Legendary London Shops - Harrod's
February 4th 2008 20:09
Like Buckingham Palace, the Eye, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and the Tower of London, Harrods is on every London visitor’s list.
The grand old sepia stone department store, with its dark green awnings, is a Knightsbridge landmark and its name is synonymous with luxury, quality, variety, impeccable service and expense.
Harrods began its life in 1849 when Henry Charles Harrod opened his small grocery store on Brompton Road. As it provided high quality merchandise and superior service, the store’s popularity spread rapidly. Before long Harrods had grown to fill the surrounding block and its range of goods had expanded to cover a phenomenal variety. It was often claimed that the new department store could supply anything from a packet of pins to an elephant.
Today’s Harrods, with Mohammed El Fayed at the helm, has come a long way from Henry Charles Harrod’s little grocery store. It has 300 departments and a staff of 4000. Its décor is lavish and glitters with gilt and glass. There are feature rooms, like the opulent Egyptian room. Luxury halls sparkle with jewellery and crystal. The parfumerie and cosmetics department sprawls across half of its ground floor, stocks every imaginable brand and has a mega-force of impeccably painted beaming glamourettes strategically posted with atomizers and sample cards. The fashion departments, both men’s and women’s, meander across entire floors with rack after rack of fabulous grand marque clothes guarded by decisive black-clad demi-gods and goddesses with expert fashion eyes. The Food Hall, decorated with Edwardian tiles, has sumptuous arrangements of fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables and the displays in the chocolaterie are exquisite. The colours and the smells are tantalising, delicious, dizzying.
There’s no question, Harrods is a wonderful place to shop. While I didn’t uncover an elephant, or even a packet of pins for that matter (although I’m certain they are there probably in some fabulous guise or disguise) the range and variety was truly staggering. The service was impeccable and the quality of the merchandise, too, was as solid as Harrod’s reputation. Unfortunately, the enormous choice posed quite a dilemma for a ditherer like me and the rather high prices posed quite a challenge to my wallet. Fortunately, Harrods is an equally wonderful place to browse.
Harrods of Knightsbridge
The grand old sepia stone department store, with its dark green awnings, is a Knightsbridge landmark and its name is synonymous with luxury, quality, variety, impeccable service and expense.
Harrods began its life in 1849 when Henry Charles Harrod opened his small grocery store on Brompton Road. As it provided high quality merchandise and superior service, the store’s popularity spread rapidly. Before long Harrods had grown to fill the surrounding block and its range of goods had expanded to cover a phenomenal variety. It was often claimed that the new department store could supply anything from a packet of pins to an elephant.
Today’s Harrods, with Mohammed El Fayed at the helm, has come a long way from Henry Charles Harrod’s little grocery store. It has 300 departments and a staff of 4000. Its décor is lavish and glitters with gilt and glass. There are feature rooms, like the opulent Egyptian room. Luxury halls sparkle with jewellery and crystal. The parfumerie and cosmetics department sprawls across half of its ground floor, stocks every imaginable brand and has a mega-force of impeccably painted beaming glamourettes strategically posted with atomizers and sample cards. The fashion departments, both men’s and women’s, meander across entire floors with rack after rack of fabulous grand marque clothes guarded by decisive black-clad demi-gods and goddesses with expert fashion eyes. The Food Hall, decorated with Edwardian tiles, has sumptuous arrangements of fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables and the displays in the chocolaterie are exquisite. The colours and the smells are tantalising, delicious, dizzying.
There’s no question, Harrods is a wonderful place to shop. While I didn’t uncover an elephant, or even a packet of pins for that matter (although I’m certain they are there probably in some fabulous guise or disguise) the range and variety was truly staggering. The service was impeccable and the quality of the merchandise, too, was as solid as Harrod’s reputation. Unfortunately, the enormous choice posed quite a dilemma for a ditherer like me and the rather high prices posed quite a challenge to my wallet. Fortunately, Harrods is an equally wonderful place to browse.
| 82 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by AmyHuang
Sydney Table
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
Comment by Patricia
Travel Stripe