The interest and popularity of escape rooms has strongly increased in 2017 and in 2018 they will be all the rage. Since it seems as though everyone is jumping on the escape room bandwagon, it is important to know which one(s) are worth the money, the hype, and your time.

There are several escape room locations in Southern California/the Bay Area that have received positive feedback and are quote unquote “worth it,” such as Escape SF (located in San Francisco, CA), OMESCAPE (located in Richmond, CA), and Escape Room LA (located in Los Angeles, CA). All of these escape rooms are highly reviewed and worth a try, nonetheless, none of these escape rooms are a hotel or claim to be the world’s largest escape room like The Escape Hotel in Hollywood, California.

The Escape Hotel is located in the heart of Hollywood and it contains 9 different and well thought out escape rooms that range in difficulty from a two (being the least difficult) to  seven. If you aren’t content with just the brain teasers that many of these escape rooms have and enjoy more haunted attractions then look no further, because Escape Hotel has the most unique escape rooms in Southern California.

While the Escape Hotel is not an actual hotel, it has the vibes of a hotel in the 1920s era, similar to the setting on American Horror Story: Hotel. When you walk through the door of the hotel, a spooky doorman greets you and the lobby is filled with antique furniture and decor. At check-in, each team member is then given a “passport” before being taken to your room. Your room options are (level of difficulty); Espionage (2), Agent (3), Daycare (3), Zombie (4), Witchcraft (4), Cocaine (4), Circus (4), Slaughter (5), and Sanatorium (7). Once you are led to your room, the bellman will then tell you the backstory of your room, the objective you have to finish in 60 minutes, and what will happen if you do not escape.

Overall, the atmosphere and meticulously thought out rooms makes for a very enjoyable experience. Although there was a few kinks that needed straightening out, I applaud their vision and my experience at the Escape Hotel was immersive, extremely fun, and “worth it.” If you are a fan of challenging escape rooms with a haunting aspect to them then you would enjoy the Escape Hotel.