Vertical Adventures — Attraction in Columbus

After having first experienced rock climbing at Cleveland Rock Gym a couple weeks back I decided to try out this gym with three of my friends with the open climb $25/5 climbs. We walk into the gym and were super excited looking at the tall routes to climb. However we were quickly disappointed. What they don't tell you is that they have already chosen the sections of rock you are going to climb. (This was is sharp contrast to Cleveland where we had freedom of choice to all the walls in the place.) The instructor assigned to us walked us to the (super short and easy) starting wall grabbed a rope and told us to climb. We were given no choice to choose another route on the wall and then were told that this counted as one of our five climbs. Then we were led to a slightly higher wall and I asked if I could choose the section of the wall. She let me but after I climbed my friends were told they had no choice but to climb the section I chose. Never mind that the whole wall was empty of people. Finally our last three climbs were pre-chosen and not difficult with no overhangs or steep angles. Plus bouldering is $14 dollars extra where in Cleveland it is included. The only thing this gym has on Cleveland is the height of the walls. I would only recommend this place for experienced climbers as they have freedom to...

Left this place disappointed. While the facilities are awesome and the fellow climbers are very nice, the customer service is extremely sub-par and largely the reason I do not feel inclined to come back. We weren’t greeted when we entered and we weren’t thanked when we left. Even the front desk at Planet Fitness ALWAYS does this. Basic customer service ok. The instructor seemed like he didn’t have time for us, having an annoyed demeanor. We were under the impression we would learn both the auto and belay ropes, though we weren’t taught the ropes and spent the majority of our time wandering around the facility wondering what to do after we did the 3 beginner auto rope climbs. The surrounding climbers were much more helpful than any staff and quite friendly. When we asked the front desk guy for help reviewing belay—for which we both had prior albeit rusty expertise—he did the whole “I’m just the front desk guy” dance, which was indeed true but he did nothing to go even slightly out of his way to get us help or apologize for the situation.

Sub-par. Customer service matters, we will go to another rock climbing facility if we feel like doing this activity again given the lame experience for the price we paid. Based on the other similar reviews, sadly I do not expect a response from VA since it’s...

This review is not about the main adult gym / facility which is truly spectacular. This is about their youth programs which are misleading. My son climbed in a youth class from November - May and never once was tested (they say they test frequently), given feedback or opportunities to advance. They said it was our fault that we missed an email (indeed it was either missed or lost but a horrible thing to blame us) - but we were there every Saturday and the instructors had plenty of chances to communicate with us. While they say they are committed to youth development, it will take some new team and focus to believe it. I am not alone, I know at least 4 other parents who have experienced the same lack of follow through and absent communication. I’m only posting this so other parents enter into the experience with eyes wide open and know that the youth climbing classes are really similar to a Rec center- nice people, nice facility- but don’t expect much more. They have a wonderful opportunity to build confidence, skills and strength in kids. A total miss for our community since they are the only game in town. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but there’s no excuse for a customer to struggle to get answers or to be blamed for being the problem when...