The Bullring was built around a Church, St Martin's in the Bullring…read more It's named after Martin Lewis who is the patron Saint of shoppers, He used to show shoppers how to make great savings on their purchases in Medieval times. Ok so that might not be true. But with recent facts about Birmingham being confused by Fox News. The bullring opened in September 2003 (I know I was working there!) It's mainly a high street fashion shopping destination but there are lots of little food units to explore round the three floors. Built into what was a sloping hill each of the floors have street level exits which can cause lots of confusion on your first visit. But fear not. There are touch screen maps around the centre to help you explore. It's huge glass roofs help natural light flow through each of the floors and you can walk from here to Birmingham New Street Station without going outside if you follow the walkways. Mornings are usually quieter than the rest of the day so if you are in a rush get there for 10am on a week day!

I see this place as more of a necessity, I don't really like going here but you have to so you can…read moreget to the majority of the shops in Birmingham city centre. Don't get me wrong, the place in comparison to other shopping centres is almost beautiful, big open skylight, actually quite clean and toilets on almost every level. But half the time the escalators are broken, the last one being a total of nearly 4 months (and having to fight through H&M if you wanted to go down to the ground level). The elevators are ridiculously slow, and usually monopolized by the owners of tiny humans in prams... which is fair enough as they would struggle with the stairs. The morale of this story is - take the stairs. Other than that gripe its generally not a bad place, just really busy. You can cut through the bullring to quickly get to any other part of town and because the whole building is sheltered its convenient for shopping in the bad weather.

Worst customer service!!…read more My friend ordered a dress made to measure from this boutique. She ordered the dress 7weeks in advance and was told it will be ready in time. When we went to the shop the man who owns the shop showed us the dress which was the same dress she saw on the mannequin 7weeks ago. The dress had marks and few beading missing. The dress which she wanted hadn't arrived and the owner lied saying the dress in front of us was the new one she ordered. The owner lied so much he had no idea after a while what he was saying. The owner is the rudest person I have come across screaming at the customers. Customers needs did not come first. Owner didn't want to listen to the customer and lied over and over again!! Do NOT shop from this boutique. You won't get what you pay for. BEWARE!!

If you don't fancy heading to the centre of Birmingham for shopping heaven (why not?!) this…read moreshopping park has a number of flagship stores and eateries. Best of all the car parking is free, although as you can imagine finding a space at the weekends can be tricky so I would advise getting here early. Next, Boots (with a mini Waitrose inside), Topshop, Oasis and many more are here. If you are feeling hungry there is a Frankie and Benny's, Nandos, and Harvester and well as a few coffee places to try. All in all a worthwhile place to visit to stock up on the essentials.

As I'm currently the Duchess of the Fort, it would be rude not to review the place!…read more For me, this is quite local a I live just a couple of miles away. It's a typical out of town shopping centre with all of the high street familiars in one open space, so not at all an indie heaven, but useful if you need a Boots or M&S. It also has a BHS, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, and Carephone Warehouse, to name but a few. There's plenty of coffee, cake and food options including Starbucks, Costa Coffee, M&S Cafe and eateries such as Nandos, Harvester and Frankie & Bennies. There's plenty of free parking (it does get very busy around Christmas, and sometimes of a weekend) and it feels less claustrophobic than some shopping centres, being open air and built in a big loop. As far as these things go, it's decent enough, well maintained and with plenty of options.

At first glance, man this place has so many cool things to do! They are VERY well decorated and…read morehave lots of fun eateries. They have outside and indoor eateries, and they have an arcade and an escape room. However, that's about where the praise stops... We came here from a nearby hotel to eat dinner. It was a short walk, the lake was pretty. We chose Zizzi's as it looked like a fun Italian choice (we later learned this place was a chain restaurant, so that was a bummer). I'll write up my restaurant reviews in detail on their pages instead, but in short, the places we ate all all seemed to be short staffed, in a rush, and not very open to service. We ate at Karaage also. Everything was pretty overpriced, especially when we considered the escape room option. They have a 'sky garden' that wasn't very impressive. And being an American visitor, I was eager to try anything but American cuisine, but half of what Resorts World offered was American cuisine. Overall I wouldn't recommend Resorts World, but if you're staying at the Hilton nearby, boy, this place really is your only dinner option.

Resorts World is a really cool entertainment complex, it is opposite Birmingham NEC and within…read morewalking distance from Birmingham International Railway Station. The area looks and feels pretty good, it is set alongside the river, and the glass building still feels modern to this day, it is still relatively new having opened in 2015, but it still doesn't feel that old. There are many places to eat and drink: Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Miller and Carter, Nando's, Pizza Express and Starbucks are just some of the options here. If shopping is more of your thing, there are many Outlet stores with brands including Nike, Next and The North Face, the selection of stores isn't too impressive although it is a welcome addition as this isn't designed for shopping, and is an entertainment complex after all. It is over multiple floors, I did find the layout to be confusing, I do feel more of a plan could be helpful, I did notice a couple of people wandering around and looking confused, in and out of lifts/escalators. The building is owned by Genting, who run the casino here. Resorts World can still be seen as a family complex, as you can still walk around the complex without having to go through the casino. 4* - Resorts World is a great addition to the surrounding area and Birmingham as a whole, it's a pretty cool place despite the issues mentioned.

This is nothing like your average retail park; most are nearly always home to the usual large chain…read morestores and supermarkets. Okay, so Rubery's has a Morrisons, but it doesn't go overboard on the generic stores (and one supermarket is definitely a necessity for Rubery locals anyway.) At the centre of the park you'll find a Premier Inn, and surrounding that, there's a pub, bowling and cinema. So there's loads of great things for visitors to do, without having to spend too much money on travelling into the city centre everyday of their stay in Brum. However, there are quite a few roads that go through the park, and it's a little bit annoying having to cross each one to go to different store. But the park is home to one of two Empire cinemas in Birmingham, so it's definitely worth a visit to see movies on the big screen (other than at Cineworld or the Odeon) The location of the park is really great too; it's really tranquil and open planned with lots of grassland, so customers staying at the hotel don't have to breathe in the smog of the city centre all day long.

Khushboo Textiles is opposite Khushboos by Chand on Ladypool Road. Although they have common names,…read moreI'm not sure whether they are under the same management. However, they specialise in completely different products. Khushboo Textiles offers unstitched Asian outfits and fabrics. I first came here over a decade ago after rummaging through nearby fabric shops for a unique design. And since then this boutique has never failed to impress me. They have the latest designs in quality fabrics. They are one of the few boutiques I have come across that have heavily embroidered dupattas (scarves) with their outfits, because the embroidery is usually concentrated on the tops instead. Given the intricacy of their designs and quality in their fabric, they are understandably pricey. But you pay for what you get. The staff are polite and welcoming. They can usually be twisted to offer a slight discount so bargain away!

Only recently heard about Clearance Centre, so i thought I'd pop in and have a look around, i came…read moreaway with furniture for all over my house, beautiful furniture for sale, and incredible prices, the cheapest I've seen, will always use in future, highly recommended!!!

Large, warehouse-style buying in bulk shopping trips are de rigeur in suburban America, especially…read morewhen you have 5 children, like my mother. So Costco and Sam's Club (Costco's arch-rival in the US) shopping trips were a fond part of my childhood; mainly for the food samples and 10-packs of chocolate bars. Costco is the first of its type in Birmingham, if you disclude "cash and carry" stores, which are really another thing all together. It works like this, yo: You go into the store. You fill out a membership application. You can join (often for free) through an employer or union, or on your own. The annual fee is £25 for individuals, and slightly more for businesses. Then you grab an enormous trolley and start shopping. Costco carries an assortment of goods, ranging from electronics to lighting, tobacco to food to 125 paper plates for £2. I would imagine people with large familes could do their weekly shop in Costco, only getting a few miscellaneous items from a smaller shop. My husband and I typically buy things like wine, bread, washing up liquid, loo roll and kitchen roll from Costco. On these items, the prices tend to be very reasonable, and cheaper than buying individually in a grocery store. Bulk buying can go to a shopper's head, however. Who doesn't need a three-pack of curry seasoning?? So as a veteran bulk shopper, I encourage people to do their research, or at least have a think before you buy. If you need a lot of something, Costco is a no-brainer, especially if you can't find it cheaper locally. But not all products bought in bulk are more economical than their individual counterparts. Costco provides labels with price-per-unit and price-per-weight, which should be perused carefully. All the staff at Costco are very helpful, from the fresh deli and bakery counters to the checkouts. It's a really fun shopping experience -- much more enjoyable than getting one's ankles rammed by a hyper child wielding a trolley in Morrison's.

Costco is simply mahooosive!, Its basically a very large wholesale store that sells an enormous…read morerange of goods, from car tyres to TVs to bulk food items and drink cases. There is even a small cafe beyond the tills where you can get a coffee or a slice of pizza, a full pizza and lots of yummy 'american' treats when your shopping is done. It's especially good if you want to buy food and drink for a party or an event where you have a lot of guests. the cakes are huge and very good value, and the drink is cheaper than you'd find elsewhere. If you're lucky and go at the right time, they often have little taster counters set around the store where you can sample different products before you buy. It is a case of buying in bulk, and i understand that not everyone wants to buy a catering-sized jar of mayonnaise or 48 toilet rolls all at once! But if you can share with a friend then it is extremely good value for money. A warning about the prices though the main price you see on the labels doesn't include VAT, so make sure you check the price further down in smaller print, or you could be in for a shock at the checkout. But if you an exclusive business member like me you can claim back you VAT Expenses. and i also get a 2% return on all my spend annually. Yes you do have become a member before you can enter the store its £25 for the cheapest individual membership but a member is allowed to add a second person to their card for half price, so if you know someone who already has a card or can team up to join with a friend then it will work out cheaper. Great Tip is that as long as your a member they have record of all your purchases from the past 5 years. you can walk in with a product u brought years ago and get a full refund.

Poor old Five Ways Shopping Centre - built in the early 60s this was originally designed as a…read moretraffic-free piazza with ground floor retail spaces, an indoor market area, a car park on the second floor and the 10 storey Auchinleck House - a statue of Claude Auchinleck (a British army commander during World War II) still stands in the square but you won't be able to look at it these days as the whole space is awaiting demolition. To be honest Five Ways Shopping Centre has always had a slightly derelict feel - during the winter the design of the place meant that it acted as a veritable wind tunnel and for years it hosted a weird array of shops that always seemed a bit empty - although I do miss the greasy spoon caff that was here which was all Formica work tops and unknowingly kitschy shaped sauce bottles. The only thing it houses now are a Select n Save (more on that later), a Boots and load of sad looking empty shops - not somewhere I'd recommend spending too much time in as it can get really dark down there but worth a quick peek.

Grim. The fact that from above it looks like a giant coffin pretty much sums it up. The Five Ways…read moreShopping Centre is now almost completely abandoned, waiting for a natural disaster to come and wipe it off the earth. It sits sadly on a corner, a run down miserable old concrete block acting as a full stop to the overbearing neon and orange spray tan smell of Broad Street. I can't imagine a reason, that anyone would want to visit. There might be a little nostalgia, maybe your favourite newsagent was there... you was a massive fan of that particular Braggs bakery that was there in the late 80's? There was an urban legend that the architect who designed it made it in the shape of a coffin then jumped off the top, providing a suicide/funeral all in one. Maybe they could turn it into some kind of spooky theme park.