Houdini’s Escape Room Experience Southampton: Creepy Carnival

Didn’t have much to do, felt very linear and more like a hide and seek

Enjoyed this room, some things left one but I liked it.

Host kept randomly coming in to give us information that we didn't need help with which made us complete the game loads quicker and set a time record for our amount of players. we was last booking slot which made my group feel like they were rushing us out of the door

We were warned. Scary Room. Live Actor.
The group before us cried, apparently. 
...this was over hyped and made our experience worse. 

I'm going to start by saying the hosts were just doing what they were told and working with what they had...but it was because of this, why our experience was bad.

We were eventually led to start our game, again, being warned that it is REALLY scary, we entered the room with caution...eventually there was nothing to fear so we proceeded....
However...now, this, this is where the experience was ruined, and Houdinis SWEAR this is the best way to do things...all they have to do is....look at ANY other escape room to realise they are WRONG....the host kept coming into the games to ask us if we needed help and see where we were up to....
Shouldn't you be watching the game? You should KNOW where we're up to, and also....dont ruin our immersion by keep showing up. 
We said no, EVERY time we were asked if we needed help...but we got help any way, and at one point....he just gave us the answer to something....now....I don't want to claim this, but we got out in 35 minutes....which is a ridiculous time....considering the outrageous price we paid (even on half price Tuesdays) to play, we felt like we were forced through the game....could this be because we were the only group in on the last slot of the day? I'd say yes, but obviously I dont know....but giving answer to us when we already said we didnt want help makes me feel like im right.

The room itself was....ok.....I mean not scary, but creepy, and the puzzles were....alright. Sort of made sense, except one at the begining that made us do something in a weird order that is not signposted to do so, so we had to guess....or luckily, help came in and told us exactly how to do it despite only spending a couple of minutes trying to work it out.

All in all, a bad experience, and everyone I spoke to about Houdinis says the same thing....
all the negatives are the same, and the positive are just 'alright'. 
Surely...please god....you want to improve that and keep people coming back. There's one more room for us to play there as we played two in one day...but...we wont be.... I know a lot of people who said they wont be back at Houdinis too....so....can't just be me, right?

Sorry, I appreciate I sound sour.....but it was a LOT of money, more than Enigma that's just down the room, and have way better quality rooms, and £50 cheaper all week, not just on half price Tuesdays..... It would have cost us £300 for 6 of us to play on a normal day....compared with £99 for Enigma....or anywhere else....

Sorry, but not good! Has potential, but needs a lot of work.