For what it is you know the M&S cafe in Handforth dean is alright!…read more Short and sweet from me; it's reasonably priced, the staff are cheerful and the self-help system actually works well for soft drinks and other snacks. It cost me £15 for a chicken Tagine, chocolate lolly, a tea, flat white and a Diet Coke - now I think that's value for money! And the Tagine was absolutely delicious! I would definitely eat there again whilst shopping in Marks and Spencer. I go there regularly for my weekly shop, so it's nice to know I can trust that the food & drink is up to scratch, in case I need to stop for a bite once again!

This branch of Marks and Spencer is quite a big store located in Handsforth Dean, and is in a big…read moreretail complex with quite a large Tesco store. This store can be a nightmare to get to, as it is situated on a large number of roundabout, coming from Manchester for a conference here, they must of been a good 5 roundabouts along the Handforth Bypass, but other than that it is easy to get to, get the motorway towards Birmingham (M60) and just follow the A34, hence coming off the motorway at J3. The car park is quite big as well, with the regular Tesco car park and just one for the standard retail park. This is quite a big store, with a good sized food and clothing section, it can be actually quite hard to find everything in away, especially due to the lack of organization with certain people sending me the wrong way, left right and centre, even the co-ordinator for the event, and I actually had to phone the store to get someone to assist me as they was no staff about - which is totally unacceptable. The event co-ordinatior works for Marks and Spencer, and did make false promises and taken her time to do everything. They is 2 cafes in this store, and they are quite nice cafes, they is one big one, where the event tasted place, and it even has trackers on the tables so the server knows where you are. The cafe isn't great, although some of the staff were good, running around to get me a gluten free sandwich, to the shop floor and the other cafe. The cafe still wasn't great as my iced tea was quite expensive costing about £2.50, and it did taste home made but absolutely awful, and very watery. The store has a good sized free from range, compared to other stores, for example the branch at Bury, where it is a struggle to even grab a sandwich, however they are far too expensive, and as the event co-ordinator is a coeliac, she should do something about it, she even admitted to me in private she knows the range is expensive, but I know she told a few white lies in the presentation. Overall, this isn't the greatest Marks and Spencer's store, even though it is huge, considering issues with the lack of knowledge from staff and staff in general, pricing, lack of organization and simply being a nightmare to get to, roundabout after roundabout, as it is located off a slip road from one, they are unavoidable really and this makes the store, one to not visit rather than to go through all the kerfuffles of the many, confusing roundabouts to visits. I can't give this store any more than 2 stars.

Grove Arcade is a tiny little shopping arcade just off the main shopping street of Wilmslow…read more It's got a couple of shops and cafes in, and is a good place to get out of the rain on a Saturday shopping in town.

I love Grove Arcade. Took the kids to the Teddy bear shop then we all stopped for a coffee and…read morelunch at Cafe 39. A perfect way to spend Saturday afternoon with the family. The staff in the cafe were very accommodating with the pram and had toilet facilities upstairs.

Despite what my husband may think I'm not a big fan of shopping and spending time in mammoth…read moreshopping centres and hot, stuffy department stores where the exit is nowhere to be seen (think the Father Ted lingerie department episode) puts the fear of God into me. However, needs must and sometimes shopping can't be avoided so if this is the case I want somewhere that will make it as easy as possible. I like this branch of John Lewis as it's easily accessible by road (just off the M60 and Handforth bypass) with plenty of parking, making it super easy to pull up and head straight in. It's pretty big, spread over 3 floors, but still doesn't feel like it swallows you up and everything is very easy to find. It's also very neat and tidy which is pretty important to me as I hate it when a shop is in total disarray (think the hellhole that is Primark) as it just makes the whole shopping experience more stressful than it should be. I've always found the staff to be approachable and friendly and will happily dispense advice on the best toaster or coffee machine for your buck, if you so desire. John Lewis is definitely one of the more premium department stores (not quite Harvey Nics but definitely not Debenhams) so the products and prices obviously mirror this but if you are after gifts or items that are of a higher quality then it's a brilliant option. Another major plus point for JL is that if you sign up for their loyalty card online they send you vouchers for free coffee and cake every month - this sweetens the shopping experience no end!

Love the convenience of the café. John Lewis has always provided the best and delivery services and…read moreinstallation for all the appliances. This particular visit was for curtains. One star off because while there are many sizes and styles listed online, the stores usually only carry one or two of each variety leading you to have to purchase them online and have arranged for either pick up in store, or home delivery. So it is best to use the store to inspect the individual items first before purchasing, but you might end up going online to order them anyway. Prices were excellent as always and delivery was free and of course John Lewis has a wonderfully large parking lot. That is also free of charge. For online pick up or Customer Service head around to the parking behind the store and enter from the rear entrance.

it's an average sized tk maxx store so some stuff is good but i have found better at their…read moremanchester arndale store

I just never have the patience for TK Maxx. It's absolutely full of clothes that are at the end of…read morea line or out of season. That means there are loads of bargains to be found but you really have to search for them. And if you find something in a size that isn't quite right, it can take ages to move along the rail and find the same item in your size as clothes are stocked by size, and not the individual garment. Personally, I just can't stick at going through everything to find something good. I'm into going into a shop, choosing something quickly and just buying it. None of the sorting through loads of junk faff.

This is one of the stores based on the Handforth Dean retail park and it is a home store dedicated…read moreto selling products for the home (surprise) and no clothing. Its has a nice cafe but it is quite small and cramped. The furniture here is not the most exclusive but I would say mid range and the household department have some nice designer items like toasters and kettles and a very funky breadbin called the Typhoon Capsule caught my attention. Well it was raining and miserable outside and whats a girl to do on a rainy saturday afternoon. Nigella might feel at home here (for five seconds). This retail park has a M&S and a Tesco also on site and there is ample parking.

Shops like this exist at airports purely to entertain bored travellers. Stuck in Terminal 1 with…read morenothing to do for an hour, a quick browse around a shop like Timberland can quickly lead to you spending the worth of 10 holiday mojitos on a rugged looking jumper. If you're going on holiday to the Canadian woods in British Columbia, kind of fair enough. If you're going on a sunny Spain kind of holiday, try and stay away from Timberland - you don't need it's things! It's just boredom, honestly.

This is quite a nice branch of Tesco, located in Handsforth Dean, this is a big branch of Tesco,…read moresituated right next to a huge branch of Marks and Spencer. This store can be quite a nightmare to get to, being situated on a row of 5 or so roundabouts, especially when traveling in direction from North Manchester. This store has a small customer service desk, which is up to satisfactory standard yet could look much more welcoming and more like "the centre of the store" They was a Clubcard Machine, where you can print off vouchers and coupons however it seemed that it didn't work hence I couldn't log on and the problem was experienced by others as well, they was no staff around to know about it or even seem like it is being fixed. This store has a very big free from section, one of the biggest I have seen frozen-wise and helps to put many other branches (especially Middleton) to shame, their range was so big that is is worth traveling for and even includes some items that I can't even buy online at Tesco's website. They was a few disgusting things regarding this store, including an iced coffee, which was drank out of and then put back, drink was still in it, but they was not all of it left and it was open, I am glad I saw this before drinking out of it!!!! This store seems to be over 2 floors and is quite a nice store entering, with a standard Tesco looking including the yellow/ white colour flooring. I want to give this store 3 stars, mainly because of its' free from range and size, however I can't give any more because - The Clubcard machine was faulty - Customer Service could be slightly larger and more welcoming, especially for such a large store - The disgusting incident with the iced coffee - I have not had a good look around this store yet, as I just ran in to check the free from ranges while in the area.

Having been a secret shopper for many years, this is by far the worst service I have witnessed. At…read morethe till beside me a father and son were refused purchasing Alcohol because the father did not have ID, the son who was of age did. The situation was handled very poorly and I was appalled by how the cashier spoke to the customer as if they were children. After talking to other members of staff we were told that this is a regular occurrence. The behaviour of this staff member was unacceptable.