ROOM Escape Room - "Grand Hotel Noir"
- Ryan Driver
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
LOCATION: St. Gallen, Switzerland
Photo above is property of ROOM Escape Room
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
📝 ETR DECODER
🔑 GAME: Grand Hotel Noir
📅 DATE PLAYED: January 17, 2026
🎬 GENRE: Detective, Mystery
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-5 ppl (Ages 9+)
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: 119 CHF - 179 CHF
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes [33;00]
📖 THE STORY
Step into the shadow-soaked world of the 1950s, an era of smoky lounges, dangerous women, and men with loyalties for sale. Your detective agency has been hired to discreetly investigate a new case after a valuable item goes missing under suspicious circumstances. The trail leads you straight to the Grand Hotel Noir.
As you dig deeper, you realize you're not just chasing clues, you’re navigating a web of corrupt cops, a cold-blooded swindler, and a cunning femme fatale, all of whom have their own stake in the loot. Whether the stolen item returns to its rightful owner… or vanishes forever into the city’s underworld… depends entirely on your team.
🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE
A Convincing Film-Noir Atmosphere
The room does an impressive job capturing the Golden Fifties aesthetic with era-appropriate décor; furniture pieces, art, and photos that adorn the walls. This is enhanced with effective lighting and audio effects. We liked that this all takes place in one large sized space that incorporates the hotel’s Reception and Bar area, allowing players to easily move around the space without getting in each other’s way.
Strong Thematic Integration
The narrative remains front and center throughout your investigation. From the very first moments, you are trying to piece together the clues to work out who did the crime, as well as trying to figure out what was stolen. To begin, one of us is separated from the rest, needing to watch a video and communicate with the rest of the team to understand what they need to do in order to be reunited. The story then remains alive through regular audio updates which are triggered by your progression into the game. Although these updates are central to solving any puzzles, they do add an extra layer of immersion.
Beginner-Friendly
The puzzles are designed to be accessible, logical, and thematically integrated, utilizing many of the room’s props. Even newcomers should feel confident navigating the game without feeling overwhelmed. Most of the puzzles involved using a prop in some way, but also required a small amount of out of the box thinking; so good logic and deduction skills are important, as is a good eye for observing the things about you.
🧩 MISSED THE MARK
Primarily a Single-Room Experience
Although not inherently negative, players used to multi-room escapes may find it surprising that most of the gameplay happens in one central space. Fortunately, the room design compensates with thoughtful detail.
🏹 TAKE A SHOT?
"Grand Hotel Noir" is an excellent choice for players who love detective work, atmospheric storytelling, and immersive film-noir settings. The experience focuses on ambiance, logic, and narrative charm—not adrenaline or scares—making it ideal for anyone seeking a polished mystery rather than a high-stress thriller.
We think the sweet spot for player count is 2–4, allowing everyone to be fully involved without crowding the space.
ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO
The lobby features a full bar, snacks, ample seating, and lockers.
There’s also a lounge area with free-to-use computer games, perfect for passing time before or unwinding afterward.
This is a wheelchair accessible game.
Photos above are property of ROOM Escape Room
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank ROOM Escape Room for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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