Escape Hunt Cheltenham: Our Finest Hour

By | November 28, 2020

by Escape Hunt Cheltenham (website)

Unit D1, The Brewery Quarter, High St, Cheltenham GL50 3FF

Cheltenham

2-6 players

60 minutes

Step into 1942, when the world is at war. The Nazis have developed a series of devastating new superweapons that could obliterate Britain and win the war at a stroke.

As MI6’s top agents you’ve been chosen to find and destroy these fiendish inventions before they destroy us. The latest news from HQ is that the superweapons are primed and ready to launch, so you have precisely 60 minutes to discover their location, destroy them and save Britain.

The stakes couldn’t be higher – take too long and there won’t be any Britain left to save.

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Overall rating

Rated between 2 and 4 out of 5

based on ratings from 51 users
combined with 5 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

2For1 experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 10 Jan 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 68:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
clevergreat hostingintensequite difficult
Jordan Brown experienced rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 7 Jan 2022 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
great hostingbroken tech
Catherine Chamberlain rated this:Rated between 2 and 2 out of 5
Played: 5 Feb 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 55 minutes Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveillogical

I was really excited to play this as I'd done other escape hunt rooms and enjoyed them. 

Unfortunately, it felt badly designed. The way the puzzles worked wasn't clear, even with instructions for some of the systems it didn't make any sense. 

Not sure if our host was very attentive. We picked up the phone once with no response. Then the second time they responded. We aren't sure if they should have the first time? 

We also had a different game master start our session and then a different one at the end. 

We weren't offered a team photo either. 

Not terribly impressed unfortunately. 

CGee713 rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 17 Dec 2022 Team size: 1 Time taken: 26:53 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenpoor hostingplainvery easy

Aside from one really memorable set piece this is one of the poorer rooms I've played. The puzzles were far too simple and easy to solve. The objects were clearly bought for a quick reset turn around. The story was good and if it wasn't for one incredible set piece that took five minutes to solve this would have been a 1 star room. Definitely the worst room I've played so far in leeds.

gamesmaster13 rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 28 Aug 2024 Team size: 4 Time taken: 51:22 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivefamily friendlyunoriginal
leighton_87 experienced rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

One of the best Escape Hunt games

An opportunity to be a great game let down by poor maintenance and overuse

Stevie Davies expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: September 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 47m 10s
Anonymous rated this:Rated between 1.5 and 1.5 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Failed 🙁
CraftyPandaX rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 5 Nov 2022 Team size: 5 Time taken: 59 Mins Outcome: Successful escape!
broken techpoor hosting

We found this game to be illiogical but to be fair it may have been down to the broken puzzles, so the game didnt flow very well at all.

A puzzle was also left solved, which caused a lot of confusion.

Webbcam rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Team size: 6 Outcome: Successful escape!
clever
JoeRaymond experienced rated this:Rated between 1.5 and 1.5 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
plainunoriginal
Lindsey Carey (Dinner Jackets) expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 26 Jul 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 34:19
immersivegreat hostingdodgy wires

Thanks Justin for hosting our first game at this venue, we really enjoyed it and appreciated you taking the time to chat with us even when you were obviously busy. 

dave470003 rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Team size: 4
value for moneyplainunoriginalvery easy
TheCLAMS expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersive

This was our favourite game at EscapeHunt. Some cool elements to this room and great theming

hourglassescapesltd expert rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 14/02/2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 37:59 Outcome: Successful escape!
illogicalbroken tech

This room is tricky to review - we got the record on this one which was nice but sadly some broken props and a slightly absent host meant we wasted time and got frustrated at something that, in reality was an easy fix. There were some "fun" puzzles in the room that made us laugh but unfortunately the poor quality and props being broken meant some puzzles weren't completed as per the room instruction and no guidance was given, made for a negative experience for us.

Our host was really nice, it was fairly evident he was unable to "fix" any issues as it was out of his remit, for which we felt sad as it has potential to be a good room if those bits could be fixed and work properly. 

Mrs G expert rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 26 Jan 2023 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

We started really well in this room then lost our way and failed to fully recover. In our opinion a couple of the puzzles seemed illogical. Games master was really good but couldn’t help feeling a little underwhelmed 

Billy Rigler rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Played: 27 Dec 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 30:21 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveoverpricedquite easy

The escape room was fun and the puzzles were all high quality, given the time taken though, it didn't felt like a difficult enough challenge. 

The ending was abrupt and wasn't satisfying. 

Mighty Oaks experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 1 Aug 2018 Team size: 2 Time taken: 45:10 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivengreat hosting
SupertrampEcho experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenintenseepic
Brandon experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 17 Aug 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 37:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
cleverstory-drivengreat hosting
kman expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 21 Dec 2018 Team size: 2 Time taken: 52m 02s Outcome: Successful escape!
piratechaek experienced rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenplainunoriginal

Dull, fine puzzles, not up to the level of the other games here. 

Catherine K experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

Our first game with Escape Hunt so we weren’t sure what to expect, overall it was a good game with different puzzles and some unusual items which fitted well with the theme. 

Adam S experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 15 Jun 2021 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
🔐SpontaneousIllusion expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Outcome: Failed 🙁
immersivestory-drivengreat hosting
Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!

Enjoyable game. First time players would probably enjoy it. As someone who has played more rooms than the average player, it didn't really stand out to me in any way, but it was by no means a bad game.

flyingoctopus expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

We had a great GM who was super chatty and friendly, making us feel really welcome. This is not always the case at chains such as Escape Hunt so we were really pleased by this. 

We enjoyed this game a lot.  There is a good mix of hands on puzzles which really tested different types of thinking. 

TeamHawley experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Time taken: 55 Outcome: Successful escape!
Moosehead expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Team size: 2
immersivegreat hosting
coco974 rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivepoor hosting

OFH is a brilliant room - I think our GM kinda ruined it for us. 

Theming and puzzles - brilliant. Theme completely went with the aim of the game. Puzzles were related to the objective. 

Hosting - not sure he was actually paying attention as we completed a task and was told to re-do it, putting everything in exactly the same place as before, only this time he was paying attention!

Difficulty - the GM told us this was the hardest game at Escape Hunt, we were challenged enough, but didn't find it impossible. I think I hindered us by rushing and not reading properly (sounds effects and time warnings really add to the pressure) and the GM didn't help by missing a couple of actions that we had completed. 

Not a padlock heavy room, so ideal if you prefer action based results rather than keys and codes. 

Great room, just needed the GM to be on the ball 

Sam Carr experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
great hosting
Alice Lucy rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 4 Time taken: 39:28 Outcome: Successful escape!
jakea256 expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
beautifulgreat hostingpoor signpostingquite difficult

The room really felt authentic, all puzzles were fitting with the theme and felt like they were there to progress the story. A lot of the puzzles were poorly signposted meaning we weren't sure if we had successfully completed them or not. Aside from this our GM was really lovely and chatted for a while afterwards too. 

Mark Greenhalgh expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 24/03/18
Jen Wells (Get Wells Soon) expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautiful

This is a decent room and there is one particular element that is incredible! Lovely puzzles and a good amount of challenge that fitted in with the theme and kept the two of us occupied.

Mark Jackson experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Failed 🙁
cleverstory-drivenintensequite difficult

Hard for just two players. Good story and very immersive

Emma Macedo experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 6th May 2018 Team size: 2 Time taken: 57:31 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-driven
fraggle42 experienced rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Outcome: Failed 🙁
MightyMidds experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

Great game! 

Only flaw (as with many Escape Hunt games) was when the GM had to look/listen for us doing something to trigger the next step, rather than it being mechanical. Most of the time, this is fine, except when the GM isn't concentrating! 

There was also an instruction sheet for a puzzle that literally made no sense to us, to which the GM said 'yeah, a lot of people say that'.

simonfinnie rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 30 Jul 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Failed 🙁
value for moneyfamily friendlyquite difficult

Good escape room with some really nice touches related to WWII, but we were slightly frustrated by a slightly illogical puzzle two-thirds of the way through and despite requesting assistance several times were left on our own for quite a while. The hosts outside the game were extremely friendly and professional, but unfortunately they weren't as available as we would have liked in the game itself. 

That said, we had a great time and intend to go back to play the Alice room!

Fiona Smith experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 24 Jul 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: DNF Outcome: Failed 🙁
beautifulhi-techcleververy difficult

Great room - have done quite a few and thought this was one of the most difficult (in a good way). It was just too clever for us in the end but every time we asked for a clue we were like ‘Ohhhh of course’ whereas sometimes you think ‘…well that’s a stretch.. never would have got that’. We were told we weren’t far from the end but I would have liked to have been shown (briefly - not the details of the clues) what we would have seen to get the full experience of the room.

Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 28/08/2019 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
fraggle42 experienced rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Played: 25 May 2019 Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
quite difficult
Lise expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 2018 Team size: 6 Outcome: Successful escape!

The Finest Hour was a really good room, we had a perfect time! I would not recommend the room for more than 4 people due to the size of the rooms. It was 6 of us attempting that room which resulted in 2/3 people just standing aside on some puzzles as the room couldn't take more. I believe this room is my favourite World War themed room so far.

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Siân O'Brien experienced rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 31/08/2020 Team size: 5 Time taken: 57:36 Outcome: Successful escape!

This was amazing!! I love it. 

We had Luke as our GM again. He's brilliant. 

If I had one negative, it would be that we did reach points were 2 or 3 people would be working on a puzzle, and the others would have nothing to do. The theme and puzzles were great though. It was a tough room, with a climactic finish, and apparently only a 20% escape rate! 

I definitely recommend. 

Arjay Henshall expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 14/08/2020 Team size: 2 Time taken: 55 Outcome: Successful escape!

If you have previously read my of Blackbeard's Treasure at this venue, then you will know that this is the game we were offered to play for free after the disaster that was "That" room. If you haven't read it yet, go read it now and then come back here.

So as you can imagine, my first impression of the company wasn't great in anyway shape or form, however we were pleasantly surprised with this room and they certainly have won us back.

This room was fairly challenging, having to use a lot of logic and everything was perfectly on theme. 

We did need a few gentle nudges in the right direction but with a little nudge in the right direction, we were soon back on track and our GM was really great at delivering clues. I would certainly recommend this room due to the teeming, decor and puzzle ingenuity 

Wesley Mead expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Tom experienced rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 2018 Team size: 4 Time taken: 59.40 Outcome: Successful escape!

Took my parents along to this one, they were worried before that we would be playing against each other haha! It is a brilliant room, the theme and props and atmosphere are perfect. The challenge is tough and some great surprises here!

Sabrina (The Overthinkers) expert rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Played: 20/04/2019 Time taken: 36:24:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
Tom Hill rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5

Reviews by escape room review sites

Escape Hunt is a name that enthusiasts may recognise from escaping trips abroad: they have venues in more than two dozen cities around the globe. They used to have a location in London, which shut down some years ago; but they've now re-launched in three UK cities with at least another three due to open. I didn't have a hugely favourable impression of their original London location, but early feedback on their new UK games was a lot more positive, so I was pleased to make a visit to their...

A solid game but one which, for me, never really took off with temperamental tech in the middle, use of technology that looked out of place for the theme, and a finale that was a bit flat. Nothing to ruin the game but enough to take the edge off of it.
I don’t know how this version compares with the six others country-wide, but we were pleased with the staging without being blown away

Overall, this was an outstanding escape room. If you only do one in your life, this might be a contender. If you want to do a lot and are looking for somewhere to start… honestly maybe don’t do this one first. I have a feeling it would make any subsequent ones you do a little less engaging.

See also