303 Escape - "Chapter 1 - Room 303"

Updated: Apr 12

LOCATION:  Thornton, Colorado, USA

Photo above is property of 303 Escape

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Chapter 1 - Room 303
📅 DATE PLAYED: August 29, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Horror, Serial Killer
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 ppl (Ages 14+)
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: $40.00/ pp (Min. of 2 ppl), $35.00/ pp (3-4 ppl), $30.00/ pp (5-8 ppl)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

After the owner of the Blackmore Hotel, Robert Quinlan was arrested for taking the lives of at least nineteen hotel guests, the hotel remained vacant for 12 years. Recently, at the auction it was sold to Greg & Alice Williams in hopes to capitalize on its dark history. They named it "Homicide Hotel" and transformed it into an escape room business! You decided to be adventurous and voluntarily check yourself into "Room 303", the room that Robert always puts his next victims in. What could go wrong?

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

Right from the start, we were immersed into the set design of this old hotel lobby. The intro was given over an audio speaker which made it feel even creepier since we don't know who's speaking to us and from where. Right after we completed our paperwork for the check-in, we followed our "bellhop" to our hotel room down the spooky hallway.
Just as described in the storyline, there were a lot of hidden chambers and passageways in this game. After playing so many rooms, we've gotten great at detecting where the door is to the next room but this game still managed to surprise us with a few hidden spots.
You can definitely feel the inspiration in the set design from H.H. Holmes. In this game in particular, we had a moment where we discovered a hidden passageway that gave us goosebumps.
As we entered the room, we were instantly creeped out by the dim lighting, discolorations of the wallpapers, a bed that really hopes you would check underneath it, and of course they had to have a static TV.
The lighting and sound effect was also top notch. Everything was programmed to happen when it should. This made us feel like we were pushed through different scenes in a movie.
The hint system was to dial the phone to connect with the front desk. The creator was very considerate when implementing the audibility for the hint system for the entire team.
Although we knew how one of the puzzles worked since we've seen it in other escape rooms before, it was the placement of the prop that made it a unique experience for us.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

It would be great if the game master could play into character a bit more. We had the owner that day, so he probably doesn't normally GM as much. But a creepy bellhop/check-in person will definitely bring the experience to another level.
If we had an actual key that we could put into the keyhole to open our own room, it would make the experience feel more authentic.
One of the visual puzzles was a bit of a stretch to visualize.
A puzzle that needed numbers didn't really give a clear order on how it should be read. Perhaps an added puzzle with a storyline could easily resolve that.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

The storyline for "Chapter 1 - Room 303" had us hooked right from the beginning. We couldn't wait to get into "Chapter 2 - Dark Heart of the Hotel", as they did a great job at providing a climactic cliffhanger. This game is perfect for me as I love horror-themed games, but I'm not a big fan of live actors and jump-scares. At times, we felt like supernatural investigators and others times, we were like detectives. Our mindset was focused on figuring out the truth the entire time. When we entered "The Homicide Hotel", the outside world completely disappeared. All we could think about was how not to get caught by this killer and make it out alive. This is what true immersion feels like!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Free parking lot right in front.
Lobby area with seating.
Flashing/flickering (not strobe) lights may be present.
Parental discretion is advised for those under 14. There is some mild adult language and some blood and gore.
There are no intentional jump scares or actors.

*DISCLAIMER: This is not an actual hotel. It is an Escape Room interactive gaming experience. The characters and stories are fictional and no actual murders took place at this location.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

BOOK NOW

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank 303 Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.