"Overall 3.5 stars... stand out being the Bobbi Brown make up counter 4 stars. My personal experience ... 3 stars for the clothing and bags. 3.5 stars for the shoes. 4 stars for cosmetics (though it could be a regular 3 at times)\n\nWith luxury department stores lately, I am dreading to walk in... not because I worry for my wallet. My expectations for service is low... super low. Im expecting worse than Hudson Bay with noses upturned and side eyes looking at me. You know the stereotypes... judgmental and disinterested. Well this Holt Renfrew has surprised me lately. I'm not sure if they just got new staff in 2018 or that they've started to rehaul their service expectations.\n\nHolt Renfrew has many departments... men's, women's, children's, shoes, men's shoes, leather goods, jewelry, boutique stores, and the cosmetics area. This HR is large... quite large actually. It is also quite low on inventory in their clothing area. You can swing around with arms outstretched without hitting a single rack or piece of clothing for another metre. Long ago in HR Yorkdale, their inventory was vast and plentiful. I feel they made it TOO sparse here ... I appreciate big aisles but in the clothing rack area, it feels like they've dont have much offering.\n\nAs for the shoes area, much vastly improved! Lots of big open areas for you to sit... old HR was a cat fight to find a chair to try on shoes. Here you can easily see across the area and spot your perfect stiletto. \n\nAs for the make up area, I have to admit that you can receive a terrible experience if you got the wrong or indifferent person behind the counter. None of the shiny gleaming display cases can overcome a bored eye roll of an associate. I got lucky yesterday. At the Bobbi Brown counter, I met Shaheen. It was the first time in YEARS that I've gotten this type of careful and eager to please service from Holt Renfrew. \n\nI was looking for a foundation and Shaheen was right there immediately to offer some help. She was able to match me and offer alternatives to make sure it was the right one. We tried a few shades to make sure I got the right one. I was also given samples to try at home. She also was patient as I was asking questions about texture. She knew her products well. In addition to all of this, she gave me her card and offered any opportunity for me to drop in and pamper me with the full line. \n\nOverall, mostly mixed experiences in the past but this time around, I did have a great experience here. So maybe Canada's heritage brands are not lost in the mix afterall"^^ . "67"^^ . . . "4"^^ . . "2018-03-28T00:00:00"^^ . "35"^^ . "72"^^ .