Awesome escape rooms with challenging tasks, engaging hosts, and adequate background stories. They are understandably comparable to adjacent NERD escapes. We have done several NERD escape rooms and decided to give Room 5280 a try. A friendly, attentive employee greeted us upon arrival. He clearly provided instructions and shared the room's accompanying story. The Sherlock room was shorter than we hoped, but it had decent challenges. We needed one hint and completed the room with about 15 min to spare. The employee hosting kept up with our progress and provided our requested clue in a timely manner. They have a bathroom to use and you can keep your things in the room with you. Bring a jacket as it was a bit chilly inside during our stay. I believe he said that room 5280 was going to update their rooms soon. I'm definitely looking forward to returning to try the updated rooms! read more

Room 5280 - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

We had a group of 6 ranging in age from 11 to 84. It was a great room filled with a variety of different types of puzzles that allowed all to assist in solving. It was a great experience and I would (and will) refer to others! So many escape rooms just use the same type of puzzle and the variety really had us on our toes - WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!! read more

i thought this was overpriced compared to other escape rooms i've done. like $240 for a room? the other part that was annoying is that our room was set up incorrectly which affected our ability to do certain things. we were still able to get out but the guy came in and was like sorry i messed up the set up. i think it would've been nice if he offered another room to do at another time or maybe some money back especially because of how expensive it was. i wish there was more storyline as well with the room. just my thoughts... read more

I wanted set up a couples date night out, so I went to the web and searched my area for the an awesome Escape Room. This was so fun! The staff was wonderful. We will definitely be back. The Heist Room read more

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I visited Room 5280 over the weekend and did The Dark Room. The guy in the front was super nice and helpful and explained the room well along with the history of the company. The Dark Room was fun because it's dark and you need flashlights. However, it seemed pretty easy (I love escape rooms so I was looking for more of a challenging room. Online, it says about 44% of people escape the room). We finished the room with 15 minutes to spare. The concept was cool and there were a few things that were in The Dark Room that I've never done in other escape rooms. My only complaint really is that it was fairly easy and the story behind the room was kind of boring. I loved having a dark room with creepy images on the walls but overall, I wasn't as impressed. I do want to come back and try the other rooms, though. read more

We've done two rooms here, and both times they were great fun! We did the Art Heist room with 8 people, and for the most part everyone got to participate/help solve something. My wife and I did the Dark Room together, which was spooky and fun, but we struggled a bit and had to ask for a few hints. I feel that having only two people is difficult--you need a lot of brains looking at the same puzzles in different ways to solve them efficiently. I appreciate that there are no limits or penalties for asking for hints. read more

Great escape room! Very easy to book and a good selection of games. The staff was friendly and gave clear instructions for things to consider before entering the room. We did "The Dark Room". It was challenging (not scary, spooky at times based on the theme) and a lot of fun. We would recommend! read more

First time doing an escape room and I had a blast. The location is on Glenwood near Hillsborough St and only has street parking, so plan accordingly. The staff members were very friendly and explained everything well. The price was on par with other escape rooms (per my party's comments), but it did feel slightly small in the room for 7 people at times. The staff cleaned very well and made sure to stress the importance of keeping masks on and hands clean. I had fun and would recommend! read more

Room 5280 - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Have been here twice so far with my boyfriend. We did the Sherlock room first with puzzle master Faye and didn't escape; then we tried The Experiment with puzzle master John and managed to escape with a couple minutes to spare. Both rooms are well designed with challenging puzzles, and we had to ask for a hint a few times in both. There were a few downsides: -Room 2580 is located in an older building that used to be a house, and the rooms are thin and floors squeaky. The thin walls mean that you can hear people in the other rooms, and that combined with squeaky floors can make it hard to hear the hints. -To ask for a hint, you have to look at the camera, request the hint, and wave until you get the puzzle master's attention. This is okay when there's more than one puzzle master working, or only one or two rooms with groups in them; however, when there's only one master and multiple groups, it can take several seconds to get the puzzle master's attention, and every second counts. It would be helpful if the business always had at least two puzzle masters working at once. Overall it was a great experience and we plan to come back for more! read more

Room 5280 - We won The Experiment! - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

I wanted set up a couples date night out, so I went to the web and searched my area for the an awesome Escape Room. This was so fun! The staff was wonderful. We will definitely be back. read more

What a total waste of our money. This place was so boring compared to many others we have been to. The guy assigned to our room took a long time to give us hints when we called upon him. Their speaker had horrible quality so you could not hear what he was saying. He was so condescending and just could care less if we were enjoying it. The ones at Game On and a few others have so many activities to keep the whole party busy and engaged. Their staff keep a close eye on their guests and instead of trying to yell through a speaker they have screens they type the hints so there is no misunderstanding. This place was boring and the staff were not friendly nor fun! Just puzzled by all the great reviews. We never even had a photo op at the end. read more

Room 5280 is the way to go! For my second escape room experience, I can say confidently that it's the best . It's located in a house right on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, a block away from Cornerstone. My friend celebrated her birthday here, and as a group of 6, we had a blast. We chose the Money Heist room. The host explains that you and your comrades are to rob this rich millionaire's home with a time limit of 60 minutes. You must unlock combinations and solve riddles/puzzles throughout the room to collect 4 gold bars and unlock the room. The success rate is 30%, and we ESCAPED! With only 11 minutes to spare, we were congratulated by hosts and were encouraged to celebrate and take group pictures. An awesome staff and quality experience! read more

Room 5280 - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Great puzzles. Been here twice now. Tried the Dark Room first then Sherlock on our second visit. Very challenging but reasonable. Maybe if we bring more than two people we'll actually solve one. Pricing is fair at $30 a person. They always have an adequate number of game masters to answer questions or give clues quickly. read more

We did the Sherlock one and it was interesting. Had two hints with 6 mins to spare. The group had fun and it was a memorable experience for two first timers. read more

I recently went on vacation to Raleigh NC for a couple of days to a convention center, when the event there was over, I was trying to find some kind of entertainment in the downtown area. All the other places around didn't really impress me and their hours didn't work around my schedule. When I tried Room 5280 I was interested in one particular room, the DARK ROOM. I really was intrigued by this and I wanted to try it out, me and my 2 other friends booked the room for 9:00pm. When we started the room, we were a little lost how to start and needed a clue on where to begin. We asked for a clue, and it took a little longer than desirable. The game master Andrew was dealing with two rooms at the time so I could understand the delay, but like everyone knows, every second counts. We did escape, but desperately climbing for clues every time we wanted one and it led to a bit of frustration. Overall i'm not upset about the actual place, it was great and the service there was awesome, just a little more speed would've been nice! We will be back whenever we come to NC. read more

This was a great escape room for my friend's birthday party! Friendly staff and clever clues for the escape room.

What a great experience! The room was challenging. The people were nice. The price was good! Can't wait to return!!

I visited Room 5280 last weekend. This was my 2nd experience at an eacape room (at a different location) and this one was, by far, my favorite. We walked in late due to forgetting the start time and the employees were so gracious in allowing us to still play. I fully expected our $56 to go down the drain when I arrived. Thank you Room 5280 for doing this-I will never be late again! Our group played The Experiment and it was definitely challenging. We couldn't figure out what the heck we were looking for at first, so we settled on getting a hint after 15 minutes of running around the room. After that, we were on a roll and were able to finish with 8 minutes to spare. In addition to their graciousness, a few other aspects made this location superior to others: their rooms have a large timer so you always know how much time you have left, there isn't an employee in the room with you to potentially break your focus, and the location is very close to great restaurants and bars. I really want to try The Heist next. I will probably be back within the next week or 2...on time, of course. read more

A little smaller than others but the experience was top notch. Everything in the escape room worked perfectly. The staff was very friendly and helpful read more

I have been to a few escape rooms but what I really appreciate about this one is that all of the puzzles are handcrafted. They are so original that you cannot even look it up on your phone to try to cheat! Very unique, I'll definitely be back! read more

My friends and I had an awesome time Room 5280! There were 6 people in our group, only two of us had done an escape room. It was a lot of fun! Everyone agreed they would do it again. The staff was great and helped us out when we needed clues. And we finally escaped! Thanks Room 5280 for making it a memorable experience. We'll be back! Stephanie read more

A group of 8 of us did the Sherlock Room. The process of reserving it and paying for it online was very easy. The staff was competent, but laid back. They gave us the information we needed and then got out of the way and let us play. The room was a classic escape room--lots of interesting puzzles that led you along a path. I really appreciated that afterwards they asked us what we thought and seemed very interested in our feedback about the puzzles. I get the sense that they take that kind of feedback seriously and will use it to help tweak the rooms to make them better. Finally, the location is great. If you want to have drinks or dinner before or after, you are in walking distance of downtown Raleigh or Glenwood South. read more

This is our second escape room experience and we had a blast. It's set in such a cool location that you could really make a great evening out of it. Right on Glenwood near many great hot spots. The staff were super nice and accommodating even though some of our group was late. We really appreciated it. The room was challenging! We already can't wait to return! read more

Room 5280 - We escaped! - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Such an awesome experience. The staff was very accommodating since one of our friends couldn't make it due to a death in the family. It was challenging and exciting. Well thought out and a good story line. The staff was so sweet and fun! We'll be back for sure. read more

We had the best time. We didn't expect to have as much fun as we did. The staff was great. They were friendly and attentive. The room was challenging and with seconds left we almost finished, LOL. We're excited to go back and try another room. read more

The staff was amazing & friendly from start to finish. We did "The Heist" with 3 teenagers & 2 adults. It was challenging & interesting. Everyone was able to contribute and get involved. We only had four minutes left when we got out, so that added to the excitement! I feel like you can't go wrong booking a party here!! read more

We did the dark room. It was super bare and didn't have a lot of work to do. It was just my wife and I and we made it out with 16 minutes to spare. There were seriously only (about) 7 different puzzles for the whole room. Nice enough staff. Nice enough facility but it just wasn't nearly as good as other rooms we've done. read more

Came here the night after the Raleigh Majors for Rainbow six and loved it. Me and my boyfriend have done dozens of escape room back in Tampa and wanted to try one out of state. We were happy to find that Room 5280 matched our schedule and booked it right away. The room we did was hard at first but once we got rolling nothing could stop us. Highly recommend for anyone looking for something to do on a Friday night. read more

My eldest just graduated high school & wanted to experience an escape room as part of the celebrations - this was a blast! The staff were friendly, supportive & made sure we were delighted with our experience! I would highly recommend this mini-adventure for other dads & daughters, or as fun for the entire family. read more

My wife and I are VERY experienced in escape rooms. We have done about 20 give or take in 3 different states since we have been together. It's kind of our thing! That being said, we recently planned a day trip to Raleigh with the plans of doing the Dark Room. We luckily found parking behind the building and I had to squeeze in the parking spot. They did work with us about being a few minutes late due to traffic, which was a plus! We were welcomed and briefed about the room upon arrival but that's about where the positive review stops. We were told from the start that the camera in the room "didn't agree with the game master". Basically it was a crap shoot as to wether they seen/heard you asking for hints. Upon entering the room we were actually locked into the room, mind you in all the rooms my wife and I have done in the past we have NEVER been actually locked in the room. The room was very bare with almost no puzzles to complete and the ones that were in there were poorly thought of. When came upon a situation where we needed a clue to continue on to the next step. We tried for 3-5 minutes of OUR time that we paid for to even get the game masters attention in the camera with no success. The game master was busy dealing with another group that came in behind us for another room. I literally had to use my cell phone to call the business phone number to get their attention because I could not just walk out due to the door being locked. Having to deal with that was the final reason why my wife and I decided to just walk out and leave without even asking for a refund. Worst Escape Room experience I've ever had. read more

I am very impressed with Andrew. He was so welcoming and accommodating and the whole experience just got even better! It was a fun activity with brain racking one hour. There was some issue with the bookings and Andrew was so so understanding and accommodating that he even went above and beyond and did the needful just so that we have a pleasant experience. I will highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to go to an escape room! read more

This was my first escape room experience, so I don't know how Room 5280 compares to the area's other escape rooms, but I had a lot of fun. I went with a few of my co-workers as a team building event and did "The Experiment" room. It was challenging but not enough to make the experiencing too frustrating. We had 7 people in the group and there were times where some of us did not have anything to do because we were stuck on one particular locks, but in general we had to collaborate on most of the locks. You had to go through a lot of different mediums and equipment, which made the experience stimulating. Definitely something I'd like to try again. read more

This was the best run escape room we've ever done. My daughter did this with her friends for her 14th birthday. Andrew was fantastic and so helpful. He even let us peek in on the kids on the camera. The vibe was the best vibe of any that I've done. It had a waiting room for those not doing the room to wait in. It was so well done. The kids had a blast doing it. It was challenging but not hokey. We will definitely be coming back to do another room. read more

Room 5280 - Escape Games Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

We have done a few escape rooms. This was one of the best. It was challenging, but not impossible to solve. Great job 5280!

This was such a fun activity for our family visiting from NY. The staff was very friendly and helpfully I highly recommend!

We enjoyed the heist... The clues were so straight to the point it really made you think. We are planning to go again... Good job!!!

My family and I did the Heist for my daughter's 14th birthday. When I called to ask questions the team that works there were so helpful and explained everything. When we got there they gave us some mini wooden puzzles to do while we waited for our party which was fun. The room we choose was tough but we had a lot of fun and it encouraged a lot of teamwork from my family. Although we didn't escape within the hour since we were the last booking of the evening and it was my daughter's birthday they allowed us to figure out the last clues and we finally escaped!!! They were thoughtful, they were helpful, and they were kind. We would definitely return! read more

Excellent. I have visited Room 5280 twice with the same group and with each visit we cannot wait to return. Excellent customer service, engaging games and an overall great time! The Heist and the Experiment are the games we tried and we are counting the days until we are able to try the others! read more

I came here with my boyfriend for our anniversary and the experience was amazing. It was our first time going to an escape room so we had no idea what we were doing. The staff were very patient and nice and gave us many clues to help us out. I would definitely recommend and hope to come back soon! read more

A group of 6 of us wanted to do something fun and Room 5280 was the only escape room open on Monday nights so we went there. We are glad we did, the owner was super friendly and the room, "Experiment" was a total blast. Sometimes in other escape rooms it feels like it's a stretch to figure out the clues or puzzles, but not here. The puzzles were fun and challenging. Long story short we a had a very good time and all 6 of us would easily recommend room 5280 in Raleigh, to anyone. read more