Member Article

Kegworth hotel unlocks rooms for great escape

An East Midlands-based hotel has become the first in the UK to open a number of unique escape rooms ideal for businesses looking for a conference with a difference.

The popularity of escape rooms rose to prominence in the mid-2010s and is based on a Chinese game called Takagism.

People have since been locking themselves in rooms for fun where they work together to find clues, solve hidden puzzles and decipher codes to escape a themed, locked room before a one-hour time limit is up.

The Best Western Premier Yew Lodge Hotel on Packington Hill in Kegworth, which also includes a Marco Pierre White New York Italian restaurant, is now looking forward to welcoming those who think they’ve got what it takes to crack the codes and get out in time!

Working on a joint venture with Southampton based renowned escape room experts Houdini’s, an award winning escape room company who are experts in creating truly unique and immersive experiences; the hotel has converted two rooms into fiendishly difficult head scratchers that is set to test the most ardent of puzzle solvers.

The two new rooms have been themed as ‘USS Redemption’ and ‘Houdini’s Last Secret’ and will be able to take up to six people each. With difficulty ratings of 70 and 62 out of 100 respectively, Heather Thornton, director of sales and marketing at the hotel is not expecting too many groups to make it out in time.

She said: “Escape room experiences are perfect for away days, corporate entertainment, team building and recruitment. We’re always looking for ways to diversify, and for new ideas to provide our corporate clients with. We’re confident that with this, as well as our 17 existing meeting rooms, Reeds Health Club & Spa, 113 bedrooms and our fantastic on-site Marco Pierre White restaurant, we’re offering a unique, complete and first-class conferencing option for businesses.

“To be one the first hotesl in the country to open bespoke internal escape rooms shows that, once again, we’re ahead of the curve.”

A spokesperson from Houdini’s Southampton said “The opening of these two rooms at such a prestigious and well-loved venue allows us to share themed, real life adventures where teams of players work together to find hidden clues, crack puzzles and complete exciting challenges and solve the mystery before the time runs out.”

Close to the M1 motorway and East Midlands Airport the venue is already popular with business and leisure travellers from all over the country and the opening of the new escape rooms is set to consolidate that position.

Heather added: “We can’t wait to open. With predicted success rates of 38 per cent and 50 per cent for getting out, the challenge will be set to find the best corporate and leisure team. Question is, is there anyone brave enough out there willing to give it a try or risk being locked up for good!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Best Western .