Twenty-five years of marriage calls for a celebration. So, with this in mind, and a few short but essential meetings in the area, we booked a short stay in the Holiday Inn, Oxford so that we could be up and running the next day for a trip to Bicester Village which is, conveniently, only a twenty-ish minute car journey from the hotel.
For those of you who don’t know Bicester Village, it’s an open-air shopping destination where you can spend a morning, afternoon or day spending your hard earned cash on some of the most gorgeous designer fashions. The beauty being all your favourite brands are in one convenient place with plenty of parking.
We started our day, even though we’d enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the hotel, with a visit to The Apartment where we enjoyed an informative introduction to The Apartment and Bicester Village.
The Apartment at Bicester – yes, we were ready to move in
Let me first start with The Apartment. It’s a stunningly beautiful suite of VIP rooms where guests can book ahead of your visit to with a stylist who can search out the perfect item, or items, for you ahead of time, so when you arrive, you will already have some outfit suggestions waiting for you.
The décor is to die for, and you’ll certainly feel special in such lavish surroundings. No wondering where to put items, no struggling to change into them (the changing rooms are huge) and there are flattering mirrors where you can see yourself from every angle.
Bicester hands-free shopping is a genius concept
Another great addition to the Bicester offering is the Hands-Free Shopping service. Just let each shop/boutique know that you have availed yourself of the scheme and they will send the items to The Apartment for collection by the time you return. I love shopping but hate lugging lots of carriers around with me. Genius!
We enjoyed welcome drinks and pastries/cakes provided by Holy Carrot, the incredible plant-based dining experience new to Bicester Village. We were lucky enough to enjoy a talk by the founder of Holy Carrot, Irina Linovich and what an inspiration this woman is!
Holy Carrot Batman! Yes, it’s that good
Mark is your typical “bloke” and leans more towards a meat-based diet but, after he had sampled the pastries on offer, all plant based and cooked with sugar free sweeteners and plant-based flours, even he admitted to being impressed.
Paul Smith. Impossibly stylish and great prices at Bicester
It was then time for shopping! Typically, for us Welsh anyway, we had to duck in occasionally to avoid the showers but that didn’t stop us from doing some serious damage at Vans (one of Mark’s current faves) and Paul Smith (another favourite). Well, it was our 25th anniversary after all, so he deserved a treat!
The very cool Holy Carrot team
The skies cleared a little and we headed to the Holy Carrot’s beautiful airstream to enjoy a sumptuous lunch. Again, the presentation was out of this world. They say you eat with your eyes and Irina’s food looked too good to eat. Mark commented that had he not known that the offering was vegan, he wouldn’t have known that there was no meat involved and he would be more than happy to eat it again and again – it was so good!
We could have stayed for longer (that would have been a serious danger to my credit card), but we had another stop to make and had to say our goodbyes.
If you love designer shopping, don’t fancy a trip into London and all that could entail (tubes, hustle and bustle, sweaty changing rooms, more people etc. etc.), then Bicester Village is a pretty stylish alternative.
Jennifer Hobbs-Roberts and Irina Linovich
Bicester Village
50 Pringle Drive, Bicester
Oxfordshire OX26 6WD
01869 366266
enquiry@bicestervillage.com
For Hands-Free Shopping – concierge service
GuestConcierge@BicesterVillage.com
Socialising?
Use hashtag #BicesterVillage
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