Hamleys

This place brings out the kid in me. Great atmosphere , great customer service. You can spend hours in this place without knowing where time has gone.

The prices in Hamleys are £5 - £10 more than other places but ordering from online is not the same as seeing the smile on your childs face, when you walk in.

Any time I need a cheer up I visit this store and I love it!! Ahh the memories of shopping there during xmas time as so lovely and whenever I take my children they are so excited and love the sparkle in their eyes when they see the incredible window displays.

This is a really great place to be. 5 stories of games, toys and craft materials. The staff is very polite and handles children as well as grown-ups ;-)

Prices are a little too expensive, but in general you'll find anything at almost every price range.

Enjoy your stay!

Great shop that has many great memories for me. This was again a great visit with many pointless toys bought again! The only downside is the annoying staff on the 4th floor who seem to be in competition to be the loudest and most irritating! I hope this isn't a management incentive??

It's OK but I wouldn't say it is the best toy store in the world :-) Still, a fun place to shop with the kids as the set up keeps them amused. Watch your own pocket though with their excitement!

Hamleys has had some renovations but i'm sorry to say it's not the paradise i used to know....I DO remember having spent hours and pounds in it but ,now,I just spend about 15 to 20 mn in it and leave purchaseless!!!It's surely a dream for kids(7 levels of toys!!!)but the choice is not what it used to be!!They don't have big lines like BRATZ,MOXIE GIRLZ,the PETSHOP departement has been reduced to clearly nothing,they no more sell BARBIE COLLECTOR DOLLS(just 2 or 3 lost among the pink boxes!!),in the action figure departement,you can find up to 10 pegs of the SAME figure,etc......
AND PRICES ARE JUST TOO HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!£5 more on a basic barbie doll!!!!!Their action figures are £3 more expensive than at toys r us or forbidden planet!!!
So a must for the kids but if you want to buy,you'd better go to old kent road toys r us(453 bus stop is just in front of Hamleys/25 mn ride),forbidden planet(shattesfury avenue/10mn walk),Disneystore(10mn walk on Oxford street)or even go to the Harrods toy departement(less expensive and so beautiful to see!!)...

SORRY HAMLEYS......

It’s a must for tourists and people coming to London with kids, but I wouldn’t recommend this shop to anyone wanting to purchase toys for gifts. It’s very crowded, they just sell mainstream and very commercial toys (nothing really original) and prices are usually high. The only thing I like about this store is the candy shop because they have Jelly Bellies :) Otherwise, I’d go to another independent store.

When I was a kid, Hamleys was the best place in the world. Now that I’m older, the kid in me is a little disappointed that the largest toy store in the world is showing its age and is looking a little rundown… Could do with a good refurb inside.

I know I should like this place but each time I go I am disappointed. It feels like this store needs renovation its tired and disorganised and frankly the choice of items are not all that. Even the lifts are small and cramped and not very pushchair friendly. I think kids will love it but having been to NY and seen the likes of their toy shops Hamleys’ doesn’t cut it- you’re probably better off to take them down the road to Harrods toy department.

absolutely the best toy shop in the known universe! bought my grandkids some of their best prezzys from here! it wouldnt be a visit to london without a trip here! perfect for kids from 0 to 80! addendum
my grandaughter went to London on a birthday treat recently & she was absolutely entranced by the place! especially when the staff outside dressed as pirates sang Happy Birthday to her!

Disappointed with the store. Shows its age and is a bit dirty. Selection of toys is not as good as other major toys chains. Too expensive. The store cannot cater for large toys.

We felt nothing but disappointment at the standards of the store. It was dirty, cramped and AWFUL.
As other reviewers have said it should be a store all children should visit once and enjoy the experience - but surely the staff should be more aware that the experince is something that should be enjoyed as well as the buying of the toys.
VERY SAD

Hamleys has to be the flagship of all toyshops.
A must that every young child must try and experience at least once in their life.
Its worth the trip to the west end just to see their little jaws drop wide open.
No other toy shop comes close to the standard set by Hamleys.
Benjisfones

It's impossible to not like Hamleys. In your head, you think it'll be full of kids running about, and noisyness and prams and pushchairs. And it's all of those things. But once you're inside, it doesn't matter how old you are, you can't help but PRESS ALL THE BUTTONS.

Don't try and fight it. I bet you want to play with that radio controlled car, don't you? And help the nice lady making the jigsaw (seriously, that's her day job, that's all sorts of cool) and oooh look, let's chase the bubbles from the bubble gun dude at the front of the shop.

And then, let's go up the secret stairs, that's a bit like a haunted house and sit in the cafe at the top, watching the train set and drinking Slush puppies.

Now tell me what could EVER be bad about all that? Hmmm?

I love this place. Such great memories of going through the store on my birthdays as a child. For several years as a child, I would have my birthday in London en route to Germany and back. Sounds swanky, yes, but I never got to buy anything there...just look. Mean parents

who was more excited me or the kids lol a huge selection of toys on diferent themed floors. console games etc on ground floor where i left the big boys and a cute girls floor with nails manicure etc
you could spend hours in here. I love the guy who dresses up as the entertainer, he was in rock mode the other day while launching paper jamz

Wow HUGE and MASSIVE and LOTS OF TOYS and my goodness I don't know how it is possible that people accomplish any shopping in here and leave with their hearing intact butohmygoodnesswhatashop.

Really - massive - huge - lots of stuff and really we're all just really big kids inside. WOW... an adult could be reduced to the level of a child filled with delight and wonder really quickly.

When I was there, a rock-and-roll pirate was giving crazy cubes away to ladies only who slipped him a special pink and black card... very mysterious!

"HAMLEYS!" is the highest pitched name in the history of children's stores. I'm sure of it. I hear that high pitched name squealed every other day (working near by enough to need to walk by often).
We all know children are small hysterical adults, but this is a phenomenon unto itself. Such was the average reaction that when I first moved to London I dodged the pirates and snow white with bubbles blower at the door and wondered in.
Ever after I have visited this store when I need a bit of cheering (note- never come here with a headache!) or feel the need to remember what an assault of bright colours is like.
Side note- I made friends with an ex-Hamley's magician and it is also pretty magical to be on the otherside of the counter apparently.

We came here on our Easter London Adventure on account of Steve has a Star Wars Lego addiction and thought we might find something he hasn't yet got. We did, but it was £40 more than in Argos, so we didn't buy it here. What we did do was take photos of the massive Lego Buzz Lightyear and Indiana Jones and had a wander round the gadget-y bit in amazement that some people get paid to play with toys. Awesome.

If you're going to make the trek out to Harrods, you ought to head down Regent Street to here. It's an institution and your kids will love it. Big kids too.

Toy heaven for childeren and lots of fun for adults too. They have absolutely everything that kids love, it is easy to spend a very enjoyable time here, of course kids don't want to go.