Bhs

My parents were coming to stay and I was in urgent need of some new bed linen.
Pennies were tight so I jumped into my car and headed to Asda on Cardiff Bay Retail Park.
As I screeched around the corner only a stones throw away from Asda my eyes were drawn to four big red letters written on the windows of BHS.
S-​A-​L-​E!
Whoop whoop I thought to myself! I spun the car round and parked up right outside the entrance.
I am not a BHS regular and always thought of it as a shop for the oldies but I was wrong.
Excellent choice, excellent displays and when a sale is on excellent prices.
The shop itself isn’t that big but does have huge variety to choose from. I picked up some lovely bed sheets which even got my mothers seal of approval. (Which is usually unheard of)
Admittedly I did spend more than I would have in Asda but the quality was better and I am sure they will last longer!
One last thing… there is oodles of parking all of which is FREE!

This store is a pleasant new addition to the retail park in Grangetown which was built, many years ago, right on top of a rubbish dump. The Cardiff Bay Retail Park is one of those places that you’re unlikely to go unless you have to, which is why, in my mind, the new Bhs is such a surprise.
This is a very well laid out and presented store. The stock and furniture on display are surprisingly tasteful, and there are some lovely unique items, such as egg-​shaped chairs and exciting lighting. This new range reminds me a little bit of Habitat, or some other shop of that ilk, and after the closure of The Pier, there certainly is a gap in the market.
If you’re having a busy afternoon shopping, there is also a nice little café in the back of this store, which is certainly a lot nicer than McDonald’s or the ASDA café, which are the only other options. They do a lovely cup of coffee.

Now I normally wouldn’t touch Bhs with a barge pole, after all their clothes are generally regarded as frumpy rather than fashionable. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by the relatively new Bhs store devoted to the home, in Cardiff Bay.
With a few exceptions most of the furniture in this store was relatively tasteful, and practically upmarket in appearance rather than cheap.
They had a wide range of furniture available including: beds, mirrors, wardrobes, cushions, a curtain fitting service and I particularly admired their garden furniture, which led me to have fantasies of hosting fabulous summer garden parties. Unfortunately I fear this won’t come to pass, as aside from the temperamental British weather, the fabulous Venezia round table and chairs, costs a whopping £2000.
This is something that I noticed throughout the store, the high prices! Their clothes may be cheap, but their furniture (I was surprised to discover) was not. Don’t get me wrong, the prices are nothing compared to the sort you get in interior design shops, but they were easily comparable to more upmarket high street department stores such as M&S (though John Lewis is still far more expensive).
Their lighting though, isn’t really on the pricey side. I managed to pick up a rather nice wicker lampshade for only £5, which interestingly I’d already seen in Homebase for £25.
My big problem with this store however, is with their staff. For starters, they are clearly under staffed. It was an absolute nightmare trying to find someone to help me, and when I finally did I was more or less ignored as they said they needed to fetch something for another customer, which is fine, but they should have got another member of staff to help me. Furthermore, when I arrived at the till, the cashier was rather disgruntled that she had to wrap up my chandelier (a fragile item), which after all is part of her job.
So all in all, mixed feelings, but much better than I was initially expecting.