Did you enjoy your trip to Harrod's?

We shopped at Harrod's in 2004 . It was a walk of about 10 blocks from our hotel. It was, in our opinions,no different than Macys or Nordstrom or any similar US store. We were not "shuttled". Were you on some sort of shopping tour?

We were there in May. We were not shuttled....I don't think it warrants a second trip, though..........

I do know that we "tourists" are easy to spot....so don't know if that has any subtle impact on the behavior of employees........

Hope your next journey includes a shopping experience you enjoy more!!

I visited Harrod's on a Sunday afternoon and it was a madhouse. I did not enjoy the experience and agree with your statement about wishing the time had been spent elsewhere.

When I've been in Harrod's I was always treated very nice. Have bought several things in the food hall. I think it's a little more upscale then Macys, it has hundreds of beautiful chandelier's. It's one store where you could go purchase anything you want from a car, elephants, plan your funeral, house, and down to jeans and a t-shirt. Would I go there again? Probably, you can get a great sandwich to take to Hyde Park and eat.

We visit Harrod's on every trip to London. It is very pricey and our purchases usually amount to tea and tote bags. But it is so much fun to look! Love the toy department. And the food halls are fun. We actually had a fairly low cost lunch at the tapas bar--gazpacho, bread, and water. The waiters were Spanish and very polite and the gazpacho was very good.

I have been to Harrod's three times, once at Heathrow. My first trip to Harrod's included having High Tea. I'll never forget it. I was always treated with utmost respect and certainly never shuttled through the store. It is far more upscale than Macy's and Bloomingdale's. I always buy gift items (coffee, tea, cookies, shopping bag, etc) because they are gifts people can relate to. They know about Harrod's, the most famous store in the world (unless you want to include Wal-Mart). I still have items I bought in 1983 and again in 2005. I have souvenir items purchased by other travelers. Harrod's is an experience and it is a must for me when in London as is Fortunum and Mason. I will return again just as I will return for Westminster Abbey. I don't boycott stores because of owners. I will boycott stores because of bad service. I want to experience things in life and may not purchase a thing. I've experienced Harrod's (and Wal-Mart) and will return to both stores.

My wife is Japanese, and she is so excited to go to Harrods! Just to see the food courts and all the glitz. It's just a tourist attraction now, a shadow of its former self, from what I understand. I told her not to expect me to walk all the floors of the place. We'll go down to the food courts, check out the memorial to Diana and Dodi, and ride the fancy Egyptian escalator. She wants to buy the eco-bags they have as souvenirs.

I was in London for a number of weeks, so I did spend an hour in Harrod's. I went fully intending to buy absolutely nothing - just window shop.

For someone visiting London on a short visit (under 5 days), I would say it's not worth the time to go out of your way for Harrod's unless you are a die-hard shopper or a serious foodie who has access to a kitchen and wants to make some dinner purchases in the Food Hall (the stuff that looked best to me was not the prepared foods, but rather uncooked items like game and seafood - though the cheese department was great).

If you happen to be in the neighborhood and walking past, sure - pop in for a couple minutes. The hideous statue of Diana and Dodi and the creepy, full-size wax figure of Dodi's father are fun to see. But for me on future trips, I'll spend that extra hour at one of London's more interesting marketplaces - Spitalfields, Camden Locks, Portobello Road...

In general I'm not into shopping, and I avoid the local mall like the plague. But there something about Harrods that brings out the kid in me. I've been to London over ten times, and always pay a visit; A ritual I have developed is to have lunch in the food halls right after my plane lands and I arrive in the city. I could easily spend a day exploring the store, and stuffing my face:) It is crowded-yes, but so is the Underground. If your not into crowds London is not for you. There are malls, there's your local department store, and then there's Harrods-a one of a kind experience! IMO not to be missed.

I'm not much for shopping on vacations, but I do enjoy Harrods. My first time I spent an afternoon there and found it absolutely facinating. The second time I was in London, I debated about going and decided to do a quick run through. I had forgotten how beautiful much of it is. The decor is quite splendid. I especially like the food hall. The first time I bought some Wedgewood and Liberty of London prints. I don't think I bought anything. I think it's one of those places you have to see. But only after you've done the major sites.

Go with a reason to Harrods and you will enjoy it. It is very crowed and expensive. But visit the restaurants and food bars and you may be suprised. The quality is outstanding eventho you may wait. When I was there the italian cafe had a opera singing chef that entertained all every now an them. It was a magic moment for me. The Diane and Dodi memorial may also interst visitors.

OK, so I guess it was just me. I was a little grouchy that day. As for the "shopping tour" idea-now that would be my idea of hell. The food halls were interesting, but we'd been to Borough Market a few days before, and I enjoyed that so much more.

Of all the touristy things we did, it was going to Harrod's that made me feel most like an out-of-towner, that I was being milked for all my money. But on the bright side-I never have to go again!

It wasn't until my third trip to London that Harrod's got high enough on my priority list to require a visit. I did think the food courts were kind of fun to wander around in and we enjoyed some pastries. Overall, it went on my list of " things I had to do once, but don't need to do again" It is right under Graceland, and before "The changing of the guard" at Buckingham Palace. If you only have a short time in London, there are probably better ways to spend your time. (Unless this is something you've always wanted to do.) Harmless fun.

We have been to London twice, both times our hotel was near Harrods so we popped in there quite a bit. My daughter and i both enjoy shopping, of course most things are out of our price range, but we expect that going in. We especially enjoyed the Christmas dept in Nov., bought some great memories, and the decorations and music make you feel special. We also found some things we couldn't find elsewhere, like the London monopoly game. Sure the food was overpriced, but there is alot more than food to see. Harrods is almost like a shopping museum, with free admission.

Waste of time other than the food courts, and even those are mostly a visual treat.

Just like most things, there are some who like Harrod's and some who don't. I've been to London many times and have never been to Madame Tussaud's. I doubt I ever will. (I"m sure this will be good for lots of flaming against me.)

Not that there's anything wrong with Madame Tussaud's, it just doesn't interest me. Yet I'm sure there area things that interst me that don't interest others.

I remember going through Buck House when it was first opened to the public after the Windsor fire. I felt like a sardine we were packed in to tight. You couldn't stop to look at anything. A waste of time in my mind...yet others raved about it.

To each his own.

I have enjoyed all my trips to Harrods. The first time I went was for the china sales. The last time was just to pick up some sugar cubes in The Pantry. I'll probably go every time I'm in town, even if it's just to look at the gawky tourists and have some hot chocolate. I meet the nicest people in the chocolate cafe whose name escapes me.

Oh Laurel, sounds heavenly~~hot chocalate at Harrods. Makes me want to go.

I am not a shopper, but my wife is. That being said, I really enjoy going to Harrod's every trip to London. I usually spend 3-4 hours just loking at different things. My favorite is the food court. I think when you travel one of the neatest things you can do is see how people eat and what they buy. I actually enjoyed "high tea", but there are places that are cheaper and maybe better. I don't spend a lot of money there, but to me it is pretty neat.

I had a very bad experience at Harrods during a visit there about two weeks ago and will NEVER go back. I had broken my leg this summer and was using a knee scooter instead of crutches to get around. When we entered Harrods I was informed that I could not use my knee scooter in the store and that I would have to check it at a baggage counter. They then informed me that I had to exit the store and walk around the outside of the store (in the rain) and enter a door on the opposite side of the store which was closer to the baggage claim counter. When my husband took the scooter to the baggage counter they informed him that we would have to pay to check it. At this point I was so irritated about how I was being treated that I nearly left the store. However, curiosity about the egyptian escalators and the store's reputation prevented me from leaving. Walking around the store with crutches was exhausting and painful (I also recently had surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands which is why I was using the knee scooter). I was also surprised that I could not use my knee scooter, which is a medical device, but yet there were many parents pushing strollers through the store. I was still so annoyed about the situation an hour or so later that I asked to speak to a manager and expressed my dissatisfaction with the way I had been treated. They then agreed not to charge for the baggage check but still did not allow me to use the scooter in the store. Now that my curiosity has been satisfied, I will never shop there again as a matter of principle.