all the personality of one. The huge back room populated by dead-eyes worker drones, scurrying about carrying boxes speaks of a warehouse. I don't think it's either, actually. I think the best classification for Argos is that of a convenience store. The reason for this is, the only reason you should ever shop at Argos is for the sake of convenience. All of the random, assorted rubbish that every house needs, all in one roof and all a seven digit number away. Unfortunately, what you get in convenience, you pay for in... well, in money. Argos is always that touch more expensive than buying the goods from more specialist shops. If you've got the time but not the money, may I recommend one of those instead?

Peacocks has affordable and up to date fashions, returning items isnt a problem and the service is…read moregenerally pleasant. This store isn't the biggest and during peak times like a saturday it's very hard to move around. I prefer the Llantrisant store myself.

I love Noa Noa, and have bought plenty of eveningwear and sweet summer outfits from them. They are…read morehard to resist! Producing individually designed, well made clothes at exceptionally good prices compared to the commensurate offerings from the top end of the clothing chain shops, this Scandinavian shop has my loyalty! I have to admit that I often wait for the sales. They really know how to shift stock fast to make way for the new season. Incredible bargains are their only ploy, which suits me down to the ground!

The problem with me reviewing this place is that I'm not really the target market. I could really…read moresee that from the window display but I thought I should give it a go. In case you are wondering why I would be so foolish, I have my cheerleading ball coming up soon. I had found a dress but then it was sold out of my size. In desperation (after looking at many MANY dresses on websites and driving my housemates to distraction) I turned to the shops I hadn't visited before. The staff were really lovely, though none of them seemed genuinely pleased to help me - this is probably because they knew that I wouldn't buy anything... The fact is, though, that I don't think my mother or grannie would shop here...