Key West Room Escape | Escape Rooms Key West — Local services in Key West

I had a traumatic experience here today. We did the prison room & dropped a key that couldn’t be retrieved since we were locked behind bars (side note - a puzzle that requires you to get it right the first time or you need intervention is a bad one) and we waited and implored for someone by calling out over and over to the host to help us. After at least 5 mins of being stuck - we needed the key to advance to the next clues so couldn’t even do anything in the room - I went into panic. When he finally came back to the monitor, and realized we couldn’t do anything without him, he came in, gave us the key that fell, and once we got the door open I had to leave. I was shaking. I told him, obviously upset and in a panic, that it’s not ok to leave us in here without a host (note they take your cell phones before entering the rooms too, so we were totally helpless in there). Instead of apologizing and making sure I was ok, he only said he couldn’t hear us because he was with other guests. If you have 1 person manning multiple rooms plus the check-in, you’re short staffed and should close a room down. This was my 20+ escape room. This was the first time I have ever had to leave in a panic because I felt trapped, and the first time the host went MIA for any length of time. Doing this sort of thing - especially when you’re legit locked behind bars (thank god we didn’t have the handcuffs securely on and could wiggle our hands out while we waited) could traumatize participants. I strongly urge them to look at best practices of other companies and adjust their staff/ make sure someone is always monitoring the rooms as a safety measure. Other than that the room was unimpressive. Other members of my party stayed behind to try and give it a go, and said the clues weren’t possible to complete even with hints (the room is clearly old, and magnets worn), and the host went MIA again/leaving them stranded so they couldn’t progress. We’ve done a lot of escape rooms of all difficulty levels, and they should be fun, and logical, with clues that are difficult, but solvable. This room was small and dark (we had little battery operated candles we had to hold up to everything to be able to see what was there) and dirty - it was a prison, but it was legit gross in there. The thing that really made it unforgivable was that the host never apologized, even after I came back to retrieve my phone, still shaking. A couple passing-by saw my son and I were upset and stood with us until we were able to calm down (thank you to them!). Please don’t go here unless you confirm multiple people will be working & someone will be available for you the whole time, especially if you do the prison break where you’re locked in. And even then, if you get a bad vibe from the guy from the beginning (he wasn’t friendly at all and treated us like children when giving the instructions - I was with 2 grandparents, my husband and our 2 kids 8&11 - not a raucous bunch out for trouble, but experienced escape room participants), just walk out. You’ll be better off & maybe even save yourself or a member of your party from being traumatized.

PS, I wanted to respond to the host’s reply, about me berating him from the beginning. During the intro, if any of us made a small comment or any noise at all, he would stop and scold us for speaking. It made me uncomfortable, so after the 3rd or 4th time, I asked him to “please stop treating us like we’re in school; this is meant to be fun, and it feels like you’re scolding us like a teacher”. I get that it’s easier to blame the customer than to take responsibility for mishandling the situation. To be clear, it was they who left us without any connection to the host or outside world in a dark jail cell; I should not be faulted for wanting to warn others so they’re not traumatized as well. If other folks gave this 5 stars recently, it’s likely they weren’t understaffed at the time and left alone like we were, or had a...

Did the jailbreak room with a group of 7, we were quite frustrated at the end because the room had not been set up properly. There was one task that required us to get a key with a magnet and the key was not where it was supposed to be. I asked out loud if there was supposed to be a key multiple times and was never answered. When we didn’t escape on time, we were told that the key would have given us a clue. I insisted the manager come in to look for the key herself, because it was not in that location, even after I checked with my phone flashlight. Sure enough, the key was lying on the floor and clearly had not been set in the appropriate spot beforehand. Other materials were in bad shape - a typewriter ran out towards the end so the staff had to come in to fix it. Overall, the hardest part of the challenge was that the entire room is so dimly lit that you only have a tiny battery powered candle to use for lighting. Not the best escape...

This summer I travelled to beautiful Key West for vacation. This was my second time to the island city and was looking for new things to do this time round. So happy I happened to pass by Key West Room Escape!!! It was one of the most enjoyable and memorable activities of my entire trip. The building it is located in has historical significance, and happens to be where Hemmingway stayed with his wife for several weeks as he worked on Farewell to Arms. The experience was exciting, challenging, and so much fun. We went in a group of 8. I suggest going with no more than six people. So that everyone gets to contribute and things don't get too confusing. This experience was creative and well thought out. So happy it's there and can't wait for new rooms to...