General
Our address is 298 Bagot St. between H.E.R. hair salon and Golden Viet-Thai restaurant. Upon seeing our door, you will see Sherlock’s Escapes Detective Agency.
Our location only has street parking available and a parking lot a block away. However, because we are located in downtown Kingston, we’re easily accessible by walking or wheeling. We’re also a block away from the Kingston Transit Downtown Transfer Point.
Yes, all of our rooms are kid friendly. While there is no minimum age for our escape rooms, we recommend adults present for groups of kids 13 and under since there are word based puzzles that require logic and reading comprehension.
Our space is set up like a detective agency with the lobby of the escape room being the lobby of the agency (which is also an escape room!). You’re welcome to stick around for a bit to chat with your room host about the room, however, there may be another group starting up their experience at the same time so please be mindful of others.
COVID-19 Safety Measures
We are no longer requiring our guests to wear masks or face coverings while at Sherlock’s Escapes. However, our staff will continue to wear face coverings while interacting with guests.
We continue to provide health and safety measures for the comfort and peace and mind of our guests. We are still maintaining the following safety precautions:
- Pre-screening our staff and guests for Covid-19 symptoms before arrival
- Thorough sanitization of all touched items within our escape room and the lobby
- Staff wearing face coverings while interacting with guests
You will not have to show proof of vaccination to do an in-person escape room. If you have any further questions about our COVID-19 protocols please contact us at info@sherlocksescapes.com
Reopening Policy Changes
At this time we are currently not offering any Culinary Pursuit or A Scandal in Kingston bookings. At this time, both rooms are too difficult to sanitize quickly and efficiently. We are working as quickly as we can to reopen these rooms with improved sanitation and safety standards.
At this time, we are not offering children’s birthday parties at our downtown location. If you would like to book a birthday party experience, please contact us about our new virtual birthday package.
As we are trying to reduce the amount of interaction between our room host and your group, we ask that all participants keep all of their items on their person while inside our facility.
We are temporarily waiving our cancelation policy. We ask that you give our staff as much notice as possible, however if you or any member of your group is feeling unwell, has traveled outside the country in the last 2 weeks, has come in contact with a confirmed positive patient, or is showing any symptoms of Covid-19 we ask that you cancel your booking. You will be fully refunded for your experience.
In an attempt to limit the interaction between our staff and our guests we are requesting that all guests pay for their experience in full before they arrive at our physical location. If you are unable to book your experience online or pay prior to arriving, please contact us and we may be able to find a solution.
In-Person Experiences
We are open by appointment only. Click here to learn about our rooms and book yourself an appointment. You will notice in looking at the room descriptions that there are recommended party sizes.
Experienced escapists like “The Great Sherlock” can lean towards the lower suggested number, while novice escapists usually have a better time in higher numbers.
It is crucial for your party to arrive at our location, 298 Bagot Street in Kingston, 15 minutes before the escape begins. Another group may be booked right after you and if you are later to enter the room you have less time to escape.
Before you start the basics of Sherlock’s Escape rooms are explained and every participant will have to sign a liability waiver before the game starts.
Sadly pictures and video recording devices are not permitted in rooms. We do have team lockers for you to store your wallets/cellphones/keys/etc.
After a successful, or even an unsuccessful, escape attempt our staff is always excited to get any team shots you wish.
Everyone is welcome! Any minor (under the age of 18) must have a guardian to sign his/her waiver form. It is suggested that participants under the age of 12 have a guardian in the escape room with the team. Should you have concerns, please feel free to contact us!
In order to save time at arrived feel free to download the PDF below to have signed and dated before your escape. Happy Sleuthing!
We are located on a second floor studio that is only accessible by stairs.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Some rooms may require ladder climbing or a kneeling maneuver through a narrow passageway.
Our overall aim is not to “trap” or “terrify” people. Toilet breaks are sometimes necessary.
Some people end up realizing that they just do not like the experience. As a result, you can leave the escape room at any time because your entry door to the room is not only the entrance but also your emergency exit.
It isn’t even locked.
Potential players who feel they have a special case for one reason or another can contact us in advance so we can best advise them about trying a room.
However, the game generates excitement and if you are not up for it, you might not want to play!
Like everything in life, it depends. Our rooms are designed with enjoyment, excitement, and safety in mind. With that said, if you have a limitation that makes crawling, stairs, or standing for up to an hour difficult, then perhaps this isn’t for you. If you are unsure, please contact us in advance so we can best advise you.
Conditions of common issue include but are not limited to, claustrophobia, severe heart conditions, and greatly limited mobility to name a few. Our staff reserve the right to refuse anyone admission to the escape rooms should they deem it necessary, so if you are unsure please call us beforehand.
Please contact us via email for special arrangements at info@sherlocksescapes.com
Our escape rooms are designed for multiple participants, so no you cannot play alone. However, all bookings are private unless otherwise stated, so only your party will be in the room with you.
Virtual Experiences
This FAQ is for our Virtual Simulated experiences. Click here to check out what we have to offer, or check out our Hybrid Virtual and Digital Live-Action experiences.
Pricing
Our virtual escape rooms are charged per person (much like our experiences at our main location).
Because you aren’t coming in to play with us, we need to collect full payment when you make the booking. Feel free to get your friends/family to email transfer you their portion.
Yes! You will have to pay for 6 people. You will get one room code (as explained in How Zoom Works below) and share that to the other three people with computers.
Yes! Video conferencing can sometimes get messy with lots of computers on the same call, but we are willing and happy to make the experience work for you. Should you want more people to play than just 6, just book your room and then email us asking to extend the room limits. *** Please note: we highly advise against going above 9 people
Good question and sadly no. At $23.50 for kids in physical escape rooms and $20.50 per person for virtual escape rooms, our prices are at rock bottom so that we can provide you safe entertainment in the comfort of your own home during this troubling time. As a result, unless there is a special promotion happening (essential service workers please pay attention to our Facebook) there is just one price of admission.
How Zoom Works
Yes! The escape room is run over a video conferencing platform (we highly suggest Zoom), so as long as everyone has access to high speed internet and a computer, then you can all play together.
You don’t need to install anything, although we suggest you download Zoom. 5 – 10 minutes before your experience begins, our staff will email you a zoom room code and all you need to do is click the link. Don’t forget to check your junk mail if you haven’t heard from us 5 minutes before the room.
Just as joining the room is straight forward, all you need to do is forward our email to them and they can join too! Should you still be nervous about using zoom for the first time, please check out how to join a zoom meeting here.
How Virtual Escape Rooms Work
No, the room you will be escaping from doesn’t actually exist. Your room host will detail your surroundings to you, and then it is up to you to figure out how to escape those surroundings.
Not to worry. Your room host will also provide a map of your surroundings after explaining them to your group. This way you have something tangible to look at.
Treat it like normal life. If you want to go and investigate that bookcase over in the corner, tell the room host “I want to go investigate that bookcase”.
Sadly, it isn’t that simple! If you ask to look at a bookcase, that is all you will do. If you ask to look at the right book on the bookcase as a result of some clue you got earlier, then more will be revealed. Pointed questions will get pointed answers! Be specific with your instructions.
