So, what sort of shopper are you? A trendsetter? An experimenter with vintage looks? A quirky hipster who’ll give anything a go? Or do you prefer to shop for other goods instead of fashion? Well, whatever your predilection when it comes to popping down the shops, if you’re planning on indulging in the best hotel rewards program in London and so visiting the capital in the coming weeks, where can you expect to hit up for some serious retail therapy during your trip to the urban idyll that’s the Big Smoke? Don’t doubt it; your location won’t be short on excellent shopping centre options – here’s a trio of the very best of them…
Westfield London
(Ariel Way W12 7SL)
If you want to visit a truly epic shopping centre on a visit to London then it has to be this one – how many others can you think of are so enormous they manage to encompass nine separate postcodes? Covering 46 acres, Westfield in White City/ Shepherd’s Bush has been around for about a decade now and has definitely established itself as part of the city’s furniture, as it were; offering up 360 retail outlets (including high-street brands like Hollister and Ugg, alongside the more exclusive Louis Vuitton and Burberry), as many as 50 dining options (everything from Wahaca to Balans) and, naturally, a multiplex cinema for the evening. Yes, it may be nowhere near the airport but, should you be taking advantage of Heathrow rewards in that locality – such as the BW Plus Park Grand London Heathrow loyalty program – it’s definitely worth coming into town and checking it out).
Boxpark
(Bethnal Green Road E1 6GY)
A completely different proposition to Westfield (and, frankly, pretty much every other shopping mall you care mention), Boxpark is ably described by its moniker, being full of former shipping containers (under the elevated Shoreditch High Street station), each housing a different retail outlet. Yes, it’s a wee bit quaint, a mite trendy and very, very hipsterish but, hey, it is located in Shoreditch (i.e. Hipster Central), so why do you expect? It’s also good fun and brimming with fine indie fashion from the likes of Evisu, Wandering Minds and the Scandi-inspired Swedish Hasbeens and Nordic Poetry. Plus, there’s a good range of street-food stalls, including more-than-decent vegan options.
One New Change
(New Change Road EC4M 9AF)
Fair dos; the Square Mile isn’t renowned for its shopping (let’s be honest, it’s collective raison d’être is to make money not spend it), but things are changing in The City with more and more decent shops opening up. Not least in this gleaming, clean and inviting mall just down the road from the one-time cultural (and, yes, commercial) hub that’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. The big-hitters are all in evidence (Topshop, Reiss, H&M and so on), but so too are venues for yoga classes, hairdressers and waxing salons and an excellent rooftop restaurant and bar that looks out on an open space which, come the summer months, is utilised as an open-air rooftop cinema.
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