The Drake Circus Shopping Mall opened in the heart of Plymouth in October 2006 following months of the city centre looking and feeling like a massive building and construction site (which it was!). It replaced a crumbling old shopping complex which was totally razed to the ground to make way ... Read review
Advantages: Brand new, under cover and in the town centre Disadvantages: High Parking Charge
The Drake Circus Shopping Mall opened in the heart of Plymouth in October 2006 following months of the city centre looking and feeling like a massive building and construction site (which it was!). It replaced a crumbling old shopping complex which was totally razed to the ground to make way for the new one. There has been much local discussion about the outer architectural appearance of the Mall but I won’t go into that here, suffice to say that ... ...there.
The Drake Circus mall have their own staff to help people( security, cleaning etc) and they all wear a uniform suit including a purple tie and identifiaction and are very helpful. Also touch screen information points on all levels and leaflets with maps available from these points.
Wheelchairs and power scooters are available for hire from the Plymouth Shopmobility scheme.
The Drake Circus Shopping Mall opened in the heart of Plymouth in October 2006 following months of the city centre looking and feeling like a massive building and construction site (which it was!). It replaced a crumbling old shopping complex which was totally razed to the ground to make way for the new one. There has been much local discussion about the outer architectural appearance of the Mall but I won’t go into that here, suffice to say that everyone has their own opinion and it always makes for a good debate.
The Location/How to get there etc.
Situated in the heart of Plymouth City Centre. Buses- served well by all local services and Park and Ride from two locations on the outskirts of town. Plymouth Bus Station (not the nicest of places-avoid unless there is an emergency!!!) 5 minutes walk. Trains- Plymouth Railway Station 10 minutes walk. Plymouth University – only 1 minute (good for a sneaky shop between lectures). Parking- Car Park (Covered) top floor. 1270 spaces. A “Pay on foot” system operates by taking a ticket on arrival and on leaving you pay at one of the pay stations by card or cash. Charges as follows: Up to 1 hr £1.10, 1-2hrs £2.20, 2-3hrs £3.30, 3-4hrs £4.40, 4-5hrs £5.50, 5-6hrs £6.60 and over 6hrs £12.00. This could become expensive!!! It is convenient though as the car park leads straight into the Restaurant area and there are lifts and escalators to all areas from here. Also direct access to the Marks and Spencer top floor. Opening Times-Mon-Wed & Sat 9am-6pm Thurs-9am-8pm Sun-10.30am-4.30pm
The Shops
These are spread over the lower two floors with upper floor housing the Car Parks, Restaurant Court and Toilets plus one local electrical store ETS(white goods and audio and audio visual goods).
The main flagship stores are at either end of the mall, Marks and Spencer (all departments from home-food hall on four floors) and Primark which has proved to be the most popular shop so far in the mall and is on two floors.
Here is a list of the stores apart from those mentioned above: Drakes Jewellers, Hotel Chocolate(yummy but expensive), Clinton Cards, Virgin, Carphone Warehouse, Fraser Hart Jewellers, H&M, 02, Game, Build a Bear(always very busy), Billabong, Waterstones including Costa Coffee within, Boots(not as good as we had before-too many makeup counters at the expense of everything else), New Look, Mothercare(too small), Claire’s Accessories(always too small)The Perfume Shop, Dr China(Chinese medicines), Pine and Oak World, Next (two floors and sell all ranges), “3” Store, Sole Trader, Jane Norman(nice but small), Office, Oasis, Schuh, La Senza, Parchment, Wallis, Monsoon, Faith, Bershka, Zara, Coast, Republic, River Island, Lush, Passion for Perfume, Storm and a small convenience store of which the name escapes me.
Eating and Drinking
Marks and Spencers have two coffee shops one on the lower mall near the entrance with very easy access and one on the top floor of their store. Waterstones have a Costa Coffee in their store on the lower mall. Starbucks is situated on the lower mall adjacent to Primark. BBs Coffee and Muffins (also ice creams) is on the upper mall floor but is hidden away near the stair well which is a shame and as there are no windows it’s a bit dull inside. However, the coffee and food is good and reasonably priced. The Restaurant Court level at the top houses Spud U Like, Burger King, Juice Moose and Café Curva (meals as well as coffees etc can be purchased here and there are panoramic views from the windows here. Just ignore the police station view!).
Other Info
There are two sets of toilets (both including disabled ones), one on the lower floor and one on the Restaurant Court level. The toilets on the Restaurant Court level are by far the best and cleanest and there are loads of them. The lower level ones in my opinion are not so nice and there always seems to be a big queue there.
The Drake Circus mall have their own staff to help people( security, cleaning etc) and they all wear a uniform suit including a purple tie and identifiaction and are very helpful. Also touch screen information points on all levels and leaflets with maps available from these points.
Wheelchairs and power scooters are available for hire from the Plymouth Shopmobility scheme.
I have covered as much as I can about the place but what do I think about it? It is a pleasant place to shop for sure especially if you like clothes and shoe shopping. However, there is really not the mix of shops that you get in a town centre, for example there is no major newsagent apart from the small convenience store and not a lot in the way of home wares. The other problem is that a lot of the shops have simply relocated from the town centre itself and left large retail gaps in the town that are not yet filled. I also think that there should be more seating about the place for people just to rest their weary legs! As with many malls it can sometimes seem a bit “airless” inside and it is not a pleasant feeling at all. All in all though it is a lovely modern place where it is very easy to spend a few hours shopping. Why not give it a visit.
Drakes Circus Shopping Centre 1 Charles Street Plymouth PL1 1EA www.drakecircus.com 01752 223030
Advantages: none Disadvantages: many shops have closed, lots of yobs
I went to this mall on Saturday and found it lacking in basic amenities for anyone with a baby or children.
"Passion for perfume", "inspire jewellery", and "pine and oak" are all shops that have closed or about to close - there were many unlet units and to be honest there was only Primark, new look and a few others left. I found the prices in New Look were double those in my hometowns branch.
It was a drab and dreary mall with noting of any interest. ... ...available for prams or wheelchairs.
Inside was very dirty with unswept walkways and lots of yobs hanging around in gangs.
Finding a seat to sit on was impossible although to be honest I lost any desire to stay in the place. If you are rich and do not mind spending twice the price as anywhere else then this is the place for you. I also found it a nerve racking experience and never felt comfortable with so many dodgy gangs hanging around
. ...
lisachel 20.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
Advantages: Very central with a large selection of shops many which were reasonably priced. Disadvantages: Few, except perhaps the need to spend out of car parking
I spent a morning there early April 09. I had read some inaccurate and unhelpful comments here and therefore was very surprised just how clean and refreshing the place was. There was quite a good selection of shops some of which were of interest to men, such as the large electrical store. I find, as a man, that most malls have little of interest to me. We stopped for breakfast at the large cafe on the first floor. That was very well laid out, clean ... ...visit whilst on holiday I found nothing unpleasant about the place. It was obviously very new, bright and I found it very airy, contrary to an earlier comment that I read. It was quite early in the morning but I found nothing of concern about the type of people who visited the mall. I didn't think that parking was overly priced but wasnt sure how much other car parks would charge, as the only other car park I used was the Theatre Royal, and I did ...
Kiastar 20.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
Advantages: none Disadvantages: threatening, rip-off pricing, unportected and expensive car-parking
This must be the worst mall i have ever been to in my life. Apart from paying over the top parking charges (when i returned my windscreen wipers hade been ripped off ) inside was far worse. There are only a handful of units, let to shops that simply rip you off with excessive charging and poor customer service. The only popular shop was Primark next to some tacky local jewellery shop. Once inside primark you just want to get out - stock lying all ... ...were factory seconds or seriously flawed in various ways.
Its a very boring and bland little mall with nothing of any interest. The queue for the ladies was a 40 minute wait as there was only one (unclean) cubicle working.
The title should be called alcoholics dream as we were constantly plagued by aggressive drunken beggars who lurk all over the mall along with local gangs that add to the stress of being inside this hell-hole. My 11 year old was ...
tracy-gilmour 28.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
Quick review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
I really like this car park, being able to pay with your debit card is very convenient. the toilets are excellent. The mall is airy, light and clean. Staff and security are efficient and look smart. There are a lot of similar shops close together (fashion clothes and shoes) But most of the shops are well presented and spacious. It would be better to have a wider variety of shops but maybe this will change in time. Overall well worth a visit if you are clothes shopping. ...
znette 23.12.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
Quick review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
its a tacky mall full of chavs and kevs. It has no identity and the only thing that attracts the few visitors it gets, is Primark, which specialises in selling clothes made by Indian kids. Its car park is twice as expensive as all the other car-parks in plymouth and do not expect to return to your car to find all 4 wheels as security is a joke !
The best thing about this grotesque mall is the way out. I would rather have my teeth pulled out without anesthetic than endure that horrible tacky mall again. ...
joan2069 28.07.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth
