The Great Big Escape
The Great Big Escape
3.5
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
About
Embark on an exhilarating adventure at The Great Big Escape, where every moment counts! Race against the clock with your team as you unravel mysteries, crack codes, and tackle brain-teasing puzzles to secure your escape! Collaboration is key as you put your logic, intuition, and teamwork to the ultimate test! Explore immersive environments and uncover hidden clues to overcome obstacles and emerge victorious! Gather your crew and dive into the action-packed excitement today! Are you up for the challenge?
Duration: 1-2 hours
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- Venture471414831942 contributionsJust plain Fun!Something fun to do in Dorchester! Two of us cracked the escape with 5 mins to go. Simple props but enjoyed working through the clues and not being overwhelmed with too many aesthetic only items and red herrings. Can't wait for the Space room to open! Very friendly establishment too.Visited February 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 11 February 2024
- LeebeerollsYeovil, United Kingdom38 contributionsBasicQuite a basic escape room. Too many codes needing to be found at the same time. Lighting in room was so poor and ultimately lead to us failing getting out of the room which was a shame. Staff were friendly. Felt rushed out afterwards but would go back again to do the other room.Visited March 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 1 April 2024
- Rowyoung4 contributionsVery Clever and So Much Fun For All The Family!So much fun! Fantastic host and just the right amount of difficulty for our family of 5 and our 17 year-old’s boyfriend. Very creepy atmosphere - was definitely very good for making you feel like you were in the zone of trying to escape! Absolutely loved it and we’ve booked the next one!Visited March 2024Travelled with familyWritten 2 June 2024
- GrandTour7994931 contributionOverpriced6 of us went on a Sunday afternoon, as a birthday treat for a friend. It was ok. I didn't think it was worth the money. The clues weren't particularly clever and it was extremely dark in there, and the ending was v underwhelming. Overall, it was v overpriced for what it was.Visited August 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 15 August 2024
- EASJ222 contributionsGreat funWe had a great time as a birthday party group of 11/12 year old boys on a very rainy day. Split into two rooms they did a great job of working out the clues and puzzles. Although we might have needed some clues !! Alec was an excellent host , thank youVisited September 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 1 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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3.5
31 reviews
Excellent
17
Very good
3
Average
2
Poor
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Terrible
5
Steph
Dorset, UK100 contributions
Apr 2022 • Friends
We’ve done escape rooms before and they were very good! I have to admit we were quite disappointed with this one. Sorry but I wouldn’t pay £25 to do it again or the other room. I do feel like it was way over priced for what it was.
The lady on reception welcomed us and was really polite and helpful.
We booked to do the witch and warlock room, the theme of the room itself was hugely disappointing. Ones we’ve done in the past are really themed so that you feel fully immersed in the escape room. This one felt like a empty brick room with a table and bookcase inside of it. Very very basic and empty. I hope if the escape rooms stay there they will look to improve this, curtains draped on the walls, pictures or rugs etc would be really simple to do, and would improve this to make it feel more magical themed and immersive.
We did manage to escape the room but we found that the clues itself were okay, but some things weren’t very related to the actual story, like count how many of this item there are isn’t really relevant to the actual story and was quite basic that we often were often way over thinking it.
Overall there are much better more immersive rooms out there for the price, I wouldn’t recommend this one unless they really improve the theming of the rooms.
The lady on reception welcomed us and was really polite and helpful.
We booked to do the witch and warlock room, the theme of the room itself was hugely disappointing. Ones we’ve done in the past are really themed so that you feel fully immersed in the escape room. This one felt like a empty brick room with a table and bookcase inside of it. Very very basic and empty. I hope if the escape rooms stay there they will look to improve this, curtains draped on the walls, pictures or rugs etc would be really simple to do, and would improve this to make it feel more magical themed and immersive.
We did manage to escape the room but we found that the clues itself were okay, but some things weren’t very related to the actual story, like count how many of this item there are isn’t really relevant to the actual story and was quite basic that we often were often way over thinking it.
Overall there are much better more immersive rooms out there for the price, I wouldn’t recommend this one unless they really improve the theming of the rooms.
Written 13 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Steph,
Thank you for your review, I’m sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your experience with us at The Great Big Escape. It can sometimes be hard to find a balance between distracting the team with props/décor and with the story being based in the classroom we felt the furniture and walls fitted quite well, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t feel the same.
I will find some extra décor/props to hopefully create a more immersive feel to the room based on your review. I felt that the counting related quite well to the story as you are in a school setting but I can look into merging this into the overall story better.
If you want to discuss anything further, please don’t hesitate to drop us an email at hello@thegreatbigescape.com
Kind regards
Amie
Written 15 April 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dorset_Dumpling8
Dorset, UK25 contributions
May 2022 • Friends
A disappointing escape room experience. When we stepped in to the first room it lacked the visual impact you would expect and appears that the venture was done on a very limited budget. For a group of people there was not enough to keep everyone occupied and some of the group lost interest very quickly. It's a shame as the location is perfect and cries out for a more emmersive experience. I'm sure that if the owner takes on board the constructive criticism this could be a real goldmine and draw people back for more, unfortunately, as it is we wouldn't bother again. A real shame!
Written 7 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello
Thank you for your review, we're sorry to hear you didn't feel there was enough to keep everyone occupied.
I am very keen to discuss this further and hopefully make some improvements based on your experience if you could email me at hello@thegreatbigescape.com
I hope to hear from you soon
Kind regards
Amie
Written 7 May 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
LordNikon
Weymouth, UK61 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
Really clever and unique experience. My daughter and 3 friends took the challenge of The Barber of Pope Street on.
I didn’t do the experience but we were able to watch on the screen as we saw the girls work out puzzles to progress through what is a very ingenious great fun refreshing change from the usual things that we normally do.
We were really impressed with how the lady that worked there Niamh made the whole experience interactive by passing clues through if and when needed.
This is something you can’t put a value on. It is totally different to any other experience. You become totally immersed as if part of a movie or tv programme.
We would highly recommend this for something to do for a birthday party for ages around 11 upwards really. Amazing, unique, brilliant.
I didn’t do the experience but we were able to watch on the screen as we saw the girls work out puzzles to progress through what is a very ingenious great fun refreshing change from the usual things that we normally do.
We were really impressed with how the lady that worked there Niamh made the whole experience interactive by passing clues through if and when needed.
This is something you can’t put a value on. It is totally different to any other experience. You become totally immersed as if part of a movie or tv programme.
We would highly recommend this for something to do for a birthday party for ages around 11 upwards really. Amazing, unique, brilliant.
Written 28 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Andersons
World20 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
We did both rooms whilst on holiday locally both rooms were fun and engaging and definitely challenging. Hop House is the more straight forward of the two rooms and barber of Pope street was counter intuitive in places which made it one of the more difficult rooms we have done, Niamh our host was delightful we got out with a couple of mins to spare both times- we are very experienced escapees. The only mark down for us was that both rooms are very low light environments, for hophouse we were offered a torch, which would have also been helpful for Barber but otherwise two great rooms. Thank you.
Written 2 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for choosing us for a double escape room adventure whilst you were exploring the local area!
I appreciate the constructive feedback and I will definitely take a look into the flow of BOPS and reassess the lighting situation. Congratulations on escaping both rooms with just minutes to spare - a testament to your escape skills!
Niamh is a real treasure and I'm delighted that she added to your enjoyment of the escape rooms.
Thank you once again for your visit and for your kind words. I hope you'll pop in and visit us again if you're back in the area for more thrilling escape adventures.
Kind regards
Amie
Written 7 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jason F
Bridport, UK49 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
We visited this new attraction in Dorchester recently as a family treat and it really was that. From ghe off, we were well looked after and everything was well explained. There are two escape experiences and we'd booked the Detective Escape which is the harder of the two. It's certainly not easy and we did ask for a few clues but given this was out first escape experience that wasn't unusual. We didn't complete it in the alloted hour but were super close. I'll not day anything that would give anything away so as not to spoil it for future users but we would all highly recommend.
Written 29 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Imogen C
75 contributions
Oct 2022 • Friends
Glad that I'm not the only one who found this escape room basic and non immersive. Absolutely no creativity or imagination compared to many other escape rooms I've done. Not only this but we booked 2 rooms as we were a large group and they merged us into one as they didn't have time for both of us and they had broken props. This meant many of our group had to stand holding torches the whole time.
The worst part for me was the clues. Without giving too much away when just told to: you need to know who the murderer is when the whole premise of the escape room is to solve the murder...That's not very helpful. A prop broke halfway through meaning solving the last puzzle became very challenging.
Worst escape room I've been to and I've visited many.
The worst part for me was the clues. Without giving too much away when just told to: you need to know who the murderer is when the whole premise of the escape room is to solve the murder...That's not very helpful. A prop broke halfway through meaning solving the last puzzle became very challenging.
Worst escape room I've been to and I've visited many.
Written 29 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Imogen,
Thanks for taking the time to review your experience at The Great Big Escape. I am sorry to hear that you felt that your experience wasn't up to the standard that you expected and I'm sorry that you didn't manage to escape.
I have looked back through our booking system and I can see that you were not the main contact for your groups booking and that we had a conversation with the main contact about your booking prior to you turning up. The main contact was made aware that our new room 'The Barber Of Pope Street' was delayed due to circumstances outside of our control, this was not due to us not having 'time' for your group.
We gave the main contact the option of moving the date of your booking, a full refund or the option of putting the whole group into our open room 'The Hop House Homicide'. The decision was made by your main contact to put the whole group in to the single room and due to the inconvenience of our new room not being opened in time, we provided your main contact a refund of one person as a gesture of goodwill.
Looking back over the footage of your experience I can see that there was an issue with one of our props, unfortunately this happens from time to time. We have had a considerable amount of people complete our room 'The Hop House Homicide', some of them a little less gentle with the props than others.
Again I am sorry that you didn't feel that the experience was up to your expected standard, I hope that you will visit again to take part in another one of our rooms that will hopefully meet your expectations.
I would be happy to discuss your experience, please feel free to email hello@thegreatbigescape.com to discuss this further.
Kind Regards,
Brad
Written 30 October 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Claire M
Poole, UK37 contributions
Oct 2022
The website paints a different picture to the actual venue. I like to be fair but honest too. I was disappointed with the room which was Hop House Homicide. We’ve done 8 different rooms now in various counties and this was by far the worst. Extremely basic, all of the furniture/ props looked like it had been brought back from the local tip. Very cheaply done and unimaginative I’m afraid. It definitely wasn’t worth £25 each for the four of us. In my opinion, if something isn’t done to improve the room, I can’t see this place staying in business.
Written 31 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EASJ22
2 contributions
Sept 2024 • Friends
We had a great time as a birthday party group of 11/12 year old boys on a very rainy day. Split into two rooms they did a great job of working out the clues and puzzles. Although we might have needed some clues !! Alec was an excellent host , thank you
Written 1 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gypsyst2019
Dorchester, UK16 contributions
Mar 2022 • Friends
Very disappointing . No atmosphere and sparse furnishings. Not enough to do for a larger group of people . Felt very budget but priced as high as much more elaborate ones . Poorly designed and finished . Props of poor quality .
Such a shame as so exciting to have escape room in Dorchester.
Such a shame as so exciting to have escape room in Dorchester.
Written 8 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I'm sorry to hear you didn't feel there was enough for everyone to do and that you felt it was poorly designed and finished.
I am very keen to discuss this with you further and hopefully make some improvements based on your experience if you could drop me an email at hello@thegreatbigescape.com
I hope to hear from you soon
Kind regards
Amie
Written 19 May 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Simon T
Poole, UK21 contributions
May 2022 • Friends
Amazing, really enjoyed this experience, highly recommend to anyone for a fun activity with mates. Good balance of time vs challenge. We didn't manage to finish it as ran out of time but was close and the level of complexity is perfectly pitched anymore and you would struggle and be overwhelmed, it was a really well written story and we had fun as a team of 5 working through. If you are looking for an afternoon activity in the dorch area, do this you won't be disappointed. We will be going back try the 2nd room.
Written 16 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time out to write such a lovely review, Simon! Your team did so well and you definitely would've escaped with a couple of extra minutes on the clock.
We can't wait to see you back to do our other room.
Kind regards
Amie
Written 19 May 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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