Review: Handmade Mysteries Escape Room - Lady Chastity's Reserve
On the 22nd of August Brighton Girl hosted their monthly drinks event at The World’s End pub which was a fabulous night, as always! 6 Brighton Girls were lucky enough to play an escape room, hosted by Handmade Mysteries which is located upstairs in the pub.
HERE’S A REVIEW OF OUR EXPERIENCE TRYING TO ESCAPE THE ROOM BY FINDING THE INVITE TO ONE OF LADY CHASTITY’S WELL-RENOWNED PARTIES - WE PROMISE THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!
THE HOST
As the drinks were flowing in the World’s End pub, the excitement was building up for the 6 of us who were going to take part. When the time came, a woman named Gabriel, dressed in 1800s styled clothing, came down to greet us.
Gabriel was in character from the moment she started walking down the stairs to when we finished the game. The actress who played Gabriel was very talented - she never strayed from her character and was very convincing as a 19th Century socialite.
It was really nice to be collected and greeted, rather than trying to locate the venue ourselves (and knowing my orientation skills, getting lost!).
As Gabriel explained the story and the rules of the game, she used a witty sense of humour to make us giggle and put us at ease, taking the mickey out of both herself and us!
I have done a few escape rooms in the past, and Gabriel was by far the best host I have ever had - She was so welcoming and friendly, and really gave that little something extra to the whole escape room experience.
STORY LINE
The story line is something completely different to what I have experienced with previous escape room games. It’s not your standard ‘there’s been a murder you need to solve’ or ‘you' have to escape or you’ll be punished’. Gabriel tells you about Lady Chastity’s life and her background (again, no spoliers will be revealed), so you are fully emersed in the story before even entering the room.
Instead, you are hoping to find clues to unlock an invite to Lady Chastity’s party later on that evening - which after hearing her background and what the parties are like, you definitely want to go!
DIFFICULTY
I would say Lady Chastity’s Reserve is definitely a very challenging game in the world of escape rooms. If you have taken part in one before, you’ll know you really have to think outside the box and Lady Chasitity’s Reserve was no exception to this rule! I guess the difficulty with these kinds of games is staying focused and methodical. This escape room game is difficult and it certainly took us a bit of time as well as a few clues from Gabriel to get us into the swing of things.
However half an hour in we were going full throttle using the clues as we began to change our mindset in order to figure things out. Don’t worry too much if this will be your first escape room, Gabriel gives you three opportunities to ask for help which we were really grateful for! The level of difficulty is hard, however it really challenges you to work as a team and leaves you with a sense of achievement when (or if) you finally escape. We escaped with 8 minutes to spare and won a lovely bottle of Lady Chastity’s wine.
THE ROOM
The room was very well decorated to look like an 1800’s style living room and it was really authentic. From the books to the wardrobes everything followed the theme and story line which only helped us to be more motivated to attain the invite to Lady Chastity’s party. The room also had surprise features, such as flying butterflies which shocked you when you opened a book. Those really did make me scream because at the beginning you are walking around in near darkness. These little little details really made the atmosphere and tension so much greater and makes this escape room stand out from the rest.
The room is fairly small, so I would say 6 people is really the maximum number of people you can go in with. We did find ourselves running into each other a little, especially at the beginning when we were running around like headless chickens!
Without giving too much away, there is also way more to the room than you expect… Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, or should I say, don’t judge a room by it’s 4 walls?
PRICE
The price of the escape room is quite dear at £21 each - we got the room at off peak time for 6 people. To find more information on the prices, click here.
Having now done the escape room, I would say the price is totally worth it so don’t let it put you off! Sometimes you get what you pay for, and this is certainly the case for Lady Chastity’s Reserve by Handmade Mysteries.
Written by Imogen B.
Disclaimer: Tickets were given to us for free in return for this review, but our opinions are our own!
