The Grafton Shopping Centre

Too many empty shops now! BHS and Topshop have just been updated and opened but there is nothing else there worth going for. So many empty shops now. I hardly go here now as there is always another shop closed down.

It would be better if there was a book shop and another coffee shop.

Parking is too expensive.

Grafton was a great shopping experience a few years back, but with so many shops closing and moving, and the high cost of parking, and the hours that fail to serve the lifestyle of the modern British worker Grafton has some way to go to being what Cambridge really needs.

Suggestions:
Stay open through the working week until 10pm, not all your shoppers are OAPs and not all your shoppers want to be forced to do their shopping on Saturday.
Reduce your parking fees
Get a book shop in the mall
develop a food court

You are competing with super stores these days and your hours of operation, choice, and parking fees do nothing to encourage more visitors back to the mall.

The Grafton Center. In one sentence, positively Choice Challenged. The Grafton is a great place to go for general clothes shopping, or for fast food for when you have the munchies, however in terms of anything else, its serioulsy lacking.

The Grafton's shops include, Next, Boots, Accessorize, Claire's, Debenhams, Bhs, Poundland, BurgerKing, Vue Cinema, New Look, Clarks, Clinton Card Shop and Millies Cookies. On Wednesdays it's late night shopping open from 9am until 8pm otherdays, 9am until 5.30pm.

It's great to have a place to just 'chill' out in but It wouldn't hurt to have some choice other than clothes and food. Vue cinema is well managed and cheaper than Cineworld cinema, the toilets are well looked after, however the bins overflow fom time to time.
It occasionall holds event on the wooden mat just as you step into the entrance of the building. Events such as Cat walks and Car Sales are held there.

The bus stop is right outside the entrance, which is convenient for people who use the bus, but for others the ques are ridiculously long and people are so afraid to let you pass, for fear you 'push in' that you can't get to the other side of the path, in the evenings.

Other than it's flaws, the grafton is quite a pleasant shopping experience, and the shops are quite reasonably priced.

If u r a student just park ur cycle closeby and do some shopping at next and other shops, its a great place and when u r finished vt shopping go and play pool and snooker at Mickey Flynns which is open 24 hrs, its a friendly place. Believe me the doorman(elderly guy) knows how to greet in almost all languages. this is the best place to have fun and when u want to eat something, eat kabab and burgers below mickey flynns. Have fun, this was what i used to do when i was studying at Anglia Ruskin University, Good Times

This restaurant has a drive through and also a small car park. IT gets extremely busy at times as it is near the cinema so it gets many people in their after and before films. The staff do their jobs and are quick and efficient. They are helpful in that you get your fast food but they aren’t overly polite. If the drive through gets busy, there will be a member of staff come out and take your order. I don’t tend to go in the restaurant very much but when I have done, there have been balloons given out to children and cleaning has been in progress. I have never found in cold or dirty in there when I have been.

Handily the park and ride buses stop right outside, and only a 5 minutes walk from the main city shops. There is also limited carpark, but it is quite expensive (as is the way in Cambridge!)

Has the usual range of high street shops inside… M&S, Zavvi and Debenhams, all under one roof.

The Grafton centre in Cambridge quite literally has something for everyone all under one roof, there are shops galore for the spendaholics of you, from department stores to cloths shops, shoe shops to phone dealers, and just out side the man centre is two main shopping streets being Burleigh street and Fitzroy street. Along with coffee bars and restaurants to quench your thirst after a hard mornings shopping. And after that you shop a bit more before taking in a new film at the multiscreen cinema, and if your not fully spent out at the end there are a good few bars just around the corner from the shopping centre.

I always think town has better shops (generally speaking) than the Grafton Centre, although the Grafton does have a few advantages. Until recently it was Cambridge’s only real mall, and the large covered building does make it a good option for wet weather, easy access shopping. You’ve got a lot of big name chains - Boots, Next, H&M, Oasis, Warehouse, etc.

It’s also usually packed with people wandering about in a daze without the slightest clue what’s going on around you. So the chances of getting barged into is pretty high. A lot of bored teens and young mums seem to use the Grafton as a place to hangout.

Personally I prefer town. But the Grafton does have one major advantage - a massive Debenhams department store, selling a massive array of fashions, jewellery, perfume, make-up etc.

It does also have some limited car parking although beware - the parking charges are incredibly steep! But because Cambridge is small and buses aren’t too bad, most people should be able to avoid driving and find more eco-friendly alternatives. Lots of buses stop near the Grafton Centre and it’s only a five minute walk from town along Christ’s Pieces, so it’s very pedestrian and bus rider friendly.

The other thing is that the Grafton has a multi-screen Vue cinema (very busy on weekends) and a pretty mediocre food court.

As I said, I prefer town. But the Grafton is a pretty acceptable Plan B.

The Grafton Centre is really spacious and has lots to do within. There is a big multistorey car park on site, but luckily if you don’t want to drive in the middle of Cambridge it’s served by the park and ride buses which run just outside.

The centre contains some great restaurants inside, and a Vue cinema upstairs, has great shops, mostly directed at fashion. My only downpoint is that its a shame it doesn’t have a newsagent inside.

Have to say now the grand arcade has come to cambridge i no longer walk all the way over to the grafton, although if primark comes to burleigh street if at all, which is outside the grafton then i may visit more often!
The Grafton centre has a big next, boots, bhs, debenhams, and lots of smaller retailers like oasis, warehouse, h&m, marks and spencer food and mothercare. But alot of these shops are either in the grand arcade or in the town centre of cambridge, hence why i dont visit here so much.

Grafton centre is the best place I spend my Saturday mornings to afternoon. It has entertainment restaurants and shops to satisfy your shopping addiction if you know what I mean. Shops present are Next, H&M, Debenhams, Boot, Phone 4 u, Oasis, Millie cookies, La senza, Claire’s accessories and many more designer shops all under one roof.

The location in the city centre makes it sometimes exciting to leave your quiet room, sad you may think but it is quite thrilling.

After my morning activities, I walk few mins to the bus stop to catch the park and ride bus all the way to the city centre. Then walk a short distance through the park to Grafton centre, where I fill my eyes with the things I can’t afford and the things I can definitely go home with me.

After all the shopping and the tired feeling, I stop at one of the restaurants to have my lunch before going home. It is a great way to spend ones Saturday and for family shopping.