Our review of the Sherlock Holmes Experience

A review of The Game is Now, Sherlock Holmes

An escape room but not as you know it...

Our review of the Sherlock Holmes experience

WIf you love a tricky puzzle, fancy yourself a bit of a detective, or just enjoy donning your metaphorical deerstalker for the day (or in fact, you can just wear one), then the Sherlock Holmes Escape Room is for you. This makes an excellent birthday gift for those tricky 18 year olds!We took on the challenge yesterday, armed with our wits (or so we thought) and a crew of young sleuths aged 10, 13, 16, and 18. Spoiler: we needed a lot of help. 🤣 But the beauty of this escape room? The hosts are watching your every move (in a non-creepy, very helpful way) and know exactly when to nudge you in the right direction. And they do it brilliantly. Dropping hints in character, so it feels like Sherlock himself is giving you a guiding hand.

A Mind-Bender

The venue is hidden inside Doyles Opticians and you need a secret passphrase to gain entry. From the moment you step in, you’re in Sherlock’s world. Immersive storytelling from Stanford, intricate details and puzzles that put your grey matter to the test. This escape room challenges you to think like a detective. It’s not just about finding keys and solving riddles. Hidden clues and cryptic messages had us scratching our heads (and reaching for those much-needed hints) made for a really memorable escape room experience.

Why I loved it

It’s a winner across the generations. Whether you’re a teenager who thrives on brain teasers, a parent looking for something genuinely engaging, or just someone who fancies themselves a modern-day Holmes, this escape room delivers. It’s also a brilliant choice for a 21st birthday gift—after all, what better way to celebrate a milestone than by solving a mystery with friends? We laughed, we panicked, we celebrated small victories and we left buzzing.

If you’re up for 60 minutes of mystery, excitement, and just the right level of challenge, this one’s for you. Top tip just don’t be afraid to take a hint… or ten.

Elementary, my dear Watson? Not quite. But utterly brilliant fun? 100%.

EVEN MORE 21ST BIRTHDAY GIFTS THIS WAY 👉 🧀

Brilliant setting, multiple rooms and great puzzles

Donna

Brilliant setting, multiple rooms and great puzzles to get through. The bar at the end is an added bonus!

We nearly saved the world!

Lisa

We went as a family - 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Loved the immersive nature of it and were only marginally disappointed that Sherlock needed to save us in the last few minutes - we were SO close to saving the world!

The best escape rooms we have done

Lyn

This was one of the best escape rooms we have done. The sets were great, especially the mind room, which was actually a bar!!! The puzzles were stretching but not impossible to solve. Great fun, we were so glad we’d chose this one. I do think you need at least four on your team in order to escape. So much going on in each of the three rooms.