With some personal health issues I will no longer go to this place. The biggest problem is why it was built in a big hole in the ground. I got stuck down Wesley slope. The angina kicked in and it took me nearly an hour to get back up to the M&S store level read more

Changed the way the world viewed Basingstoke! I used to go to Reading, Southampton or Guildford before Festival Place was built. Now I very rarely find the need to go further afield. Has a wide selection of shops, places to eat/drink and is always kept clean and tidy. Plenty of parking too, which always helps. If you've not been before, it's worth a visit. read more

Festival Place has everything, great shops, great eating places. It is bigger than expected with lots of parking. Debenhams, Jane Norman, Argos and loads more. A great place to shop and not too busy as it is very spacious. You could get all your Christmas presents here in one go, there is so many shops including hairdressers. BHS cafe is very good with a small childrens seating area with a television. read more

Nice shopping centre with a great selection of shops - on a par with Guildford city centre really, indoors, but smaller. The area outside has a good range of restaurants plus a Vue cinema. It is also right next to the railway station so easy to get to even if you are not driving. read more

If you like shopping but don't like getting squashed in crowds then festival place is a great place for you! Its a modern shopping centre housing lots of fashion shops such as French connection, h&m, Faith footwear and topshop to name just a few! There are several coffee shops placed strategically around the centre so when your feet start to ache with all the shopping you can sit down and revive yourself. There is also a selection of eating places and a cinema so literally you could spend the entire day there and then go on to the pub and night club also on site! There are often big promotions in the large square at the heart of the shopping centre, for example fashion shows or book signings with celebraties. The customer service desk are really helpful and when i lost my car in the carpark (yes, really!) they got someone from the shopping centre to come and help me find it! read more

Compared to what Basingstoke was like 8 years ago this place has radically transformed the landscape and all for the better. The centre is light attractive and airy, and almost perceives a certain element of class. There are a large number of retailers here who are all high street names including Debenhams, BHS, M&S to name a few. There is a large cinema and many eating places, its more of a multifunction destination rather than simply a shopping centre. The kids always go to the cinema while we go shopping so we dont get annoyed with each other and it works really well. Car parking is very easy, although trying to pay for the car parking is a mission especially with the amount of people, or because one of the ticket machines is out of order and you have to trek to find the next one. read more

When I first moved to Basingstoke 15 years ago the town centre was a damp, ugly, concrete place with a poor range of shops. Since Festival Place opened, it's completely different. Festival Place is a big, spacious, bright, clean, attractive shopping centre with all the usual High Street stores. The range of dining options is good particularly with places like Wagamama and Gourmet Burger Kitchen and the cinema in the town centre is excellent, with loads of screens and comfortable seats. This really is one excellent place to do your shopping, with all the shops you could ever want to use. read more

I was pleasantly surprised to find the centre only a few minutes walk from the station. (I cant bare walking, it wears down my heels). Its very easy to find your way around the centre, and wheel chair access is probably the best I've seen from a UK shopping centre. Very clean, The festival place staff were proffessional and friendly. They have lots of events going on, On Saturday the 5th of Sept they are doing a moonlight walk for a local hospice, so get in and donate your pennies if your in the area (Porchester Square) from 6pm onwards. Great place to shop, Milton Keynes is closer to me but I think I'd opt for a day trip here based on accessibility, price and everything else Ive noted. (I was told Basingstoke wasn't worth seeing, but I changed my mind yesterday) Also, several new stores coming, And particuarly one of my favourites 'Oxfordshire Home Stores'. read more

A new build shopping centre which replaced the old town centre. It has ample parking in the multi story car park which isn't too expensive and offers after 6pm, £1 parking all night. The centre is well layed out with all the eateries and bars in one area, next to the cinema. The centre is experiencing the same difficulties as most large ones, that is closed shops and stores gone bust. Most of the units are filled, and the empty ones are in the quieter area up stairs. Most of the stores are large group chains, with an active policy that makes it very hard for smaller independents to operate. So dont expect to see anything you wont see in every other town centre. Its well situated with quick access via the moterway or by foot from the train station. read more

Agree with all of the comments below, Festival Place has done a lot to improve Basingstoke's image. If you watch Top Gear, Festival Place is the indoor shopping centre that Jeremy Clarkson drove the new Ford Fiesta around (well, through acually) at the end of 2008. read more

This place is a lot better than I was expecting. There's a reasonable range of shops and it's ideal for an evening out as there's cheap parking in the evenings and a great range of restaurants ina nice covered area out the back. The cinema is great but pretty expensive. It's very close to the train and bus stations too. read more

What a fantastic shopping experience this was, cheap parking and lots of spaces, lots of choice for shopping, especially Punkyfish and select, plenty of choice to get food and a huge Primark. Pound shops, mens clothes, chocolate and little independant sellers, basically all you could want under one roof. I found this centre less hectic than other bigger centres and feel this is what made the experience all the better. Very close to train station also if you do not have access to a car, can't wait to return. read more