Waterstones Reviews Summary

Layout and Design

Pros:

• "The interior design of this store is amazing and manages to somehow combine the best of modern and traditional layouts to give a fabulous browsing experience."
• "This Waterstone's branch is better than the one in Edinburgh. It's lighter and has a more interesting layout."
• "The basement is particularly nice, inspiring even, with a cafe at its centre."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately, the street outside is in the worst state I've ever seen, in the 1970s this was a fantastic area."

Café and Refreshments

Pros:

• "Cafe W is also my go-to cafe for when I need to do a bit of work and also a change of scenery! Both the upstairs + basement cafes are lovely and the staff are courteous and attentive."
• "Their hot chocolate drinks were too sweet for me but the simple latte was just perfect hit ✨ the snacks and lemonade were also really tasty."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately, so disappointed to see tables left uncleared of people's dishes, coffee cups etc."
• "And the toilets are totally disgusting and uncared for."

Customer Service

Pros:

• "Had a fantastic experience with Waterstones. The customer service was top-notch, and the product was just what I needed."
• "Helpful staff who love to discuss books."

Cons:

• "The girl (who I think was a new start so no criticism to her) downstairs beside the educational department was unaware how to use the gift card we had."

Book Selection

Pros:

• "A must for books lovers! The only book chain that has the best offer of printed books still, unlike all bookshops in the USA and Canada… Waterstones resists selling digital books."
• "Incredibly large bookstore with an amazing selection of books. I was able to find quite a few ones that I have been unable to find elsewhere."

Cons:

• "It was great the only reason I took off a star is that a lot of books had damage and when asked for a replacement they only had more slightly damaged books."

Atmosphere and Experience

Pros:

• "Very spacious w/ a big selection of books! I could literally spend hours at this place."
• "This is a wonderful place to spend time. The photos show the basement café area with access to books at the same level and a mezzanine."

Cons:

• "Recently they removed almost all of the cosy sofas where you can test read and touch and smell some of the paper of real books."

Accessibility and Convenience

Pros:

• "They have charging ports almost everywhere. The self-service was a great thing at a place like this."
• "Oh! not to forget; their wi-fi is super fast and steady and unlimited to use."

Cons:

• "A few books not priced, and some I couldn't find - so back to online searches."