Overall fun, though management and upkeep were lacking.
While the theme and overall puzzle play of Alcatraz were good, the execution of the room wasn't great. The white board and marker were basically useless as the marker was almost completely dry. Many props were either old, falling apart, or starting to become unreadable. Papers/clues that were laminated were starting to fall apart and those that weren't laminated were all crinkled. One of the clues was literally not even reset/put back where it was supposed to which made it even more confusing when we tried to find a clue in the location where it was originally supposed to be. This small piece was literally just sitting on the sink and not in the proper location.
The second room had potential but was the worst. First off (IMPORTANT), there really needs to be a disclaimer if any crawling or physically different types of movement are necessary. Individuals with disabilities or bad backs won't be able to participate to the full extent and this really should be known upon booking the room. The lack of transparency doesn't promote inclusivity. However, it IS cool though for folks who can manage getting on their hands and knees.
Escape rooms should never have to rely on the host/guide giving you any number combinations or crucial solving information (hints yes, answers no). There's a part in the second room (involving buttons and lights) that made sense to solve, however, once we did so, our host just told us part of a number combination. The numbers/code should have been revealed to players instead of our host just getting on the walkie talkie and telling us to remember a code (maybe something was broken?). Then there's the part with the pipes, which was the worst! I get it and it's clever, though way more difficult and unclear than it needs to be. Without giving things away, it was just a poorly executed puzzle where pieces didn't quite logically "fit" or even stay in place with the m****** (also kind of dangerous with the weight involved when they won't hold strong...I'm imagining kids or shorter individuals getting hurt if those things fell). Adding a few other end/connector pieces would make more logical sense and using foam props would be much better, safer, and easier.
The third room had some cool elements and reveals. The wires were great! The folders could be better organized and created to fit the needs of an escape room (each folder can be a laminated booklet with the pages in the correct order such that nothing can be unintentionally taken out of place). There's ways to do it without relying on the host telling us not to touch/go through these items until we have the correct information to do so.
Final Thoughts:
I know this is a critical review, though that doesn't mean it still wasn't enjoyable. We escaped with time to spare and left smiling. Getting together with friends on a Saturday night for an escape room is awesome and we still had fun! It just didn't meet our expectations of a well executed/organized escape room with a diverse array and clarity of puzzles. I don't mind difficult puzzles; they just need to eventually make clear sense and not be falling apart or out of place.
It's frustrating that there's not a clock in any of the rooms; and not once did our guide tell us how much time we had left unless we asked. Our guide also switched a couple of times (different voices on walkie talkies) which made things a tad confusing with the information we were asking help on. This is less of a big deal, though just something that caught us off guard and added to the confusion of the specific puzzle we were already confused about.
I understand that times are difficult right now when it comes to employment, however, it seems that the company is lacking management (though hopefully it's just the night we went). No one was at the front desk when we walked in or managing any noise from other rooms or patrons in the lobby (i.e. you could hear players in the escape rooms and screaming children running around in the lobby around us wasn't fun). There's also poor signage outside which makes it difficult to find where to go after the valet service. YES, they do offer free valet service after 4PM (works off of tips) which was really nice given the difficult of finding parking. Thank you for that!
Would we come back here? Probably not. Though that's not to say other won't have a great time!
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Apr 2022
We appreciate your very honest review. We do understand some of our props are getting up their age and it is on our list to upgrade that room. We are currently undergoing a huge expansion of 2,000 square foot which we are currently focused on. We do apologize for the inconveniences there.
We do realize that sometimes we have to have other people give you the clues if a customer walks into our establishment and we were probably probably understaffed as well. We apologize for the confusion there as well. There unfortunately is not anything we could do about screaming kids either. We'd tell them to settle down but we just want our customers to have a good experience.
We hope we can create a better atmosphere for you if you come back again. Thank you kindly.