Splatter Box — Local services in Albany

Was part of a booked party. Overall, the experience felt unflinchingly rigid. We weren't allowed to come in to set up/ decorate even a minute early. Got inside and stood waiting for several minutes for the bearded gentleman at the front desk to look up from his personal phone who then proceeded to act irritated to help us. Started with cake and presents first so people could eat before being covered in paint. When we were done we were told we had to wait 30 minutes before going in to paint, leaving guests standing around. We inquired why, since we had booked the time/ space. The man told us it was to keep the paint room from being over crowded. I went and checked the paint room and there were only 6 people and we were a moderate party. I asked what the paint room capacity was, letting him know that there were only 6 people currently back there. He responded by saying that our kids would go through the paint fast anyways, to which I responded “so?” We then were told we have to completely remove our party items and clean the entire area prior to painting. So not only had our guests had to help us set up, they had to help us clean it before we could even go have fun. Some extra curve balls: No dressing rooms, the plastic for car covers that are sold are gigantic pieces in one full sheet, goggles were wrapped causing several kids to get paint in their eyes, bathroom has no sink/ toilet paper stuffed into the cracks of the bricks, and the kids were freezing from the cold paint and room temp. I was excited to try something like this but the way things are structured made...

This was the perfect setting for my daughter's 12th birthday. Cute tables and nice environment in a cute old building in downtown Albany. I brought all my own decorations, cleaning supplies, etc. When we arrived, the owner was clearly in a bad mood. I tried so hard to not let it ruin our fun but man, she was a terrible hostess! Very unwelcoming, almost making us feel like we were a burden. I booked 6 months in advance! There was no one else in the building and she didnt even offer the screen projector thing, that would have been nice to have, I didnt know it was an option until later. She just said "come up to the splatterbox when you're ready and took off." We were having so much fun that we ended up spending an hour and a half downstairs (I booked the whole thing for two hours). When we got up there, she said "Uh, I was expecting you 40 minutes ago!" Like, so rude! She was also really mean to the kids when explaining the rules. They were just being kids and having a great time. She would say stuff like "LIKE I said, the garbage is over there!" and "yeah, what do you want?" She honestly took all the fun out of it. There's a lot of other things that happened that is too much to put in a review, but when it comes down to it. I just think that this is a GREAT idea with POOR execution. If you're going to own a business like this, the least you could do is be pleasant. Although, who knows. Maybe she was just having...

If you’re planning a party and thinking of booking this venue… don’t.

To be clear I’m not saying don’t go, because this is a very fun activity. I’m saying booking the venue is a waste of money. For $299 you get the use of their “party atmosphere” which includes: not being able to set up (this was advertised and I’d been told not to come early, but witnessed another group arrive early without being turned away 🤷‍♀️), having guest stand around while you set up in front of them, having the music blasted so loud in the party area coordinating kids singing happy birthday is a Herculean feat, and having guests stand around or clean the entire area/pack up the party before being allowed to go paint… The package also includes a paint combo pack (a $99 value), which sounds like a lot but is really only good for about 15 minutes if you have more than four children attending the party. There is no discount offered for additional paint supplies purchased when you book the venue (although online it was stated 25% off purchases of $100 or more - our group bought three combo packs separately, so maybe that’s why). All said and done we paid $600+ and for that kind of money people deserve better.

So skip their “party atmosphere” celebrate at home or literally anywhere else and carpool there… use the money you waste on their weak party...