Wanted to love... but didn't. First, the service was extremely slow and we spent 15 minutes waiting…read morefor the only server to explain the directions to 4 other tables before coming to us saying she didn't notice us. The drinks then also got backed up because 4-5 tables were ordering at a time. We also saw many people get turned away because they didn't have a reservation, but there were several empty tables the entire time we were there. This place is definitely just full of dry ice and gimmicks that just miss the bar. For the Magic Potions Tavern, you can book a Magic Potion and Shot experience where you can choose from around 8 different "potions" (drink) options and a few shots. Then, you receive laminated potion directions and essentially mix your own drink and watch as it smokes with dry ice (which is essentially the only cool part about it.) The drinks ended up being *not great*--and super basic. The Herbology 101 was pretty much just muddled raspberries, vodka and lemon juice with bits of flower candy that tasted like chalk, and the Potion No. 9 was basically just purple sparkly gin. The shots tasted god awful. As someone who loves a gimmick, this is great for a day of Harry Potter exploration if you want something cool to post on your Instagram story. If you're looking for great drinks and service, go literally anywhere else. :/

We were 3 couples and we enjoyed our experiences with the potions and shots that we drank, 90…read moreminutes go by fast we only had three rounds of drinks but Kate, Lauren, River and Stevie did a great job on storytelling of the drinks and making our potions! Atmosphere of the dark bar was great , definitely would try it again

Locked in Edinburgh is ESCAPETHEROOMers third stop in Edinburgh, Scotland. Right from the start we…read morewere handed a difficult challenge! Do not attempt to find the location yourself. If in doubt, they will pick you up in the lobby of the University building and bring you to the lobby area. They are located in Summerhall, which is Edinburgh's old veterinarian school. Watch our YouTube video to see how many "tunnels" we had to go through to find their hidden spot. But once you find it, you will not be disappointed! Locked in Edinburgh is owned by two female owners who are enthusiast themselves and have played many escape rooms. We were amazed at what they have done with the space as they pretty much utilized there surroundings (since this building has hundred years of history) and created the storylines based on them. For instance, their control room had square spaces that were kennels for pets, but they are working stations for their game masters now. How clever! Our game master got in to character right away when she led us to the waiting area. We were agents being sent into a serial killer's laboratory to find evidence and the missing organs of the 5 new victims as we must save their lives. Even though there were no live actors involved, the sound, the visual, and the eerie atmosphere were already good enough to put me in a terrified condition. Right when we entered, we realized that there was a lot to do. This is their hardest room and for two people it was definitely challenging. We would suggest at least four people to tackle this room. There was a lot of unique puzzles and props that we haven't seen before, and we loved the ideas and how it was incorporated into the story line. It felt very real what we were doing in this room versus just playing a game. We are always happy when there's misdirection in what we expect to be a "surprise", is actually elsewhere. Since we've played a handful of games, if the room isn't made well, it's pretty easy to figure out where the "surprise" might be. One thing I did feel that could be improved is that typing in the clue and receiving an answer was slowing down the game a bit. I wonder if there's another possible way to receive the clues. We also refrained from asking for a clue in the beginning, which in this room we should have just kept moving especially with two people. We ended up not being able to escape in time, but we did get to see the game until the end. Despite being able to successfully escape, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves a lot for this room's design and originality. Currently there's two other rooms at the location: "The Distillery" and "The Secret Lab". The designs for both are amazing as we took a sneak peak (which you'll be able to see also in our YouTube video). We would love to return to play their other games and you should definitely check them out if you are ever in the area! *For more info, check out my Yelp profile.

My wife and I are seasoned Escape Room players, playing approximately 20 rooms over the past 2…read moreyears. Upon arrival the staff was extremely friendly and everything was ready to go, even though we arrived 30 minutes early. We picked, "The Asylum" for this event,". Our host did a great job explaining things, giving the backstory and providing general info on the room. I would have given the the room four or five stars, however, we had one large hiccup. About 2/3rd of the way through the room, we got trapped in a self-locking room. There was a "exit room" button, however, it looked identical to the real "emergency exit" buttons. My wife and I even discussed pressing it to get out, however, for fear of the game being cancelled from hitting the unlock button, we didn't hit it. Based on this, we were stuck in a room with no possible way out. After trying several guesses and searching the room, we basically gave up and sat there waiting for our time to expire. While we waited for time to expire, we discussed that there is a camera in the room and someone was watching us. We then assumed the host wouldn't let us sit in the room for 20 minutes with no possible way out....Based on that, we continued searching the room and looking for any possible clues. When time expired, the host came down to greet us and show us the puzzles that we did not complete. I asked how we were supposed to get out of the room that we had been locked into for 1/3rd of the game, only then did he realize what had happened. Not sure if it is his job to watch the cameras or his co-workers, but it led to a disappointing experience. Overall the room was decorated great, the theme was good and the vibe of everything was good....however, that doesn't make up for the issue we experienced. Without giving anything away, if you find yourself entering, and being locked into a room, via the press a big blue button, understand that you can exit by pressing the switch inside the locked room, that looks like an emergency exit button. With that being said, there are 2 of these switches in the room, press the wrong one and the hosts will expect that you have a true emergency. My advice is either: A: Warn people about this situation ahead of time or... B: Have a similar style blue button to unlock the door The only reason we didn't push the unlock button was because we wanted to play by the rules. Based on the issue we had, we were giving a 10% off discount if we were to rebook, however, it appears they give that discount to everyone. It is unfortunate as we planned on booking 2 of their rooms that day, this experience left us soured. Edited: Management reached out to make things right, moving from 2 to 4.

Escape Reality Edinburgh is ESCAPETHEROOMers second stop in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are a…read morefranchise that's currently located in 12 different cities all over the world. The Edinburgh location is quite spacious. There's plenty of seating to rest in the lobby area and we love their 3D looking backdrop poster that they use for victory poses. They currently have 6 different escape rooms at this location and a pop-up VR experience that was recently added! We only had time to try one of their rooms and of course it had to be... "The Asylum". This is the first time we've used a hint system like this, but they are quite technologically advanced. Each puzzle has a QR code next to it so that if you do get stuck you can scan it and a clue will pop up on the iPad. But you cannot continuously use it as you do get locked out for a period of time. The "pros" are that there's never a delay in getting hints from the game master. The "cons" are that you'll be seeing these QR codes throughout the room which kind of takes a little bit away from the immersive atmosphere. Speaking of which, they did an amazing job with the room design! It was also quite fitting for us that the storyline of this Rolling Hills Asylum is an actual asylum with a haunting history in New York. As tourists from NY, we found a deeper connection with this haunted room. Right when we entered, I felt a chill down my spine and of course my first question was: "Are there any live actors? You should just tell me now as I've been tricked many times before". The game master said "No" with a smirk as sometimes they do go in and give the "victims" a little scare, but they stayed true to their word this time probably just to save themselves from my high-pitched screams. A lot of the props and décor stayed very true to what an asylum would have. The room was pretty linear in terms of puzzles although there were a few moments where we were able to split up and tackle different puzzles or find items. It was a very straightforward gameplay with no red herrings. We got out with two people and plenty of time to spare. I do want to remind the players that you do have to scan that final QR code outside the room in order to stop the time for your game as we forgot to do so and that probably added an extra minute to our clock (Hey! Every second counts!). Escape Reality Edinburgh is probably the largest escape room location we've been to in Edinburgh. With that said, you know they have a lot of different surprises in their rooms since they have the space to create them. They can easily host corporate and large party events. The other 5 escape room games currently at this location are "Jungala", "Tortuga Pirates", "Machina", "Nosferatu" and "Alcatraz". We can't wait to return one day to try their other games as they all sound and look amazing! *For more info, check out my Yelp profile.

Looking for something different to do, try Escape Glasgow. OK, so it's being locked in a room but…read morewith friends this is fun. Search for the clues, figure out the codes and soon you will find the key to freedom. If you haven't tried I recommend you try and if you want more of a challenge try the contagion room. Guaranteed fun! I hope they develop more seasonal or special limited feature rooms. As once you've done the classic and contagion you know how to solve the clues or you can join another group of friends and look like a genius. "Been here before you say? Never, I'm just that smart." Hehe!

I'd never seen the Crystal Maze TV show so when I heard about Escape Glasgow I really didn't know…read morewhat to expect. I'm also fiercely competitive and was a little bit worried about Briony-Hulk paying Yelpers a visit when we did this a few months back - thankfully, I managed to keep my Hulk under control and work as a team member well enough to get a 33 minute escape time from one of the classic rooms. YAH. Last night we headed back for a UYE organised by the awesome Harry L to do Contagion. This is more of a themed room where you have to find the cure to the plague (or something) within 60 minutes of getting into the room, or you'll catch the plague and die. It's £66 and you can have up to 6 people. Liam talked us through how it all works even though there was just the one newbie, the briefing is fun and informative so you don't need to worry about getting bored. If you need to go to the loo you'll need to head up to the first floor of Baltic Chambers which is one of my few criticisms of this place, it'd be nice if they were closer by! You then get locked in the room (although if you really do freak out about being locked in, they can let you out). The guys from Escape Glasgow are watching you on CCTV so that if you get stuck on a puzzle, they'll put a hint on the TV in the room. This proves to be SUPER helpful as sometimes you will just get stuck and have no idea what to do. I won't give the puzzles away for the room as that would spoil the fun, but it is SUCH a laugh and so much fun. I love that when you're there with 5 other people, each person brings something useful to the team and you will all end up solving puzzles. I think it would be near impossible to do alone. Contagion is a really fun room and I think I preferred the puzzles in this room to the classic. You don't need to have any special knowledge to do them, you just need to be observant and think imaginatively. I love that when you escape the room, the guys seem properly chuffed for you and they'll talk to you about the bits you got stuck on. They are looking at re-doing one of the classic rooms so hopefully we'll head back when that gets changed!

Amazing escape rooms venue! Really immersive and atmosphere is brilliant! Loads of different rooms…read more Will defintely be back again very soon. Thanks for booking us in at short notice Shaun!!! You da man!