Simply Pleasure

Licensed, Previously Pirate of Soho

  Review from Mystery Shopper, December 2014: Exceptional Service

Premium DVDs are £25 (3 for £65), and standard £20 (3 for £50).

Simply Pleasure won my heart with staff for whom nothing was too much trouble.

Everything a licensed sex shop should be and more.

  Review from Mystery Shopper, March 2010: Attractive features

Has a massive range of magazines, toys and DVD's.

Premium DVDs are £25, standard £20 and there's a cheap box with £10 (or £5 when purchased with a full priced DVD).

A shop with many attractive features.

Licensed, previously She n Me

  Reader's review: An excellent little shop

An excellent little shop. Lingerie, costumes and lots of fetish clothing in PVC, rubber and leather, toys and videos/magazines downstairs.  Very friendly, helpful proprietor, who also keeps a discreet distance while you browse.

  Reader's review: Fantastic

fantastic little shop...

•  upstairs is fetish clothing, their speciality [massive range]
• downstairs is videos and toys [massive range] and some bdsm mags

Cheerful and helpful owner, knows his stuff, he's respected in the community too. went in for a browse and spent two hours chatting! Shop is couple-friendly too, well lit and not seedy at all. 10/10

FIFTY & DEAN

50 Old Compton St
Soho
London
W1D 4UB

Daily: 11am-10pm

Tel: 0207 494 4798

www.simplypleasure.com
 

A licensed gay interest store which is part of the SimplyPleasure chain. Previously DV8

 Review from ETO's Mystery Shopper, December 2012: Excellent atmosphere

The shop retains the excellent atmosphere, fittings and fixtures of the previous owners, DV8. An almost boutique feel.

There was a large range of DVDs at £20 and £25 with multi-buy deals too.

A top flight shop!

Licensed

  From ETO's Mystery Shopper, July 2014: Beyond charming

The manageress was beyond charming.

The stock was broad and interesting.

R18 DVDs are £15 to £25. There is also a 3 for the price of 2 deal on DVDs and toys

Licensed, Previously The Adult Store

 From ETO's Mystery Shopper, August 2012: Large and friendly

DVDs are mostly £30 with a 3 for the price of 2 deal.

The shop was fun to visit with a friendly manageress. A really engaging licensed adult shop.

  Reader review:

The Adult Store is a fairly new addition to the list and is a much more pleasant shop to visit. The shop outdoes the others on the magazine side, with a massive selection available, particularly the Buttman and Hustler / Barely Legal range at reasonable prices.

  From the Shop:

We have actually been licensed since September 02, and have just renewed our licence this Tuesday with no problems. Bournemouth's biggest, brightest, cleanest and keenest sex shop.

Licensed, Previously known as Uncut

  From ETO's Mystery Shopper, August 2012: Compact and friendly

DVDs are mostly £30 with a 3 for the price of 2 deal. There are also older titles at £15 each.

The shop is clean, compact, friendly, convenient and has character.

Visiting this shop is a naughty treat and this is a top recommendation.

  From Leo

The shop is in a modern unit on an easily accessible trading estate just outside Cannock and Hednesford.

Good parking outside the front, very well laid out, clean, airy and great stock of R18 video/DVD, all sorts of toys, clothing etc.

They cater for all manner of tastes and their pleasant and helpful staff that make you feel comfortable.

Previously known as Adult Play Things

The manager gave a textbook perfect welcome and offer of help.

A respectable range of £30 DVD and £15 older titles. 3 for 2 offers apply for multiple buys.

My favourite store of the day.

Licensed. Previously Adult X

  Review from Gerry, Nov 2011: A Good Shop

A good shop as per your reviews, and now with a new lady manager.

There's a good selection of DVDs, both at full price, and 3 for 30 pounds.

  Review from Andy, Feb 2009: Friendly and Helpful

I have purchased a few items from this store and although it is a little small it is a pleasant shop to visit.

The goods are displayed in 2 different rooms, adult toys etc in the first room and DVD's mags etc in the second room.

All the staff I have encountered have been friendly and helpful.

  Review from Gus, Sept 2008: Right at Ease

Just been to one simply pleasure store at Bondgate, Darlington, first time in a sex shop the young female assistant was brilliant.

She made me feel right at ease and was very helpful and attended all my needs will defo go back there.

Licensed, Previously Aphrodite

  Review from ETO's Mystery Shopper, September 2013: Busy, bright and attractive

The inside was busy, bright and attractive. As was the great manageress.

DVDs were £30 with a 3 for the price of 2 offer available.

  Review from Greg, December 2012: Very Friendly Staff

Very friendly staff.

The shop does discount DVDs and trade-ins.

However not much in the way of magazines. They have stopped doing them almost altogether now with just the odd one or two on sale.

Previously Love Shack

  Thanks to Richard, December 2005: The biggest and brightest

Simply Pleasure is probably the biggest and brightest sex-shop in the south-west. The staff are courteous and helpful and never do that irritating - hovering behind you "are you looking for anything in particular, sir" - routine. It's a nice shop.

They don't stock many porn mags because at the other end of town is the excellent "Read&Return" bookshop which has a really big porn mag section at the back of the shop -buy new or used.

For hardcore dvd's though, Simply Pleasure is well stocked. Prices as I recall are £45 each or £60 for 2 ( not sure tho) which is a lot, but you can return a dvd (with receipt!) to get a 50% credit on another one. It's the sex-toys that are the main feature of the shop - prices are high (as is always the case if you don't buy mail-order), but they make a point of trying to stock good quality sex-toys that really work ( ask them about the new high tech multi- feature vibrators!). Top marks also for being female/couples friendly.

The shop is difficult to find if you don't know your way around Exeter so take a street map (don't say I didn't warn you!) but there is a small pay-parking zone just outside the shop which is very convenient. One last thing - you might want to take your own bag if you are a little self-concious. They may have changed plastic bag designs by now, but the old "love-shack" branded plastic bags were anything but discreet!

Licensed

  Review from Al, May 2009: Best in Hull

This is in my opinion the best adult shop in Hull. It is situated directly opposite the train and bus station and has the best prices.

The best thing about this shop is that the woman who runs it REALLY knows what she is doing...sadly she employs a woman who often has trouble finding the DVDs for the empty case you've chosen, and an irritating man who asks if you're alright every 2 minutes without fail which gets very annoying. The owner is extremely friendly though, you can ask her anything and she will not embarrass you and make sure you know that she's heard much worse!

The amount of toys is quite small compared to Pulse & Cocktails, but they are generally far cheaper and the buy 2 toys, get 1 half price deal is hard to beat.

There are also fantastic deals on pre-owned DVDs... £15 per dvd or 3 for £30 on most used DVDs and £10 per DVD or 3 for £25 on the others.

I would definitely recommend all Hull residents who are interested in this sort of thing visit it before anywhere else!

 Licensed

Licensed

  Press coverage, January 2014: Bright and Clean

People think sex shops are just for weirdos and perverts. But, really, this is just like any other store. It's bright and clean. It's just that we sell a different product.

By Andy Brewin, Simply Pleasure's shop manager in Leicester

Licensed. Previously Adult X

 Review from ETO's Mystery Shopper, October 2014: Five Star

The manageress couldn't have been more helpful.

DVDs were mostly £35 with a 3 for the price of 2 offer. Others were £30.

Not quite perfect but still mighty impressive.

  Thanks to Emma: Very cheery

I've only been in once to look for fetish wear..

The Lady who (as far as I'm aware) owns the shop is very cheery, very helpful and a great laugh.

She even offered myself and my friend a cup of tea and biscuits.

Licensed. Previously Adult X

Licensed

  From Philip, February 2006: And the Choosing is Easy

The As a change I tried 'Simply Pleasure' in Loughborough, which happens to be only 200 yards from the Private shop.

I recall the lady who ran Chameleon saying 'You should see how much a DVD costs up the road!', implying they were expensive. Well, if they were, there's nothing like a little competition to lower the prices.

The shop suffers, as does its competitor, from the lack of decent parking. You're limited to finding a gap in the side streets; the shop in question is exactly on the apex of the junction of the main roads, so you have to find some parking in the roads behind the shop and walk a little.

Once you've made the effort and found somewhere to park, it's worth it. The shop has a small entrance partitioned off from the rest of the shop. Once in, it's brightly lit and all in one room. There is a great selection of DVDs (all major studios) and most tastes are catered for. They ask £30 per DVD but buy 2 and you get one free, so its 3 for £60 which is the price you can expect to pay in most shops now.

There seems to be a good selection of toys and mags, though they were not my main focus on my visit. They had a good selection of 'Score' DVDs, so if you're into big tits, this shop is for you. The guy behind the counter was friendly without being over the top.

I'll go again, it was well laid out and made choosing easy.

Licensed, previously Promises, Promises

Licensed. Previously Playmates

Having recently visited the shop in Northampton I was pleased at the bright interior and layout.

The manager Lisa left me to myself when browsing which I was happy with and I was impressed by the selection of DVDs available.

Downstairs has a good selection of DVDs and a good number of magazine titles as well as the range from we-vibe, whilst upstairs is a slightly limited range of vibrators, strap-ons, bondage equipment and fetish outfits. It's a small space up there, they fill it quite well.

I asked Lisa if she could order a couple of titles they didn't have and she looked into it and found she could. The DVDs arrived a couple of days later and were included in the three for £50 deal they have on. They have started offering 7 DVDs for a hundred and are doing a loyalty card along the lines of buy ten at full price, get one free. Two stamps for fifty pounds and so on...

All in all the shop is well laid out, the manager is very helpful and the shop well located.

As with all sex shops across Northampton, Simply Pleasure in Wellingborough Road currently has a blanked-out front window.

But the Dorset-based firm applied to Northampton Borough Council for permission to show off lingerie and “club wear” in its window and, despite concerns, the authority’s licensing committee this week approved the plans.

Licensed

  From Gavin: Friendly & Helpful

This shop is a very clean, friendly and helpful place. It has a joint car parking area. When I went in I was surprised at how bright and colourful the place was. Their was also a friendly atmosphere. Their was also women who were shopping in there as well as couples (they outnumbered the single men).

The number of sex related things to buy ranged from video's/dvd's, books, magazines, clothes (stocks sizes for the larger ladies) to toys and novelty items (i.e. games and party toys).

The shop itself as two floors with the videos and magazines upstairs whilst the clothes, toys and novelty items on the ground floor. At the time of opening it was the UK's biggest. Its been open for about 5 or 6 months now.

Video's and dvd's are generally priced at £24.95, which is a good price. I noticed they have all the latest video's and dvd's catering for most tastes (i.e. hetro, gay, transsexual etc).

As I mentioned earlier the range of clothes is amazing. From casual lingerie to fetish clothes covering all sizes and shapes. The sex toys available was huge, covering a wall display, and also priced reasonably.

They also had a bondage room (which I didn't go in but could see from the main upstairs room). I assume you can buy bondage gear there.

The staff were friendly and helpful. The whole atmosphere was very relaxing and I didn't have a feeling that I was being watched (which does happen in some sex shops, usually if your the only customer).

I recommend it.

  Readers comments: Fabulous

This was my second visit to a store of this type the first being a disaster (Private shop) this visit could not have been more different, lovely people , male and female staff and lots of them, they had so much knowledge it was almost overwhelming my partner was completely at ease in many ways more than I,  and the stock selection was huge it was like HMV when I asked I was told there were over 2700 titles in dvd and vhs totalling some 22000 items .......a fabulous place.

  From the Independent: Ann Summers of the North

The town's newest shop is the creation of Suzanne Winfield, 42, who is quietly laying claim to the title of the Ann Summers of the North.

Her store, Simply Pleasure is second only to the Hustler store on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, in an industry where size definitely matters.

The 3,000sq ft Oldham store raked in more than £40,000 in its first week – with customers spending an average of £50 a time.

Winfield wanted to offer clothes and videos in a store with windows and shopping baskets. Her Bury establishment turned over more than £1m to 31 January. we wanted it orientated towards the women, she said, armed with customer analysis. A 71% majority of her sex shop customers are couples – most of whose purchase decisions are led by women; 22% are women shopping on their own and just 7%are men.

There's already evidence of the same trend in Oldham, where a "soft" Ann Summers-style ground floor leads to the first floor with videos and an S&M parlour. Last week, 70% of videos were sold to women or couples.

Her insistence on providing free drinks and leather couchettes to recline in on the "hard core" floor delivers the uninitiated into the realms of the bizarre, as they sip coffee to the sights and sounds of a pornographic video. The multitude of books for sale in the coffee area – including The Function of the Orgasm or Mars & Venus in the Bedroom – gives the shop something of a Waterstones atmosphere. But there are no hard-core magazines. They're a kick-back to mucky bookshops, said Winfield.

Licensed

Licensed

Licensed. Previously Cupid's Shop

  From ETO Mystery Shopper, July 2011: Comprehensive range

A busy shop with space to offer a comprehensive range.

R18 DVDs were priced at £25 with a multi-buy price of 3 for 2.

  From Simply Pleasure, Sept 2008: Forces Discount

Yes we do try to make everyone welcome and comfortable when they visit.

Our opening hours have been revised Mon-Sat 10-7.

We also give 10% to forces personnel with I.D.

  Review from Keith, My 2007: Well Priced

The store is well-located with two multi-storey car parks bang opposite.

Store is nicely laid out and well-stocked.

I was a little disconcerted to see a middle-aged lady behind the counter, but she was very helpful and did not make me feel at all uncomfortable; that said I was buying "ben wa" balls for my wife - might have been a bit more embarrassed if buying a doll or pussy!!

My purchase was very well-priced, even better than the lowest-priced similar item on their website. (I noted that the prices were the same in store and on their site, which I think in excellent). However costumes & lingerie did seem a tad expensive - there was on outfit on the "sale" rack for 25quid which I've just bought (admittedly on eBay, but as a new item) for a tenner including postage - had the store gear been say 15 or 16 that would seem fair.

I'd certainly shop there again, and would feel quite comfortable taking my wife into the store. Out of interest I walked past an Ann Summers after I went into Simply Pleasure, and the item I bought for 4.50, and for which other versions we're available at Simply Pleasure for 6.99 were a tenner in Ann Summers.

Licensed

   From ETO's Mystery Shopper, November 2013: Exceptional Store

An exceptional store for all the right reasons. Well organised and well presented.

There's a large selection of £25 R18s, with a 3 for the price of 2 deal.

All set off by Low pressure, High-help manageress, for whom nothing is too much trouble.

  From the Mystery Shopper, June 2006: Presentable

Just a minute from Swansea's retail heart and a fairly standard sex shop.

DVDs were £40 each, £60 for 2, £100 for 4)

Well-arranged displays of fetish clothing.

Far from great, but a generally presentable store.

Licensed. Previously Harmony.

Licensed

  Reader review, April 2011: 5 out of 5

Torquay Simply Pleasure is in easy reach of the town centre.

Once inside the small store there is lots to see and buy. There are lots of toys and outfits in this store.

3 DVDs for £60 plus 3 free mags can't be bad and any yellow sticker for a fiver with the bundle.

The girls are very helpful and will order anything.

My only moan is that they don't do Digital Playground DVDs but I'm sure they will stock them soon.

Apart from that, Simply Pleasure get five out five.

Licensed

  From Kieran

On visiting Watford's only licensed sexshop (featured on Channel 5's Gender Swap with Rebbecca Loos) I was pleasantly surprised!

The shop is stocked from top to bottom with an amazing variety of toys.. Rampant Rabbits take pride of place with lots of different colours, sizes and designs! I would hazard a guess that there are at least 150 different types of vibrators for women alone, which pleased my wife!

Then for me they had a large variety of pumps and vaginas! That's not to mention the whole top shelf surrounding the shop being home for realistic dolls of all sizes! The Manageress behind the counter was very friendly and able to give us great advice about everything we asked her! she was very confident and not at all intimidated by my query of how a penis enlarger worked! As well as all this they have a wide selection of lingerie, bondage equipment and DVD's and VHS all well priced!

I was really pleased with my visit and between myself and the manageress we managed to persuade my wife to give the 'Love Swing' a whirl which she know tells all her friends about!!!
We cant wait to go again!

Licensed

Licensed, previously Adult Play Things

  Review from the Mystery Shopper December 2014: Staff were excellent

The male and female staff were excellent.

There were DVDs for £25 with multibuys of 3 for the price of 2.

An unusual lack of music but nice nevertheless.

  Review from Gerry, February 2013: Helpful

Simply had a good choice of reduced price DVDs and a helpful lady manager.

  Review from the Mystery Shopper Sept 2010: Premiere League

A cheery welcome from the shop manager.

Mainline DVDs at 25.00 with 3 for 2 offer. A decent cheaper range at 15.00.

A decent range of toys