Beatties is a small department store in the heart of the Octagon Centre, with the sub-moniker of…read moreThe House of Fraser. Open-fronted, Beatties is a welcoming place, with a small, but high quality range of items. There is an impressive range of men's and women's shoes, sandals and boots, which seem to be permanently on sale! There is the obligatory perfume counter and a small area selling gloves, scarves and umbrellas. The menswear section is dominated by formal shirts, suits, jumpers and high quality rugby shirts. There is also a small, but ever reducing homeware section to the rear of the store. Upstairs is the womenswear department, again quality clothes, but on the expensive side. On the whole, Beatties is a great place to go for that gift for someone special.

I got a lesson yesterday in why Marks and Spencer is struggling. I arrived at the store at about…read more4.45pm yesterday to look for blue jeans. I had bought some before - last year (admittedly from their store in the East Midlands Designer Outlet mall). What I had bought, and loved, were Blue Harbour stretch jeans. So I went on line and ordered some more to be delivered. Sadly what I received were a totally different fit - "old man jeans" in my opinion - baggy around the crotch and waist area - so bad Mrs G INSISTED I sent them back (which I did for a full refund). Went to this store and was unable to find that brand but found some others which fit OK. Went to the cash register and there were 4 staff (FOUR) standing around, 2 talking to each other (it was 4:50pm on Thursday), one serving a customer who was talking forever to determine how she was going to pay for her item and the fourth lady just standing there. I guess that she eventually acquiesced to my looks slowly turning to a glare and logged into her register and nodded for me to come over. I made the mistake of mentioning that I ordered some jeans on line and that they were different to the ones I had bought in a brick and mortar store with a totally different fit. So then she gave me a lecture on how they were exactly the same (how she knew I have no idea!!!), so I assured her that they weren't and that others on line had reported the same disappointment. She fired back that they were the same and that I was mistaken, to which I responded how sad it was that the days of "the customer is always right" seem to have disappeared in her store. Yikes - with customer service like this no wonder they are struggling to keeps stores open :( Pity!! Review # 55 2018

This branch of Marks & Spencers is one of Burton's most well established and popular stores. In its…read moreprime location in Coopers Square, this is a fairly sizeable store. Downstairs is an expansive women's department, including a Per Una section, a shoe/handbag area and a jewellery section. The other major section downstairs is an M & S food department, small but with a good variety of products. Expensive yes, but most of the food is of the highest quality, some great meals deals too! Up the stairs or escalator if you prefer, is an extensive menswear department - good quality, but a little old fashioned. There is also a lingerie/nightwear section, as well as a small homewares department. There is an M & S cafe too, quite small but relentlessly popular. Worth waiting for a table though, the coffee is fantastic, strong and flavoursome but even I can't manage a large cup, it looks like you could swim lengths in it! Great breakfast muffins too!

For us a new "find" since we just relocated (escaped?) from the USA and moved to our dream home…read morejust 5 miles away from this shopping area in Burton on Trent. We just happened to notice it yesterday as we went for lunch at the Winery nearby (did I say our favorite restaurant in the region?!?!) Today we stopped by to have a browse on a beautiful sunny day. The area is lovely, seems to be a reasonable amount of parking nearby. It is basically an extensive, light and airy shopping arcade. Many wonderful shops like Marks and Spencer's (including their wonderful Food Hall), various clothes stores such as Primark but many upmarket ones too, WHSmiths, Boots, and so much more - eating places galore for pastries, coffee and snacks. Good experience, loved it - we WILL be back very soon (next week we are planning). Rain or shine (since it is all covered) this is a real shopping gem!

When I heard CostCo had opened a few branches in the UK, I nearly lost it ! It brought back…read morememories of the USA .. Sweet sweet memories ! CostCo is a large retail store selling items mostly in bulk from toothpaste, drinks, crisp, cereal to singular items such as perfumes/colognes, clothes, TV, jewellery etc. If you want to waste money, go to CostCo! I went to the one in Derby and although it had many items and it was a reasonably humongous store, it's nothing compared to the USA especially the free samples! There is also a Pizza Parlour where one can have freshly made pizza made by CostCo staff. I've heard they're good but never tried any so when you do , let me know! There are too many good things to say about CostCo but that'll fill a few pages. However, the negative is that it's members only and one has to be one of the following as far as I can remember : Occupation: Bank/Finance Education Local government / police force / fire and rescue service Civil service / armed forces Post office Medical health service such as the NHS Airline Insurance Qualified as : Certified or chartered Accountant Doctors / opticians / dentist / pharmacist Chartered architect Chartered engineer / civil etc Chartered surveyor Individual membership costs around £30 including VAT whilst Trade costs £24 a year. The CostCo Gold card would be double the prices at a slight discount. Note: * Be wary of the VAT as it's not included in the prices however, the total sum is always summarised near the product. * The owner and primary user of the membership card can take two people in with them when shopping at a time. If it's children, they have to be under 16 and can go in as two pairs.

Costco is great, and Costco Derby is probably my favourite. It's got everything you would except…read morefrom a Costco but because it seems to get less busy, it's a much less stressful experience than say, Costco Glasgow! Don't forget your hot dog when you leave!

I would say Burton Place shopping centre is the least popular of the 3 indoor shopping centres in…read moreBurton. It is the place to go if you're looking for household goods as it has Wilkos, Home Bargains and an electrical good shop among other things. On some days there are people with trestle tables selling gifts and books. There is also a photo book for you to get your passport photos done.

I must admit I am a big fan of Burton Shopping Centre, it has attracted most of the big chain…read morestores and also has a few little ones in case you want something different. You really can find anything you want and there are plenty of facilities and parking spaces making a great day out. The shopping centre in general is very clean and does not suffer from trouble as the security guards regularly patrol both centres. The choices for eating are great, no matter what your taste is, you will find something. Make sure you keep a day free because you will need it and try Burton if you have not done already.

Sad to see so many of the stores closing down - partially "The Amazon Effect" plus the leasing…read morecompany raising rents to point that even national chains like Bon Marche and Evans closing their doors :( Review #10 2020

Burton is still a great shopping centre.Its rated the 6th best shopping town in the Midlands and…read morehas virtually all the major stores including M&S, Primark,New look,Monsoon,River island, Top Shop/Top Man and big new stores for H&M and Next. Like a lot of towns it has suffered due to shops going into administration such as BonMarche ,and CVA's such as Evans, but it has lots of stores all in the 3 linked covered shopping centres. Car parking is plentiful, situated next to the shopping centres and is cheap. There is 4 hours free at Middleway and its free after 3pm in most of the council run car parks. Can really recommend a visit.

I nearly died while shopping here. I nearly died bc I got lost and then the mannequins wouldn't…read moretell me how to get out

For clothing items at a good (to bargain!) price Matalan is really hard to beat. For both Men and…read moreWomen (and kids I guess) they have a great selection. Quality and styles are good and although I don't go often I always find something even if I am only really there to accompany Mrs G. On our most recent visit I found sale items that I just couldn't resist, two quality long sleeve Oxford shirts (one black and one white) for £8 each and a great thick sweater for £14 - bargain and I wear it all the time as winter approaches. Mrs G couldn't find everything she wanted but the missing item we just ordered for pick up later in the week The store is spacious, light, clean and airy. The only thing I would like to see more of is a bench or two where hubby's like me can sit and wait :) 2 thumbs up!

Just off the A38 is the Barton Turns Marina, set in sizeable grounds which are part of the National…read moreForest, the many fishing lakes and collection of mature trees, make this a good place to go for a stroll, rain or shine. It is particular popular with anglers, and there is a small caravan site just after the entrance. The Marina itself is quite sizeable, with the space for many narrow boats to moor either temporarily or permanently. Nearest to the spacious car park is the Waterfront, a large pub with outdoor seating overlooking the marina, it is a popular place, with regular live entertainment. Adjacent to this is a Garden4Less, a garden centre and on the other side Toys of Yesteryear, a toy shop, housing a toy museum. There is also one of the top 10 coffee shops in the country here, the Apple Tree, which also has a speciality delicatessen. There are a number of fashion stores including Blue Harbour (high end women's fashion), Sophia's and Start and Tremayne (Handbags etc). There is an impressive art gallery - Gallery 3, adjacent to a large and popular Thai restaurant: Siam Corner; as well as the Butcher, the Baker and the ice cream maker, a great place for specialist food ingredients, which also provides groceries for the mooring narrow boats. There are even shops on narrow boats, including an estate agent, a bookshop and ceramic painting boat for the children. The pick of the bunch is probably Brauz, a gift shop where you are likely to find that present for the person who has everything. Barton Marina is a great place to wile away a few hours.

A Lovely place to visit if the weather is good but also loads to look at and do if weather not that…read moregood see my full review and photos at http://www.kevinsimon.co.uk/?p=2810