Durham Escape Rooms — Attraction in Whitby

I did the Dr Manson Warwick escape room. The employees were great and really friendly but I did not enjoy the room and the set up.

I just finished reading another response to my review, and this own was way better. I don’t intend for the business to change the game. My review was more to warn others that prefer their escape room like my group and I. With clear direction to lead us to a clue. The comment about the ages of other past customers that were successful in completing the room did not need to be stated. All the owner had to say was “others have completed the room, so we deem it as a good room”. Stating the ages, of 8/9 year olds or 80+ was clearly meant in a condescending way. Also, because you know the ages of the members of my group. Also, the owner did not have to mention that my group asked certain question. I believe the owner stated that we asked for answers that we did not try to solve our selves, which is not true. All the owner had to say was, honestly, NOTHING. They could have said that maybe our group interpreting that employees as struggling with giving clues was maybe, “ the workers were trying to give you clues or answers without giving to much away”. My group and I were actually going to go back and try another room. Thinking that maybe that room was just not for us, but after these responses to my reviews, I will not be coming back. My issue isn’t with the staff or the games it’s self, but with not wanting to deal with owners who just don’t understand customer service. My review was for the purpose of constructive feedback. Such as, maybe for one of the clues to be made bigger, so those of us that don’t have perfect vision, can see it. Your own employee who assisted us with our first two clues, wore glasses, just like three of my five party members. We all struggled to see it. Maybe add more clear clues, so customers know which lock to belongs to which clue. Maybe also riddles that are leading. And maybe investing in walkie talkies, so you don’t have future complaints about clocks or wait time for clues. My first review was not meant to be taken as a “I hate this business” but as a warning for future customers and some tips for the business. My second review was to respond to the very condescending response I received. I did not interpret it the wrong way. It was rude and honestly disappointing that it was the owner that made that response. The response to my reviewed should have been, “sorry you didn’t enjoy the room, maybe there are a few tweaks we can make. But please come back and try another one of our rooms, perhaps (suggestion of another room) would be to more your liking”. My sister, who was with me, actually was a past customer before. She and her classmates did the tavern setting room and had a great experience. My group was going to come back and try that room next, but as I stated before, we will not be doing that. If that would have been the response, I would have gladly changed my review to something positive. But alas, I was not met with positivity so I did not give positivity. Me calling the owner narcissistic stands. The responses were snarky and passive aggressive. That is the behaviour of a narcissist when you criticize them. I will not email the owner privately because others should see and know who they are giving their money to and how they interact with customers. The owner should have de-escalated the situation but instead escalated it by their choice of words, which was intentional.

Hope this interaction teaches us both something about dealing with negative reviews...

Durham Escape Rooms provided a good experience for myself and as well as the entire group that I went with. The place exceeded our expectations and we are very happy that we chose to go here.

Facility: In our group, I have personally been to a few other escape rooms and I can say that they have a bigger place to accommodate a larger clientele. There are enough space to sit (or even just stand around). The place wasn’t too busy when we came and we didn’t have to wait for our room to be available. There are a few puzzles in the waiting area that people can try to solve, however the pieces are all mixed in so you won’t know which one is which.

Staff: The staff were really friendly and accommodating. They explained how everything worked and even told us a bit of a history regarding the place. The owner even mentioned that he has another business that we would really love to try out sometime. During the time that we were there, they tried to entertain new customers and as well as the people in the rooms asking for hints/clues. There were only two of them but they were able to manage to keep everyone happy with minimal wait time.

Rooms: The puzzle rooms are fairly large and can fit at least 5-7 adults. The room that we did, as I understand it, is an easy-medium difficulty. The puzzles flowed perfectly and the degree of difficulty is just right. The staff was very good in providing help (which we needed, twice.) BUT at the same time, they did not entirely lead us to a clue and let us figure it out for ourselves. The things used in the rooms are taken care of properly and everything was neatly and properly set-up when we started.

Price: The price for the experience is the same as most escape rooms. Most of them range from $15-$25 and this place falls around the middle of that. For the price that we paid, and the time and the fun factor --- I can honestly say that it was worth it.

In conclusion – Durham Escape Rooms is easily one of the best rooms that I have been to. They are nice and friendly to their customers and by the looks of it, are willing to go the extra mile to make sure that everyone who goes to their place will have a great experience. The only suggestion I can think of is to have different forms of puzzles (not the multiple pieces one that if one part gets lost, the whole thing is ruined) for people who are in the waiting room. I am going to go back to this place again and I will surely recommend this place to...

I have been here twice. Both times had problems that really ruined the experience of the game. Out of respect for the company and players who haven't tried, I'll try to be vague about my gripes. I did the villainous virtuoso room yesterday. Within the room, the attraction that brings the group together (the door) did not activate when we solved it. This caused us to look for more solutions to go with it, for at least 10 minutes. After that, we called for a clue. The staff came in and said, oh, it should've worked. Then left and came back to manually open the puzzle. We were promised more time, but since there was group that booked behind us, while we were in the room, we did not get our extra time. The staff came in after our time was up and walked us through what we missed, which I appreciate, but still was a let down. There is another puzzle within the room (keypad) that will time out if you don't put the code in fast enough. The problem is, there is no indication that it has timed out. After putting in the correct code, too slow, we spent majority of our time trying to get another code. We had to call for a hint and the staff just said put it in faster. If there was a clue such as "make sure you're fast" or "time is of the essence for this code" it would make the experience better. My group figured out the puzzle quickly, but was severely brought down in morale by this small problem. My last problem is that the overarching message you get multiple times is that "a magician never does a trick twice". This threw us off for a puzzle, as there are two doors that require the same trick to work in order for them to open. I have done about 4 escape rooms (2 at this establishment) and 2 at others. This experience, was definitely my worst, but I feel bad, because this room was definitely the best on paper. The tricks are very well thought out and would've been awesome to experience. For my other experience, a few months prior, I did the prohibition room. It was fun, but it needs better quality props that "zero" correctly, or the puzzle requires more leniancy for the number input. Overall, the staff is very nice, enthusiastic, and helpful. The room themes are very fun and unique. It was not worth 25$ a person for the experience though, because of the small let downs of the props sometimes...