text: Although not nearly as bad as the Debenhams in Edinburgh's city centre, House of Fraser is a strong contender for second prize in the terrible department store stakes. The ground floor houses the 'premium' cosmetics counter, but browsing is not a luxurious experience that makes you want to buy into the glamour of the brands - the place is badly lit and the assistants either don't seem to be interested in serving you or are so desperate to sell you things that you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been starved of human contact for days on end. The basement which houses the young fashion section (Oasis, Ted Baker, Warehouse etc) doesn't fare much better, again it's badly lit, the assistants seem disinterested and it always seems to be a bit of a mess. The shopping in Edinburgh has improved vastly in recent years, so I don't see why anyone would ever have any cause to enter this nightmare of a shop.