My fiancé and I LOVE escape rooms. We've done a ton and we like to look for rooms while we travel. We were traveling to Arlington to meet some friends who haven't done a room before. As a four-person group, we decided to take on Poe's Chambers. The theming of this room is immaculate! Just the door to the room evokes the early 19 hundreds. Poe's Chambers really makes you feel like you're in the creative poet's home. I loved the overall feel! My fiancé and I were able to get the group through some of the puzzles, just due to our vast experience with rooms. I believe even our first-timer friends were able to see how we were making the connections and able to get their brains going too! I felt like we all really handled the room well and that it was friendly to them. There is one puzzle in particular I think E.R.A. needs to update. If it doesn't sit just so, it's easy to miss the clue. Though, everything else in the room worked flawlessly. Our game master was very attentive when we asked for two clues, though it took us a bit to decode her hints. We got out with 7 minutes to spare. I can see why this room would be an 8/10 difficulty. It's a fairly linear room, which I prefer when it comes to games. I've done rooms that feel scattered and those frustrate me to no end, lol. I do think a group of beginners might struggle, just a bit, in this room. Truly though, great room! I hope we'll get to go back again! 8/10 recommend read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This was our second time here. Both rooms were challenging and the puzzles were different than we've had in other escape rooms so good challenges! We didn't get out of the Supervillain room even though we asked for a few hints! Oh well, we had a great time. Maddy and Toby were both great game masters! We will be back! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Supervillain Room - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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So fun!! Did the Houdini room with the family and we all contributed. Loved it. Friendly staff. Solvable but challenging.

A last minute decision to visit an escape room, so we booked it quickly online since we have been here before and had a great time. Toby greeted us with a smile and knew who we were when we walked in. Great personality and very welcoming. He took us to our game, "Mind Trap". Amelia was nice and offered us to take hints, but we only took 2. She was really friendly and offered to take a picture of us when we escaped with a new record...go Team 12. Great time. Can't wait for new rooms since we've done all that are currently available. Great place to visit! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Team 12 - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

0/10 experience. We had an appointment at 12:45 and arrived at 12:30. The doors were locked, we knocked for almost 30 minutes before we finally got the workers attention. We talked to the worker and told them that we just want our money back. They said they will refund us, but also said we could still play the room. We said yes and all was forgiven, however we not got a refund, we have tried to call and we get no answer. So disappointing considering they had great reviews. Do not go here! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Outside of the escape room. We had an appointment and the doors were locked. - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

It was so much fun!!! On a sunny Saturday afternoon, my family and I did the supervillain room which is great for beginners (family members as I played before). The staff is great too! Very friendly, helpful, and explain everything so well! We all had a great time and look forward to doing it again! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Outside - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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I'm absolutely shocked at how poorly we were treated at The Great Escape Room in Arlington tonight. Last week, we had a great experience with 10 kids in Chicago, so we were excited to bring a group of 16-year-olds to the Arlington location. Unfortunately, it was a completely different story. The staff member was incredibly rude to our group from the start. Although the website clearly states that anyone under 16 needs a parent, all of the kids in our group were 16 or older, so this shouldn't have been an issue. However, she insisted that they couldn't enter without a parent present. When the kids asked if a parent could come down to meet them, she said they could still do the escape room--if we came down to meet them. My husband and I drove down to meet the kids, and when we got there, the staff member spent nearly 10 minutes on her computer, claiming she was speaking with her supervisor. After waiting for so long, we asked if the kids would finally be able to enter the escape room, and she told us there was no time left for them to play. At this point, we asked for a refund, and she flat-out refused. It's incredibly frustrating to be treated this way, especially when we had already driven all the way there, and no real effort was made to accommodate us. I will never return to this location, and neither will the five other families who were with us. There are plenty of other escape room options in the area that actually value their customers. DO NOT go to The Great Escape Room in Arlington if you want to be treated with respect and have a positive experience. They've definitely lost our business--and likely many others'. read more

Seiit was great! He was patient when I was nervous about the wood floors and helped Isadro to navigate with as little damage as possible. Thank you to these wonderful guys! They pulled their weight with the armoire! read more

My wife and I had a blast in the retro arcade escape room today! Dawn was an amazing game master and made the experience even better! We will definitely be back for more! Thanks! read more

Came with a group of girls for a fun Saturday activity. Was really well organized and our host was nice. We did kind trap and made it out with a couple of hints. One thing that wasn't great was sometimes we had the right answer but the lock was stuck or something wouldn't budge- was disappointed then when we needed a hint even though we had the right answer. read more

We have done all of the rooms in this escape room. This company has, hands down, the best escape rooms we have ever done. My husband and I do a lot of escape rooms, though I wouldn't say we are escape room experts or fanatics. But we know our way around the rooms, and we know a good puzzle vs. a bad puzzle and what it takes to make a good room. This company does an excellent job. The rooms are always super cool, the puzzles are creative but not too difficult and not too easy. If you're looking for family fun or a quick hour with a group of friends before heading off to eat at William Jeffrey's next door, 100% recommend this place. It is worth traveling to, too. Oh yeah, mind trap isn't family friendly though for younger kids. I literally screamed at one point. It was sooooo scary but good!!! I hope there are new rooms in the works in the future because I'm sad we finished them all! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Me and my friends tried the MIND TRAP puzzle and you get about an hour to solve everything. We successfully solved it 15 minutes before the clock ran out . I definitely recommend it to go as 5-6people. So everyone could split in to smaller teams and help solve each other ! Our Only disappointment was that, two of the employees weren't really friendly. Not sure if they were racist but they didn't want to let us take our photos with out our masks for a brief second. They said it was their policy so we respected. Meanwhile the same employee helped to take a photo of a couple who weren't POC, removed their masks and got to take pictures. Not sure if it was intentional but our whole group noticed that and we were disappointed. And there were a few small things that happened prior to beginning of the game as well which made us feel like the employees didn't like us. Besides that we all had fun read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Friends - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

My fiancé and I visited while we were on a weekend trip to DC. We decided to try Poe's Chamber which is the most challenging room they offer with a difficulty rating of 8/10. Between the two of us we've done around 50 escape rooms and my fiancé is in the industry. We are huge fans of escape rooms and have visited many locations around the country. We found this escape room company to excel in many, many ways which earned them a 5 star rating from us! First of all, the whole interior (inside the escape room but also as soon as you walk in the entrance) is beautiful. I want to sip cocktails and hang out in the 2 seating areas they have. The escape room itself looks beautiful and is decorated so nicely! It's decorated in a way that immerses you in the game without there being clutter or too many items that are meaningless. It's a difficult balance in most rooms we've seen but they've got it down here! The game play itself was fun and used a mix of puzzles. You won't be just looking for keys or completing letter locks here. You'll definitely need to think outside the box to solve a few puzzles. There is one puzzle in this room (no spoilers) that is done very well and it is clear what to do. However, we had a lot of difficulties completing it. I'm not sure if it's just us but we had to ask the game master to basically give us the answers because there was just no way we were going to complete it. Overall, the difficulty level was not as high as we thought it would be. We'd love to come back and try the other rooms even though they are listed at lower difficulty levels. They charge a flat rate for different sized groups. All rooms are private. Two people are $75, three people are $97.50, four people are $130, five people are $162.50 and so on with eight people being the max. It's slightly strange pricing to us and is definitely higher priced than most places we've visited. However, the quality of experience from being greeted and chatting with the person at the front counter, to decor and game play...it's worth it. We recommend newbies as well as experienced players to give this place a try. We look forward to returning! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - We escaped Poe's Chamber! - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Amber and Geneva were great at hosting us in the newest escape room- the haunted hotel. Such an awesome addition with lots of cool puzzles!

We did the 80s Retro room - 6 people total. Very fun, finished in 36 minutes. Our only suggestion is to turn down the heat in the room. It was very warm and we commented on it right when we entered. read more

I'm always skeptical of a place that has full 5 stars and more than like 2 reviews. Well, I can honestly say this place did not disappoint and they fully deserve the 5 stars!! I came here with a group of my (noisy) high school students and had a BLAST. David, the person who worked there during this shift, was an excellent host. He was patient with my late and loud students and accommodated us every step of the way (ie. allowed us a late start, let extra people in, kept his cool when kids were freaking out, etc.) Things to note: + Complimentary Water & Soda. Super kudos. + Free pin for escaping the room. You get an extra large pin if you escape all the rooms. + Rooms will change once in a while (maybe at the end of this year). + beautiful lobby area + a wide range of room difficulties + Spring special pricing during their off season ($20, instead of $28). They also have student discounts ($24) and hosts large group events (Mondays & Tuesdays). + Their driving address is corner of Adams St. & Columbia pike. You can park in the Giant garage for a decent price. I did "Mind Trap" and it was the BEST. I have done many escape rooms before since so many started popping up but this one was the best. It was the most innovative, creative, smart, and unique. The decor was so well done and nothing was half made - very detail oriented. The puzzles were hard but not impossible and we all had so much fun figuring things out. As soon as I left, I started telling all my friends about it and I will definitely be going back and trying more rooms (going back this weekend actually)! Gotta get that large pin! read more

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An escape room was an excellent activity for one Saturday night after I partied too hard the previous evening. I reserved their "Mind Trap" room on their website a few hours beforehand (during covid times. This might be more difficult during normal times). When I arrived with 2 friends, everything was ready. The host took us to our room which had a spot for our coats and other belongings then a "dining room" and a macabre human butcher-ish area where we solved several clues to escape just in time. In every escape room, the possibility exists that everything could be a clue but in this facility, possible clues were more obvious with very few distractors. I found the amount of 4-dial padlocks kind of annoying but I enjoyed the variety of puzzles to get the numbers and other clues. During the whole time, the room host watched and listened to our progress (and filthy language) via video camera and helped us over the speaker system when we got stuck. I can't wait to escape from another one! NOTES/TIPS: **During the covid pandemic, masks and handwashing required. Hand sanitizer's available. **Good for mixed groups and maybe ages 12 onward. You can read room descriptions here: https://www.escaperoomarlington.com/the-rooms and make reservations here: https://www.escaperoomarlington.com/reservations/ **William Jeffrey's Tavern (https://www.yelp.com/biz/william-jeffreys-tavern-arlington) is right around the corner for good drinks and eats and it's open til 2AM every freakin night. read more

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I did the arcade room with just one other person and it was SO fun! We did ask for like 4 hints but still managed to get out with 3 minutes to spare! It was awesome and in my opinion the perfect amount of challenging but not impossible and definitely not too easy. read more

Did the "third hardest" (or second easiest) room with a group of super smart, talented females/colleagues. ABSOLUTELY fun and we got to finish in 50 min without even asking for a clue. Definitely my best escape room experience. It was tough but SO rewarding to finish. Our entire group can't stop raving about this spot and about the next time we get to come. Thank you so much for a Fun experience. Extremely friendly and kind staff! read more

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My friends and I went here two days in a row - that's how much we liked the rooms and the game masters! We did both Mind Trap and Poe's Chamber, and loved how much each puzzle and clue tied together into the entire story. We've been to quite a few different escape rooms in different states, and this was one of our favorites by far. Special thanks to Caitlin at the front desk and Amanda (one of the game masters) for such a fantastic experience all-around! read more

SO. MUCH. FUN. We impulsively decided to do an escape room this past Saturday, so we booked Poe's Chamber online for 2 people. Super nervous that we wouldn't be able to solve this since it was rated 8/10 on the website (rated 6/10 on a poster at the place). I believe this was their newest rooms. Really interesting, really fun. We had a great time working together and putting our thinking caps on to solve stuff that WASN'T work related. I swear it's the fastest hour you'll ever experience. Staff was helpful in explaining the rules beforehand. It's cool that you can speak into an empty room to ask for a hint and a voice comes through. I'd recommend this room because there are clever and creative puzzles created for this challenge that we really appreciated. Solved it with 6 seconds to spare! We're going to hopefully try more rooms since we had a blast and it's conveniently located! Go go GO! read more

Absolutely loved our experience at this Arlington Va escape room location. Our group did the Retro Replay room. Clues are just easy enough for kids and first timers to get but still difficult enough to have you second guessing yourself. The host was phenomenal and very friendly. I definitely will be back to experience some of the other rooms. They have 4 in all. They also have puzzles in the lobby area to entertain you while you wait. Oh by the way..... we escaped the room with 1 second to spare read more

This escape room met and far exceeded our expectations to celebrate our 10 year old's birthday. They crushed the SuperVillians room and were so excited. The staff is friendly and helpful and great with exuberant escape room first timers. I've done a few rooms in other cities and this was the cleanest, best organized and most welcoming we've done. The puzzles were challenging but doable, the gear and clues and rooms were in great condition. We can't wait to come back! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

I stumbled upon this Escape Room venue after looking for more in the area. Found this one and ended up doing all 4 rooms in one weekend with my partner. Funny enough, this location was actually related to my original favorite escape room venue, Escape Room RVA (another Ravenchase location). These rooms were phenomenal! In order of my favorites: 1. Supervillans 2. Glitch 3. Secret in the Attic 4. Mindtrap All of the rooms have fantastic story lines and the decor is fantastic. The clues are more than locks with very interactive clues that keep the gamers immersed in the story lines, which are all amazingly unique. Our game masters were incredibly helpful throughout the games before, during and after. I can not wait for the release of the Edgar Allen Poe room, I'm sure my partner and I will be the first to sign up! read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Photo area - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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My favorite Escape Room in the DMV! Talk about a masterpiece! I love the design and decor of each of the rooms. They are all very well thought out with a storyline behind it. I've completed all FOUR rooms to date. My favorite in order. 1. Super Villains 2. Glitch 3. Secret in The Attic 4. Mind Trap The only reason Mind Trap is last is because I was creeped out the whole time. I don't really like creepy rooms but I wanted a fourth button so there's that. It's the perfect room to do on Halloween or if you're into creepy stuff. Super Villains is my FAVORITE room! From the decor, to the story line, to the puzzles. Everything in this room had me on my feet and very immersed. The most colorful room. It was challenging and you do need to work together to complete it. My partner and I bounced off of each other in regards to solving the puzzles. We both have our strengths and we put them to use! Glitch is super fun. My first instinct walking in the room was WOAH. You have to be very careful when looking for clues to make sure you don't miss any especially in one of the rooms. Overall, my second favorite room. Secret in The Attic was probably the cutest room I have ever been in. I would definitely recommend this room as your first room to complete at this location. You find out some interesting stuff towards the end! The staff was welcoming and friendly and the lounge was super cozy. There's complimentary refreshments and some games to do while you wait to be called into your room. Brain teasers. I love everything about this place and I'll continue to rave about how it is one of my favorite escape rooms I've done. read more

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Best escape rooms around! Pre-pandemic I was on a major escape room kick, dragging anyone I could convince to a different one every week. Now that things are a little safer I chose one of my favorite places to restart the obsession and play the highly anticipated E.A. Poe themed room! They do a fantastic job building an atmosphere and a theme for each room. The gameplay is more than just opening different kinds of locks since the game master is monitoring you and involved with the process, so it's highly interactive and unique! All the rooms are great, but Mind Trap is definitely my favorite room here and maybe of all time. It definitely leans horror-themed but it has a ton of great surprises and fun challenges! Can't recommend this place enough! read more

My family and I (two kids ages 11 and 14) completed the Supervillain room today. It was a blast. We are newer to formal escape rooms and we thought the puzzles were challenging, but not impossible for our family to eventually figure out. The staff give clear instructions and offer hints and nudges if you need them. The room design was fantastic. It was colorful, creative and over all really well done. We already have plans to try to attempt some of their other rooms too. The business was clean, and Covid protocols were being followed. We felt safe and comfortable the whole time. If I could give more than 5 stars, I absolutely would. read more

Excellent customer service and definitely a fun experience. I'd definitely go back there and try a different room. The place also was very clean and well maintained. read more

We had a 9:00pm appointment with the Sleepover Slaughterhouse. Our guide, The Butcher, was a perfectly spooky host! He was entertaining and so very helpful when we got stuck. The actual room itself was very difficult to escape from and would have been impossible without The Butcher's clues. It was well put together though, and I look forward to going back. read more

I've been here a number of times. For context, I love escape rooms. Absolutely love them. I've done them all around the country. So I have a good basis of comparison. I can honestly say the Supervillain Room is one the best rooms I've ever played. It's really great! The other rooms vary in quality, but what's also cool is they are constantly updating and renovating their rooms, so the one room i really did not enjoy has already been changed. This place is great! read more

These guys do such an amazing job. I am a health care professional and being in public right now during Covid freaks me out most of the time. People are standing too close, no one washes their hands or uses masks. It gives me anxiety just walking in a building. My partner and kids set up a surprise birthday event for me and a few of my friends. The staff here went above and beyond and everything was so great. We spread out across two rooms to make more social distancing space, and they were very vigilant about precautions for covid. The absolute best part of my birthday was being able to not only have a good time, but to not have to feel like I was in an unsafe situation to do an escape room with my friends. The escape rooms themselves were fantastic! My favorite is mindtrap! Required programming for those who like horror movies. :) read more

Very clean and lots of fun! Easy to get to and park There were a lot of things going on at each time it kept us on our toed read more

The Great Escape Room DC | Arlington Area - Kiddos waiting for our timeslot - Escape Games Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

We did the Mind Trap escape room in a group of six and had the most wonderful time. The puzzles were creative (but not so creative that we couldn't figure them out) and we left feeling intelligent and like if we were ever really in a situation where a doctor was going to eat us for dinner yet had also somehow planned an elaborate escape route, we would survive. The people here are also so lovely, and the woman giving us clues had the most soothing voice. read more

LET ME START BY SAYING: Bobby and Daniel are AWESOME. They were both so sweet and helpful. They are definitely our favorite game masters of all the rooms we have been to. We did Supervillans and Glitch. We have done 20 escape rooms together and have only failed twice (we don't want to talk about it). Glitch: this is by far the most unique escape room we have been in. We do not recommend this room for beginners but it is a welcome challenge for veterans. The concept was very cool and when you first enter it is a little intimidating (even for grizzled veterans such as ourselves ). There is not much of a plot however, the puzzles are awesome as is the quality of the room. We'd rate this room a 5/5! They did awesome. Supervillans: This is a super fun room for comic fans. The concept is GREAT. There are multiple rooms that are very fun to run around (and trust me, you will be running). The puzzles were challenging but not impossible. We would say this room is good for both beginners and veterans. Just a tip, watch out for jump scares (). We'd rate this room a 5/5. Overall: Amazing room quality, incredible staff (friendly, accommodating, and light-hearted), and clear concepts that are well planned and well executed. This place is a must go if you like escape rooms. You also collect a pin for each room you do. This was definitely an incentive for us to come back! read more

My friends and I went to dinner at the hotpot place next door and decided to do an escape room for fun. We did Poe's Chamber and it was so fun!! The staff was extremely nice and very helpful and the atmosphere of the room was fantastic! The puzzles were engaging and challenging without being too hard. Highly recommend if you want a great team activity! read more

My fiancée and I live down the street and decided we would try it out. We have tried 3 other escape rooms in California but this one is definitely the best. - staff is very friendly and helpful. They'll give you 3 hints and also a "nudge" if you're stuck. - the props were by far the best. With sliding doors, props falling out of places, magnet based tech to open things, and classic creativity it boosted how good it was to the top. - the building is also very nice. The first thing we noticed when we walked in was how nice and fitting it seemed. We did Mindtrap with 2 people and finishing with about 30 seconds. Definitely worth the money!! read more

Came here for a date night with another couple and had a great time. Did the super villains room which had a few really tricky spots but overall it was lacking in tech which I was surprised about. The rooms are nicely decorated, very well decorated and thought out but underutilized tech. The little tech we had didn't work so we got a lil "nudge" from the room assistant. We had 2 first timers in our group so it actually worked out. Would come back to try another room. read more

I'm usually a single player since I travel for work. I did the Mind Trap room and I'm proud to say I got out with 15:47 left! They have an array of different style puzzles and I loved the decor. It was a great time. My game master Lillian was amazing! She helped me in the perfect ways when I asked. I'm definitely coming back the next time I'm in the area. Thank you for a great experience! read more

I've done a couple of rooms at Escape Room Live in Alexandria, but this was my first Escape Room Arlington. I've had very positive experiences at Escape Room Live, but will probably return to Escape Room Arlington more frequently - for the location, and also for the customer service. The staff does a wonderful job of trying to maintain the schedule you are booked for. When it was 5 minutes to start time, the staff asked for an ETA of the other 2 people in my group, and said I could start the room without them if they arrived too late. This was of course to ensure we didn't cause a domino effect of late start times. Despite their best efforts, the group after us might have got started a bit late. Sorry to that group! It was our fault! Oh, and of course I'd also return for the puzzles! We didn't use any clues, but we gave permission for the game master to give us nudges if we were falling behind the average solution time, and he did a great job giving us hints that got us out just in time. Most clues are provided via text on a large monitor (which also serves as the clock) and this was a very nice feature. The mechanics behind the puzzles were also very well executed. Since this wasn't my first escape room I already had an expectation of how some of the mechanics were going to work, but it was still cool to see how they were executed in this scenario. Can't way to try to another (spookier) room! read more

The first thing that sets this place apart from other escape rooms in the area is the convenience factor. There is plenty of street parking and the garage on Adams street is cheap. When you first arrive you walk into a large and creatively decorated lobby. Filling out the waiver online made the check in process smooth. Our game master Leah was upbeat and super helpful. She went over all the details and made sure we were comfortable and prepared before starting. Complimentary beverages are available before starting the room. We did the mind trap room, it has a scary theme so probably not good for kids. The story that went along with the room was great, that's what really made it fun. We ended up having to use two clues and a few hints. I've heard great things about the other rooms. Just based on the bookings it seemed like "super villains" was the most popular and "grandma's attic" was the most kid friendly. Another cool thing about this place is when you are done you get a free appetizer at William Jeffery's and a $5 off coupon to Taqueria el Poblano, both right next door. Great example of businesses on Columbia Pike supporting each other. I had a great experience at Escape Room Arlington, I will 100% be back to try their other rooms! read more