Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet is easy to find, straight off the M53 motorway and it’s right there. It is a huge shopping centre and almost exactly what you might find in America offering big discounts on leading designer and high street products.
Cheshire Oaks – A McArthur Glen Designer Outlet is situated in a circular village style with just about every high street and designer label you can think of. There are 135 stores and 12 restaurants as well as numerous food kiosks dotted around the site offering us the perfect chance to do some retail therapy during our 2 night break to Cheshire.
I recommend that you sign up for the McArthur Glen Cheshire Oaks VIP club, this is free to do online and being a member allows you to access extra discounts when shopping. All you need to do is show the visitor centre your welcome email and in return you receive a coupon book full of VIP discounts.
The main attractions for us were Ralph Lauren, Gant, Joules, Monsoon, Lindt, Sketchers, Superdry, Ugg and Tommy Hilfiger. Please visit the Cheshire Oaks website for an extensive list of shops.
The girls loved shopping for shoes at the Sketchers outlet and had some big savings on shoes and trainers and with our extra VIP discount we had even more bargains at the Joules outlet
If you can I would advise to arrive early to avoid the crowds however there are lots of parking options available. On the bank holiday Monday we visited first thing and there was plenty of parking and the shops were quiet. By 11 am the cars were queuing on entry slip roads from the motorway. However parking is free and there are over 3000 spaces available.
The huge Ralph Lauren outlet is a big attraction for shoppers and again I would recommend that this is your first visit because of its popularity and gets very very busy. However you can get some serious bargains here with up to 70% off especially when used in conjunction with any VIP discounts
Because it was a bank holiday, which as expected was very busy by luck we managed to be seated straight away in Patisserie Valerie which offered good service and food for a lunchtime snack.
There is a good choice of restaurants including Giraffe, Wagamama, Thornton’s Café, Pizza Express, McDonalds, Costa Coffee, but if you go to the retail park next door – the Coliseum – there is a much better choice and the queues are not as big so think of this as an option if you visit during peak periods.
Within Cheshire Oaks is a fabulous play area for the kids to stop and play which was a welcome distraction for them from the shops!
For families there were plenty of facilities including baby changing stations, child friendly restaurants with baby food heating and high chairs (would recommend Giraffe) and cool child cabs for hire.
McArthur Glen has six outlets in the UK at Ashford, Cheshire Oaks near Chester, Bridgend, East Midlands near Nottingham, Swindon and York. Having been to their outlets at Bridgend, Livingston and Swindon in my opinion this is the biggest and best McArthur Glen outlet in the UK, and is very similar to the likes of Bicester Village near Oxford and Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth.
Getting to Cheshire Oaks is very easy as it has very good transport links. It is located off junction 10 of the M53 and is close to the city of Chester, Chester Zoo and the Blue Planet Aquarium. This makes Cheshire Oaks a great destination for visitors to incorporate some shopping into your short break which is what we did during our visit to Chester Zoo and our hotel break at the Village St David’s Park.
Next to the Cheshire Oaks Outlet is the coliseum with restaurants and coffee shops. There is also a plethora of high street shops including: Debenhams, Boots, River Island and Next. There is also a Vue cinema, bowling and indoor golf complex. A few minutes away is a big Marks and Spencer store.
If you haven’t been then I would recommend Cheshire Oaks as a fantastic shopping and leisure outlet with some serious bargains to be had! It is now one of my favourite shopping destinations in the UK.