My two granddaughters are visiting from Mississippi and I was looking for something fun to do. They have had experience with escape rooms before so we chose The Sanatarium. When I booked our reservation over the phone, I was told that there would be 7 other people, but that they group people all the time. We ended up with 11 in the group.....the 3 of us and 8 others all related. When we first entered the 'house', there was a very weird unpleasant smell which progressively got stronger the further into the house we got. The rooms were small and very crowded with 11 people. The other group basically took over everything.....did all the opening boxes, inputing codes, etc. We had a black-light flashlight, but they kept commandeering it. Finally in the last room, one of the guys said to give us back our flashlight. Between the smell, the heat (probably from having 11 people closed into such small spaces) and basically being excluded, we were really glad when the hour was over. I would not do it again. A real disappointment. read more

I've been to Kersey Valley a couple of times before for the outdoor laser tag. Very fun stuff. After my brother's and I first experience with an escape room, we decided to try the one here. We chose to do the autopsy room and had a party of 4 adults and one teenager. The room was clean, yet set up as a vintage autopsy room. The background noises was befitting as well. Nothing scary, but the ambience was a bit creepy, lol. You have an hour to solve all the clues to obtain the final key to escape the room. We manage to do it with 10:09 left on the clock. Our game master, Al, was great! He gave us very clear and detail instructions on the room, and also gave clues per request. We only needed 3 of them. He also gave us a brief tour of the grounds on the way to the escape room and also let us in on KV's future escape room projects. I look forward to trying them all out! read more

Kersey Valley Escape - Escape Games Near Me - Archdale, North Carolina

Edited to add: The owner reached out to me almost immediately to let me know that they've corrected the website description of the room. Apparently the room was changed a while back due to complaints of its graphic nature (too gory I'm guessing). I was offered to come back and experience another room. This is great customer service! I'm updating my score to reflect this! So, we were very disappointed with our experience. We selected the "Autopsy" room based off of the description on the website - website states that there would be a body (obviously fake) and we would be dissecting it (performing a surgical procedure), taking out the organs and examining them - looking for clues and determining the cause of death. In reality this description wasn't anything like the actual escape room we did. There was a skeleton in locked box with a clear, plastic top that you couldn't touch. None of the puzzles had to do with anything mentioned on the website. There was zero story. No figuring out cause of death. No organs. No "autopsy". Puzzles were easy (basic lock puzzles) but there was a word puzzle on a magnetic board which was maddening - the first part of the solution was such a stretch and far reaching that we needed a clue - when they told us what it was we laughed. It was so dumb and no one would have ever gotten it. read more

Kersey Valley Escape - Escape Games Near Me - Archdale, North Carolina

If you like out of the box entertainment, you'll love this! And if you're a little on the competitive adrenaline junky side then you'll be addicted. The excitement of finding clues and solving problems in order to "escape" leaves you wanting more and sad it ended. Four of us did the Suspect room and conquered it with four minutes to spare. Come prepared with comfortable shoes, an open mind and your reading glasses. Be ready to look up, down and under everything. You'll have 60 seconds to solve all the puzzles to win. It's a must try! read more

This was a Sunday family adventure for us plus our two kids (10 and 11). Our first escape room experience. Booking over the phone was easy and friendly-we didn't use the website as we were using a coupon. Yes, I am cheap-especially first time trying a place at $28/ticket. Which, as it turns out, was perfectly fair. :) Due to thunderstorms, they let us follow our game master, Al, to the Deadwood room in our truck. Go to the restrooms (new, clean, super nice) before the game begins or else you could waste game time. Instructions were clear and helpful. Clues were provided at request, and we tried not to use them. Great family activity, all were able to contribute and enjoyed it. We love supporting local business so will be back! read more

Kersey Valley Escape - Escape Games Near Me - Archdale, North Carolina

Haunted Manor- took a group of 6 kids ages 13-15 and me, the only adult. Al was our guide. We really enjoyed this escape. We sadly didn't make it through. We had 1 room left to go. There were lots of scares and very fun well thought out puzzles! Al did a fantastic job giving us hints. Without him we wouldn't have made it out of room 1 haha. We will be back to try deadwood and autopsy for sure! Thanks Al for a great experience! read more

Kersey Valley Escape - Escape Games Near Me - Archdale, North Carolina

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This was our first "Escape Room" experience and let's just say, we didn't work so well as a team....too many "leaders", I guess. We did escape with 7 minutes remaining...thankfully! We chose Deadwood as our room because some of us in the group are a little weak minded and didn't like the dark or being scared...the room was fairly plain, much like an 1800s tavern, I guess, we couldn't initially find the clues. ..everything and nothing were clues. Once we stopped fighting against each other, we were able to figure it out....sorry, no spoilers. We reserved over the phone and the staff was very accommodating. We are a large family and no one person wanted to put the total cost on their card, so she spoke to every individual family leader so we can pay separately...the call took 45 minutes!!!! Joell and Ben were our team masters and they were so helpful and alot of fun too...the clues they gave were helpful but they didn't throw us the game. ...they let us know when we were "on the right track". I will say that this "room" is a short walk from the main area through an open field. I think most wheelchairs would be fine, but if you have difficulty walking, it might present a challenge for some. The closest and only bathroom is near the main entrance. You can't leave the room during your alloted time, even to use the facilities, or you will lose the game for everyone. Looking forward to returning to the other rooms.... Kersey Valley is really one of the coolest spots in town for family fun! read more

This was our first experience with an escape room. We had a group of 4 adults and one teen. We went for my husband's birthday as a surprise event. We tried the deadwood room. The room had great ambiance and they really did a great job with the clues. Al was a great Game Master. He did a great job explaining the in's and outs of the game. He also gave us a nice tour of the property, which we never knew existed beforehand. They have so many things we can check out in the future, including laser tag, zip line, gem mining, bee hives, ropes course, corn maze and the spooky event during Halloween. We all felt comfortable and he let us try to do it without clues for the first half and helped us along when we needed it. It was a great experience to be able to combine each of our thinking skills to escape the room. We had so much fun and are looking forward to coming back to try the autopsy room. read more

This was a fun evening. We did the Dreadwood room as it was for the "beginners." The staff was very nice and were able to answer our questions without giving anything away. The room was a decent size for the number of people involved although we did wind up running into each other often. The clues were tough but once you started to put everything together it got much easier. There were several "false trail" clues that did a great job throwing people off. It's not the best escape room I've done but we will be back to do the other room and the mansion. read more

Al was a fun and patient guide. We had a group of 4 and another family of 4 joined us in the Deadwood room. I'm honestly glad we had that many people as I think it would be too challenging for 2 unless you're a gamer/good at puzzles. This was the 2nd escape room I'd ever done and I thought it was harder than the first one I had tried in Charleston. They will give you clues if needed, which is good. We got out with about 7 minutes to spare! Would like to come back and try the mansion room as that one sounds fun. They give you discount cards for future visits at the end - bonus! read more

Such a fun evening! Definitely something different and fun to do! We did the beginner room, Deadwood, and it was hard! I don't know what I was expecting, but it took me a long time to wrap my brain around it! Al is the best 'game master' ever! He made it super fun, and only gave clues when we asked him to (because we were struggling)! I think now that I've done one room, I'd like to go back and try another room, since I might have the feel of how it works. read more

This truly is the BEST escape room. The stories are well thought out, original, entertaining and challenging! Escape rooms are built for each room and workmanship is top notch, including all the facilities! We had T-Lo as our guide, and he was extremely knowledgeable and kind. His customer service went above and beyond anything I could have imagined! We had so much fun and can't wait to go back!! read more

This was out first time in an Escape Room. There were 5 of us, two adults and three boys 9,11,12. We did Deadwood and it was perfect. 9 year old was a bit boys as the older boys took over but for the rest of us it was a lot of fun. Anita did a marvelous job of keeping us on tract. We would do it again! read more

First time doing an escape room. There were 4 from my family in the party plus we had an additional 6 players ....and it was amazingly fun. We did the Autopsy room which is a more hands on adventure while the deadwoods is a more puzzle adventure. I love that you can tailor the level of difficulty to your group desires. Also like that there is no physical touching or tying up as we have heard from some other escape room sights. This is perfect for those who have teens, kids or anyone who doesn't want to get physically involved. We are already making plans to go back in December when the mansion opens up as a multi room escape adventure. Everything about this was the best. read more