SUMMARY
FOR
Modern design
Good range of plants
Healthy plants
Huge non-gardening shopping selection
Good range of greenhouses and sheds
AVERAGE
Cafe food
AGAINST
Tannoy sales announcements!
Entrance to Melbicks Garden Centre
The plant signs are large enough to guide you round the area and locate the plants you want quickly. To one side of this garden centre there is a display area for greenhouses and other garden buildings. The range on offer is extensive but on the expensive side.
THE PLANTS
You will find a large selection of plants at Melbicks and they are
all in good condition. See our notes in the price comparison below
which show plants at Melbicks Garden Centre are slightly higher
compared to other garden centres in the area.
All hardy plants come with a life time guarantee.
VIDEO OF MELBICKS GARDEN CENTRE
INSIDE MELBICKS GARDEN CENTRE
The non-gardening sales area at Melbicks is huge for a garden
centre. Clearly it is this most profitable area for this garden
centre. Several areas are set aside for clothing, there are lots of
cards and gift wrap, a huge amount of gifts and similar items.
There is a good Food Hall with lots of jams, cheeses, meats, wines and similar items. The aquatics centre stocks a full range of fish, tropical temperate and cold water. The range of aquatics products products is particularly impressive.
Most unusual is the large area given over to pets, including live animals, feeds and general pet products. The range has recently been enhanced to include bantams, guinea fowl, ducks and the humble chicken. Very impressive.
Melbicks have their own club card scheme (the Wyevale Garden Centre scheme) with various benefits for their members. Details of the club and a comparison with the clubs of other garden centres can be found by clicking here. If you are thinking of visiting this garden centre to make a purchase it may well be worth taking a look at their discounts and rewards.
The smallish outside seating area is set into the plants area and the tables and chairs are comfortable and attractive.
All the main meals are on display in a hot counter and on a normal day there three specials ranging from £6.50 to £8.00. Also included are a good range of burgers, salads, omelettes and paninis. These are all in the range £5 to £7. There are no claims in the cafe or on the website to indicate that the food is prepared and cooked on site and it didn't taste "home made" to us.
We were not particularly impressed with the cakes on offer. The range was distinctly limited and we rate the taste as slightly below average with above average prices.
Breakfast (£4 to £7) meals are served until late morning. All meals are served from the counters and the queues were small even at peak times. If you just want a coffee / tea and cakes then you can be served at a separate bar which avoids the main queue.
Overall we rate the cafe as about average but we were expecting rather more from a modern, very large garden centre such as Melbicks.
We rate different aspects of each garden centre and then give an overall rating. We adjust the ratings for garden centre size and purpose. So for example a small nursery which is average compared to other small nurseries will be awarded two and half stars. A large garden centre which is average compared to other large garden centres will also be awarded two and a half stars.
Note that the price ratings below is based on a limited range of sample prices.
MELBICKS GARDEN CENTRE RATINGS
| FACILITY BEING RATED | RATING |
| Plant quality |
 |
| Outside area layout |
 |
| Interior sales |
|
| Cafe food quality |
 |
| Cafe decor and atmosphere |
 |
| Prices |
 |
| Overall rating |
|
OTHER STUFF
Car park - Lots of space on flat ground
Pet Centre - A huge range of accessories and a goof range of live animals.
Aquatics - An excellent aquatics centre with a comprehensive range of fish, pond plants and accessories.
Water Features - A medium sized range of garden water features was on display
Sheds and Greenhouses - Excellent selection but rather pricey.
House Plants - Well, displayed and lots of them.
Wheelchair Access - Excellent all round.
Toilets - Ladies, gents, disabled and baby changing areas all very clean
Specialist Areas - Pets, both live animals, feed and accessories.
CONTACT DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS
Melbicks Garden Centre
Chester Road
Coleshill
Birmingham
Warwickshire
B46 3HY
Melbicks Garden Centre was part of the Garden and Leisure Group of garden centres which was acquired by Wyevale Garden Centres in September 2013.
Telephone
0844 288 5095
Website
Official website can be found
here.
Email: Use the general email form which can be found here.
8 May 2014
Reward cards are the
new Garden Centre gold dust ...
6 May 2014
Wyevale Garden Centres
plant lifetime guarantee ...
30 April 2014
Bosworth Garden
Centre building houses news.
27 March 2014
Wyevale Garden Centres
buys 140th ...
05 March 2014
Garsons spends
£2.4 million on food! ...
08 October 2013
Blue Diamond
takes Fermoy's lease ...
27 June 2013
Notcutts Bagshot
Waitrose plans
14 June 2013
GCG buys Barton
Grange, Bolton
21 May 2013
Sales down by
25%
for 2013 first quarter
REVIEWS LEFT BY OUR READERS
Today i attended with my brother and decided to pop into the cafe for a bowl of chips and a roll, the lady that served me said they had not got any rolls but we could have bread if we wanted, I ordered three slices. When i got to the till i was horrified when the lady gave me the bill and I was charged 0.59p for a slice of bread. i did check with the lady if it was correct as on the receipt it read, rest roll and butter 0.59 x 3 = £1.77p. I could have purchased a large branded loaf for that much, how can you justify this price it is extortionate.
I would be happy to hear your comments on the above please reply via email. A very disappointed customer,
Val Bigwood.
Receipt Details as follows. Date 7/01/2013 Time 13.56 Receipt 00313219026 Operator EB. Rating: 1
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