Harrods

My husband is a total non-shopper.  He rarely steps inside a store or buys anything that isn't an absolute necessity.  As such, it has taken me 2 1/2 years to find an opportunity to visit Harrods - London's ultimate department store.  I hadn't been to Harrods in several years and had forgotten what a delightful place it is to visit.  Whether you like shopping or not, Harrods is worth a visit. The Egyptian Hall, the food court, being serenaded as you ride the escalator, and the people watching are a total delight and require no shopping to enjoy.  Next time I go, I'm taking my husband -- I'm sure he'll get a kick out of this venerable British institution.  

Harrods is located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.

Harrods was established in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod. It began  in a single room and with two assistants and a messenger boy.  It mainly sold tea and groceries.

Harrods steadily expanded and by 1880 was a thriving department store, offering everything from medicines and perfumes to clothing and food.  It attracted wealthy customers such as Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Laurance Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Sigmund Freud, A. A. Milne, and many members of the Royal family. 

In 1883 when a fire destroyed the store but this did not slow down the owners.  They rebuilt the store, with the help of architect Charles William Stephens, into what it is today featuring a frontage clad in terracotta tiles adorned with cherubs, swirling Art Nouveau windows and topped with a baroque-style dome.

Known for its grandeur, when the store reopened after the fire it was the place to shop in London.  Today it retains much of its Victorian grander and is palatial -- more than a million square feet, 7 floors and 330 departments and has 15 million customers each year.

Harrods became a public company in 1889 and in 1959, High Street department store group House of Fraser bought Harrods. In 1985 the store returned to private ownership when Egypt-born Mr Al Fayed and his brother Ali bought Harrods and House of Fraser. 

For over a century the food court at Harrods has been world renown,  You can buy anything at at Harrods, especially at the Food Court. Cheese mongers, butchers, fruit stands, baked goods, the chocolate hall, tea...the list is endless.  I could spend a whole day in Harrods food court.  Not only is the food beautiful but the halls, the decorations, and the displays are simply  gorgeous.

 Harrods featured on of the world's first escalator In 1898. Nervous customers were offered a sip of brandy at the top. 

If you ride the escalator, you might find yourself serenaded by an opera singer singing "Ave Maria".  That is what happened to me on my visit last week.

Mr Al Fayed is known for adding his own personal touches to the store, such as the beautiful Egyptian Room that is adorned with several busts of himself and the Egyptian decorations on the escalator and at the top floor of the store. 

Shortly after the death of his son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in August 1997, Mr Al Fayed created a memorial to the couple in basement floor of the store. In the triangle here you can see the  a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as what is described as an engagement ring Dodi purchased the day before they died.

There is another memorial just across from the first one that was installed in  2005 and is entitled "Innocent Victims".  It is a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross. . Al-Fayed said he wanted to keep the pair's "spirit alive" through the statue.

Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things for All People Everywhere.  At one time Harrods bragged that you could buy anything there, including a live tiger if that is what you wanted. Today Harrods is best known for luxury items, designer clothes, the food court, polite and well dressed sales associates, and being very, very pricey.  If you have to look at how much something costs there, you probably can't afford it. 

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