Mc Arthur Glen in York

INTRODUCTION

On a recent trip to York with my Husband, we decided to visit the McArthur Glen designer shopping outlets that are situated just outside of York.

As a real shopaholic this is the place for me as you can grab designer brands at knockdown prices, I love to have designer clothing and accessories but I hate to pay the price so these McArthur outlets have given me the chance of a new winter wardrobe at a fantastic price.

We visited in early January so the sales were in full flow and there were many of bargains to be had, so I feel that this is a place to shout about so I am reviewing it to let everyone know what to expect if they ever visit.

MCARTHUR OUTLETS

McArther Glen has a chain of outlet villages across the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. These McArthur designer outlets have become so popular that they are developing many other locations around the globe.

What makes McArthur so special is the fact that they offer many designer and non-designer brands at a discounted price, usually this starts at 50% off but I have been known to get things at a massive 80% off making this into a massive saving compared to the prices you pay on the high street.

SHOPS

I have only visited three of the McArthur outlets the first was Cheshire Oaks in Cheshire and the second being in Milan, This is my first visit to the York outlet and I have to say I was very impressed with the wide range of shops that it had to offer.

The major designer branded shops included Armani, Burberry, Bench & Hooch, Chilli Pepper, Fred Perry, Fossil, Timberland, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein underwear, Ted Baker, Paul Smith and French Connection.

These were only a few of the high end shops that stood out for me and I managed to get many bargains, in the Calvin Klein jeans I got three pairs of jeans at 13.50 each as these were in the sale and I got an extra 10% off as I joined the McArther mailing list online at their website www.yorkdesigneroutlet.com I handed the form in at the customer services desk and this got me a voucher to claim 10% off all items purchased within the outlet, but I could only use it once in each shop.

Other shops included Austin Reed, Ben Sherman, Coast, Banana Republic, Gap, Jaeger, Jeff Banks, Levi's, M&S, Next, Olsen, Petroleum and suits for you. I did browse around some of these and picked up some work trousers for 4.00 a pair in the Next clearance shop, so even if you don't do designer items there are many shop to cater for your needs.

FOOD & DRINKS

The food and drinks section is located in the centre section of the outlet but up stairs so you have to take and escalator upstairs to gain access to places such as Bagal Nash, Fat Jackets, Gravely's fish and chips, Caffe Nero, Mcdonalds, Pizza Hut, Star Bucks and Thomas the bakery.

As we spent most of the day at these massive outlets we did have some dinner ant Fat jackets, I had a jacket potato with chilli and my husband had his with cheese and beans, than with two coffees this cost us just under a tenner so I feel that the prices were very good as these are the only places you can eat.

The only thing I didn't really like about the dining situation was the fact that all of the food counters are in a horse shoe shape, and you have to sit in the centre of them all which would not be a problem but as it was busy there was little room to sit and eat and the staff were not clearing tables so you had to clean them yourself before sitting down to eat.

You can also grab a drink of snack in the actual outlet shops at either, Cadbury's, Julian Graves, Lindt, Thornton's and the Thornton's Café, which was very expensive but saved you walking a mile for a coffee.

OTHER INFORMATION

As I have mentioned it is a very good idea to register to the mailing list online, as you will get a discount voucher for all of your purchases which can also save you up to 10% off everything you buy. This is great as it is all completely free and will just cost you a little bit of ink and a piece of paper to print out the voucher.

If you have this voucher you just go to the customer services desk that is located at the entrance on the outlets, the staff here are very friendly and can help with any queries you may have during your stay.
If you have children the outlets also offer a children's play area, that will keep kids entertained but you need to supervise them if they are under a certain age.

The toilet and baby changing facilities are scattered all around the outlets so you will never get caught short, I found this to be very clean and they were constantly checked and cleaned by staff.

There is plenty of parking so you will always find a space, but during busy periods this can take some time but you will get there eventually. The parking lot was massive and in my opinion it was very confusing to navigate as I felt is was poorly signposted, so you will have to take note of where you have parked as it would be very easy to forget and you will be walking around for hours trying to find the car.

OPENING TIMES

The outlets are open on a similar time scale to high street shops, but the only difference being that they are open on a Sunday.

Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays hours are 10.00AM - 6.00PM
Thursdays have a late opening from 10.00AM- 8.00PM
Sundays it is open from 10.00AM- 5.00PM

LOCATION

The outlets very ideally located and very easy to find, they are situated just outside of York at the A64 and A19 roundabout. It is very well sign posted from the A19 and the A64 so which ever direction you are travelling from you can't really miss it.

These designer outlets are located at St. Nicholas Avenue, Fulford, York, YO19 4TA, United Kingdom.

Telephone: 01904 682700

OTHER OUTLETS

There are other McArthur designer outlets in Kent, Wales, Ellesmere Port, Scotland, Wiltshire and this one in Yorkshire.

Other outlets around the world are located in the Netherlands, France, Austria and Italy.

I have visited a few of these McArthur outlets in the UK and to be honest they are all pretty much the same and consist of the same shops, The one in Milan also has the same set up of shop but in my opinion it is more expensive that the outlets located in the UK.

MY OPINION

This is a fantastic place for you to really damage your credit card, on my last visit is spent a fortune as the sales were in full swing and I got some really great bargains as they were so good to be missed.

I feel this place will suit men, women and children as there are many shops that are designer and non designer, so there certainly is something for everyone.

Getting there was very simple as it was all very well signposted so it was near on impossible to get lost, which is a real bonus in my opinion.

I recommend the McArthur Glen outlets to everyone who likes designer brands, as they are so much cheaper that the high street. Yes most of the clothing is last seasons but it is only three months behind so for the prices I would never complain