Breakout Manchester: Crimson Lake Motel

Hazardous Hotel

Crimson Lake Motel is billed as a sequel to Vacancy. I really enjoyed that one (back in 2017!) and so looked forward to attempting the next chapter.

Story

The luxury hotel you’ve won a weekend getaway at isn’t all that it seems.

Puzzles

This is one of Breakout’s most difficult rooms, and the puzzles reflected that. While we cracked a lot of them, there were occasions where we tried to figure something out without yet having all the necessary items. This lost us a lot of time at the start. I think a simple “You have to solve something else first” hint would not have gone amiss.

Mise en scene

Run-down hotel with the odd surprise- check. I much preferred Vacancy’s theming, though. Towards the end, a space with some sort of air freshener was taking us out of it- and catching our breaths!

Final Comments

Our team of 5 didn’t manage to get out in time! We were only a couple of puzzles away and so got to complete the room, at least. Make sure there are experienced players and lateral thinkers in your group!

Our host didn't even know the room so gave us vague and incorrect clues for the 8 minutes we spent on the last puzzle. 😵‍💫

But the room itself was very good, well themed and logical with interesting puzzles. Despite the issues with the hosting, we really enjoyed it!

A great game from BO - A step up from their usual games. Some clever puzzles, space was great and we escaped with no clues! (whoop!)

What a wonderful take on their original game Vacancy! This game is a massive improvement and feels like it's come from a different team! Everything just clicked and made perfect sense! No clues needed and we had a wonderful time!

Wonderful game really enjoyed the length of this one. Some clever puzzles here and plently to get through. If you like a challege this is the game for you. 

I recently had the opportunity to experience Crimson Lake Motel, and I must say, it was an unforgettable experience! I have tried several escape rooms before of a similar theme, but this one was a whole different level of fun and excitement. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the room was simply amazing.

One of the things that stood out was the quality of the room. The attention to detail was phenomenal, and it felt like I was actually transported to a real-life motel. The room was also quite challenging, but the best part was that we managed to escape with no clues! The puzzles were pretty straight forward with a semi-linear feel.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Crimson Lake Motel for anyone who is looking for a unique and thrilling escape room experience.

One of the worst games I’ve played. Zero signposting or logical progression, extremely linear.

The individual puzzles are all relatively easy but several puzzles had multiple, equally plausible solutions, and not enough info to decide which was correct so we wasted time working through every option.

Host gave no introduction or briefing, just walked us into the room and left. Essential piece of equipment failed so host had to stop the clock and provide us with replacement. Tech worked eventually but was clunky