A-Escape Asheville N.C — Local services in Asheville

A-Escape (Asheville Escape) is a great escape room to try out in the Asheville area. It was a little hard to find at first since it is behind a gas station; follow the signs. I had a great time there playing both the “Selachi Biotech Research Bunker” and the “Abandoned Submarine”. When we got there the owners were very friendly. The booking procedure online is nice because when you book it is ALWAYS a private booking, which is a rarity. Also, the bathroom was fun in that it has puzzles on the walls. As far as the rooms they both lacked a little bit on the immersion factor. For the “Selachi Biotech Research Bunker” many of the items were not something you would see in a research area. However, the “Abandoned Submarine” had a lot of custom built items that lent itself well to the theme. The puzzles themselves were logically laid out and for the most part felt like they flowed well. One of the only real annoying things was that often a key would be used to open a box only to receive more keys. Also, there were an excessive number of four-digit locks. Occasionally there would be a bottleneck point where really only one person could do the work, leaving others waiting. The riddles all over the walls for you to solve was a nice touch. Overall though, the rooms and customer service were a positive experience and I would...

We've done several escape rooms and actually own one in our hometown. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of A-Escape's room! We did the Biotech Research Bunker room, and it was just the two of us. We were about 98% complete, which they told us was great for 2 people (even though we were so disappointed in ourselves! :-P) The puzzles were creative but all relevant to the story, everything was well thought-out, and the room itself was linear but not so linear that you were at a standstill if you got stuck on something.

The location could be better, but you have to take what you can get with available space. I also wish their lobby was brighter & more professional-looking. Both of the owners were friendly, professional, informed, and helpful. Plus, it's the most reasonably-priced of all of them, but with very high-quality puzzles. We would likely pay more to go back, if they upped their prices!

We've never done any of Asheville's other escape rooms, but if we do in the future, A-Escape will be hard to...

Before going to A-Escape, I never had been to an escape room. I thought that A-Escape was a good experience. However, I bought 8 tickets before realizing that 2 people of our party could not go. I called and A-Escape told me that it would be fine and they would refund me when I showed up--lies. They did not refund me and I was stuck with 2 empty tickets because the establishment would not even give me credit for 2 people for future purchase. Additionally, I recently went to Breakout (in Asheville) which was a lot nicer and friendlier. The games were not just keys and locks (like A-Escape). The games are multi-dimensional and take a lot of thought. Also, Breakout is much newer and cleaner. Breakout is clearly superior.

EDIT: In response to owner: I was well within the refund cancellation policy of 24hrs. I had a conversation with the owner, who personally assured me that he would refund me when I arrived. He did not only honor his commitment, his escape adventure is far less enjoyable than...