Having successfully escaped two of two escape rooms in the past, one in Montréal, QC and another in Huntsville, ON, we decided it was time to make our next great escape here in Ottawa!
After speaking with colleagues and friends, Escape Manor seemed to be the consensus.
We visited their site EscapeManor.com and found many interesting rooms but, the one that caught our eye was The Asylum.
If you’re going to attempt an escape room, you might as well add a little fear to the game!
When we arrived at the Queen Street location, yes there are several more, but I’ll get to that, we were greeted by Alicia who welcomed us, asked us to complete our waivers, and was very friendly.
There is a bar on site, so you can really make your escape a great night out!
Even though the rooms are designed for 6 players, my wife and I opted to take on the challenge as a duo!
What does this mean? The same number of puzzles, but four less heads. No small feat!
Our game host Ali came over and spoke to us about how the rooms worked and that she would be around if we had any concerns while in the room. The game host can also help if you are completely stuck in the room.
We were lead into the room and the timer began – 45 minutes or we’re toast!
I don’t want to give anything away, but the room is absolutely amazing, once the door closes you’re immediately transported into what looks like a room in an abandoned asylum.
We worked extremely hard for 44 minutes and 59 seconds, because yes, we escaped just before the timer went off! We were safe!
Ali was a wonderful game host and a great brand ambassador.
Escape Manor has been around since 2004 and was founded by Billy Rogers, Chris Bisson, Steve Wilson, and Neil Schwartz.
In speaking with the folks at Escape Manor, the inspiration for the business were heist movies on the online escape room craze. They wanted to bring that experience to life.
The rooms were developed by them, their friends and some very talented contractors.
Although the Queen Street location was the original, they now have several different locations which include Hintonburg, ByWard Market, Diefenbunker and Cornwall Jail.
Although players of all ages are always welcomed, the team is in the midst of completing a Junior version set to launch this Fall!
It was an amazing evening and my wife and I look forward to our next great escape!