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 Quadrant Shopping Centre is great as it is indoors and with our lovely welsh weather it is nice…read moreto be in from the wet and cold. There are loads and loads of shops in the Quadrant like HMV, Game , W H smiths , Clinton cards and Debenhams. It can get pretty packed out with shoppers at peak times and especially with the run up to christmas. At christmas there is usually a lovely christmas tree with lots of decorations which make it look really nice. The shopping centre always looks clean and tidy and you will always find a cleaner pottering around.

The Quadrant is like many indoor shopping centres across the UK. It mostly houses chain stores like…read moreHMV, Clarks, WHSmiths, Faith and so on and so forth. Shops you find in every town in Britain. The Quadrant itself is quite pleasant though, it has a predominently glass roof which allows it to be very bright and airy inside. There's a gallery cafe which looks out on to the main concourse of the shopping centre which is great for people watching. The bus station also comes out of one end, so finding it is very easy, and also you won't have far to carry bags to get a bus. Or even to get to your car if you choose to park in the NCP which also adjoins the Quadrant. You can also get to Swansea Market via an entrance in the Quadrant. The largest store by far is Debehams, which is a large department store and takes up almost an entire wing of its own. ANECDOTE: I was sick on the doors of Debehams one Christmas as I was shopping for presents and very rapidly came down with a virus. There are public toilets (free) upstairs which are clean and well maintained. The buidling is decorated according to the seasons, and a large Christmas tree is the focus during the winter.

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!

Banburys is a huge department store, it incorporates a lot of concession store and also a huge…read moreperfume counter and homeware section. Upstairs is a restaurant that is well frequented by locals looking for a quiet break in the middle of their shopping. It is a higher end store and therfore tends to be quite pricy but it is well alid out with an great selection of products.

This Banburys is a very big store. When you go in the door you come straight to the fragrance and…read moremake up counters. There are always really friendly staff here who are happy to advice you on what products are best for you, they also let you sample the fragrances. The you will get to the clothes and shoes. Then at the very back of the store they have the bits you can buy for your house like plates, kettles, and glasses etc.. I do find some of the bit a a bit expensive but you can see they are good quality. Then to the left of the shop they sell craft stuff such as wool for knitting, cross stitches, patterns etc.. There is a another entrance door here so if you are just after buying some wool you can go in this way. Upstairs there is more clothes and underwear for sale and there is a big cafe. They sell some lovely food in the cafe we often go there when we have been shopping and need to sit down.

On a recent holiday we were treated to a trip to the quaint market town of Abergavenny whilst there…read moreI discovered a marvellous shop called Nicholls.It is a department store which stocks a range of furniture,gifts and ladies clothes. Nicholls sell some unusual gifts along with more well known makes and have a wide range of Ainsley china in stock. They also have a fab coffee shop in store which sells healthy lunches ,beautiful freshly made sandwiches and mouth watering cakes,ideal for a relaxing sit down I came home with a lot of Christmas shopping and hopes of returning in the new year.

A little overdue (sorry)..... A lovely little store,…read moreprobably aimed more at women but with a wonderful cafe, to keep the men happy. It's like a mini department store, clothing (not sure if they have mens or kids), some furniture, kitchenware, lots of gifts, womens clothing, jewellery and of course, the cafe. An old relation owns a wonderful hotel in a neighbouring town and she loves to come to Nicholls, both in Aber and in Crick, so that's a good sign. To be honest, I only went because my aunt asked me to take her there for Christmas dinner (she doesn't get one, where she is). I chauffeured, she bought the food. For £8 odd, you got a good plate of food, with separate vegs & potatoes and a gravy boat. Wonderful. And the turkey actually had taste. Yes, amazing. I don't know if it was free range/organic, or just fresh and local but this was stunning. I hate turkey normally, because of it's blandness but this was in a different league. All the accompaniments were also extremely fresh and tasty. They don't advertise as being free range/organic, rather local/fresh (which avoids them having to check suppliers, I guess, but I'd put money on the turkey at least being free range). Bernard, eat your heart out, that's how it SHOULD taste. I hope to be back this year again, with my aunt, for what was the best Christmas Dinner I've had in many a year. Thank you Nicholls. david

This is a relatively small example of the large chain. They have a nice Per Una section plus all…read morethe other clothes that you would expect downstairs, along with a small food section. Upstairs is childrenswear, underwear and homewear.

Now called the House of Fraiser, this is a good department store.There is about 3 or 4 levels to…read morethe store. On the top level is the cafe, which always serves lovely food at reasonable prices, there is quite a big seating area so it is quite easy to get a table. They stock well know brands for men, women and children, also they sell shoes and homeware items.

A great old style department store where you can lose a few hours. The handbag ranges include…read moreRadley and the prices are in line with others. the cosemtic counters are always happy to give free advice and make overs. There are a number of designer type clothing bits, with Mexx and Oasis for the younger lady and some more older type womenswear upstairs. the cafe is ok. There cards and stationary is good and there is a good selection of jewellery - although mainly costume

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!

A good old traditional department store, part of the House of fraser chain, which specialises in…read morequality items. Everything from Homeware, to menswear, ladies wear, perfume, make-up, shoes etc. Also benefits from a busy coffee shop. The restaurant is however a dissapointment being dated and dull

I haven't been to Cavendish House for about 20 years and nor will I ever again. Let me explain why…read more I used to visit when I was home on leave from the Forces but on one occasion I was prevented from entering by a very pompous and unpleasant Doorman. I'd smiled at him and said 'Good morning', as I always did - perhaps this one was new, as I didn't recognize him. He simply looked down his nose at me as though I'd made a bad smell and stepped in front of me as I was about to enter. I asked him what was wrong and, rather than replying, he just gave me the most disdainful stare. I had no idea what the problem was. I wasn't in my Sunday Best but I was certainly presentable - clean clothes, clean shaven, smart hair cut as you'd expect from a military type. He looked old enough to have done National Service himself. I politely asked him again what the problem was and again he said nothing, just continuing to look at me with utter contempt. When I wrote to Store Management, I received no reply. I was utterly disgusted and can only put it down to snobbery.

I was surprised to find this branch of M&S to be so small as it's on the out-of-town shopping site…read more There is a fair range of clothes and some reductions to be found, also on bags and other accessories. You can also buy gift tokens to use in any branch. However, there's no food and no toiletries either.

If you are looking for the latest range of M&S clothing or homeware, this is a shop to avoid. If…read moreyou want to search out end of range bargains, however, this could be the place for you, with some genuine reductions to be had. Even so, there were two main problems. First, in many of the better ranges on offer, there was next to nothing available in the normal range of sizes. Second, many items appeared to be marked 'special purchase' implying they were not really sales items but inferior quality goods shipped into the outlet as they were not of a standard normally associated with M&S. In other areas, however, for example towels, underwear etc. some good deals can be picked up. You'll either love it or hate it!