Escapology Escape Room Review: We Put Our Detective Skills to the Test in Mansion Murder

During our recent visit to Sarasota, we decided to challenge ourselves at Escapology escape rooms, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.

We chose Mansion Murder, one of Escapology’s most challenging escape rooms—and it definitely lived up to its reputation.

What Is an Escapology Escape Room?

Escapology is one of the largest escape room companies in the country, with locations across the United States as well as internationally. That means if you find a game or company you enjoy while traveling, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to visit another location closer to home.

I was visiting Sarasota when I went to this one, and saw they have one back home in Jacksonville, and then I realized the only other escape room I’ve done was in Escapology in Huntsville, AL!

Each location offers a variety of themed adventures, from treasure hunts and pirate stories to murder mysteries and licensed experiences like Scooby-Doo.

You can find their locations and info on their website: Escapology: Premier Private Escape Rooms & Adventures

The Sarasota location is located at 5507 Palmer Crossing Circle and offers only private games, so you’ll never be paired with strangers during your adventure.

Pricing varies slightly depending on the day of the week and the size of your group, but you can generally expect to pay around $40–45 per person for a standard 60-minute experience. Escapology also frequently offers discounts, promotions, and Groupon deals, so it’s worth checking before booking.

Booking online is simple, and reservations are recommended—especially on weekends.

How Do Escape Rooms Work?

If you’ve never visited an escape room before, the concept is simple: your group is placed inside a themed room with a mission to complete before time runs out.

In most cases, you’ll have 60 minutes to solve a series of puzzles, uncover hidden clues, crack codes, and unlock new areas of the room.

Contrary to what the name suggests, you are not actually locked into the room and can leave at any time if needed. So, no worries if you need to pop out and use the restroom! The only thing is that the game cannot be paused, so time keeps ticking even if you have to leave for a minute.

Each puzzle builds on the last, so teamwork and communication are essential. While the rooms are designed to be challenging, they’re also meant to be fun—not frustrating. If your group gets stuck, a Game Master monitors your progress and can provide hints to keep the adventure moving.

Every escape room has its own unique storyline. You might find yourself solving a murder mystery, searching for hidden treasure, escaping a haunted house, or preventing a global catastrophe. The immersive sets, sound effects, and interactive puzzles make you feel like you’ve stepped into your own adventure movie.

At Escapology Sarasota, the rooms are private, so your team won’t be paired with strangers. It’s just you, your family or friends, and the challenge ahead.

We had a large group of six, but I saw several sets of just two people heading into the rooms. Eight is usually the maximum number for the rooms.

I will say it was a bit crowded and hectic with six, as at some point everyone is poking at things and shouting questions and answers, and it can get confusing.

Our Experience with Escapology’s Mansion Murder

We selected Mansion Murder, a 60-minute mystery that’s considered one of Escapology’s most difficult rooms. The choice of a difficult one was totally by accident, thought it does tell you the difficulty level when booking.

The game starts by entering the room. They give you a basic rundown on the things you can use, where to look and where not to look, and how to get hints from the game master.

There’s a video screen in the room that gives the background info and will also display your hints.

The Mansion Murder mystery story begins at a family gathering inside a grand estate. Just as everyone raises a toast, the family patriarch is discovered murdered.

Unfortunately, you’re the prime suspect, and it’s up to your team to uncover hidden clues, solve puzzles, and piece together the mystery before the police arrive.

Putting Our Skills to the Test

Without giving away any spoilers, the room was incredibly immersive and decorated like an old mansion room. I didn’t take any photos inside because I didn’t want to reveal any secrets.

They don’t take away your phone, but there is a basket provided where you can sit your purse or personal items you don’t want to carry around while solving the clues.

The puzzles were varied and required everyone in our group to contribute. Some challenges involved careful observation, while others required teamwork and logical thinking. I will say several of the clues were very challenging and we needed helpful hints to get through it.

We also made good use of the write on/wipe off board and calculator that were provided.

I think if we had more time and could slow down a bit, we might have solved more of it ourselves without the clues, but with a large group, sometimes one person is working out the answer while another person is already calling the game master and asking for answers.

One Tip for the Mansion Murder

This isn’t giving anything away, but you will have to play something on the piano to open the first door. Be sure to keep checking the door!

We had gotten it right on the second try but didn’t see the door open. We wasted another 10 minutes trying everything before I walked over and pushed the door and it had been open since the first try!

Great for Families, Friends, and Team Building

Visiting Escapology was a lot of fun for our whole group. One general consensus was that the clues didn’t necessity guide you as clearly as you might hope. But also, we did pick the most challenging one!

They have ones that are made for kids, so I’m sure a less challenging game would have led us through it a little easier.

We did manage to finish our game, with three seconds left! I was literally typing the escape code into the door as the employee on the other side was opening it.

I recommend checking out Escapology if you are looking for something different to try. I’d like to go back and try the Haunted House escape room next!