Introduction
From mysteries to pastries, Sweet Escapes has opened in Paso Robles, giving locals a taste of sweet suspense Sweet Escapes is a locally- owned business, owned by Savannah and Nye who have brought the first ever escape room to Paso. Sweet Escapes is located in downtown Paso, 1244 Pine St. They are open Wednesday through -Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m, Sunday from 12 a.m. to 9:30 p.m, and are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The attentive staff ensured that their guests understood the locks that we needed to solve puzzles before letting us go into the escape room. They helped immerse us in the story of the escape room so the atmosphere was set before we began. Sweet Escapes offers various pastries and three escape rooms, ranging in difficulty. The escape rooms consist of The Legend of Sorro Bay, Academic Misconduct, and Confectionary Conspiracy. The price of an escape room is $40 per person and a waiver must be completed to start the experience. To be able to participate in an escape room without an adult, you must be 14- years of age or older. Moreover, you must have at least a group of two to participate, and for groups larger than eight you must call ahead of time.
Pastries
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie- 5/5
The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie was delicious. The melty chocolate and soft crunch of the cookie made my mouth water. The chocolate tasted just right, not too sweet and not sweet enough, it was right in the middle. It reminded me of old times when I would bake cookies with my grandma. This was my favorite of the pastries, I would give it 5/5 stars.
M&M Cookie- 4.5/5
The M&M cookie was delicious as well. The crunchy M&M’s paired with the crunch of the cookie wasn’t half bad. However, I would have liked it if the cookie was just a little softer than it was. It was pretty hard, but paired with a beverage like milk, coffee, or tea this would have been delicious. I would give this 4.5/5 stars.
S'mores Cookie- 4/5
The S’mores Cookie was pretty good. With the soft marshmallow it tasted like a real smore, the soft marshmallow, the melty runny warm chocolate, and the crunchy graham cracker it tasted like a real smore. Without the marshmallow, however, it just tasted the same as the chocolate chip cookie, and it was a little more hard and flaky when you bit into it. Other than that this was a really good cookie. I would give this 4/5 stars.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie- 3.5/5
The Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie was decent. It was very sweet and definitely tasted like dark chocolate. The drizzle on top was mediocre. However there wasn’t much strawberry flavoring to it. I don’t know whether it was because it was baked into the cookie or because there was a little drizzle on the top. I liked this cookie and it wasn’t bad, it just depends if you like dark chocolate or not. The only thing I would change is making it a little less sweet and adding a little more of the strawberry flavoring to it. I would also say that this cookie was pretty hard, similar to the others. I would give this 3.5/5 stars.
Rose Macron- 1.5/5
The Rose Macaron was not very good., The look of it was outstanding, but the flavor not so much. It was really flaky and it had a taste of literal flower petals, but if that was the point then it was spot on. The flavor in my mouth just didn’t sit right with me. The texture was really flaky and it cracked when you picked it up. I honestly don’t like macarons very much, but this taste was very different and it wasn’t that good. I don't think I would ever eat this again. I would give this 1.5/5 stars.
The escape rooms each have their own backgrounds and what you need to grab before the time runs out. The room doors are always open, so if you need to use the restroom you can, - but be careful because t. The time continues running even while you’re out of the room! Each escape room is a private room, with an hour to complete, and you can bring two or more friends.
Escape Rooms
Escape rooms range from haunted to retro are usually where you go throughout a room to find different keys and open different locks. Some escape rooms will have a locked door that you need to find a key to get out of. While other rooms will keep the door unlocked and there is an object you need to find to escape.
Academic Misconduct- 1/5 difficulty
The Academic Misconduct room is ranked at 1/5 for difficulty level, - the easiest of the three. It follows the story of a senior prank: a senior has appointed two (or more) freshmen to sneak into the rival school and steal the school mascot. The janitor has left but; he will be back in an hour, so you have to solve puzzles and find the mascot of the rival school before he comes back.
Legend of Sorro Bay- 3/5 difficulty
With the eerie haunting of the California coast, The Legend of Sorro Bay escape room follows the story of infiltrating the crazy Captain Magnis’ shack. With spine tingling puzzles followed by an eerie atmosphere, you have to use our wits and team work to go though the haunted ship to find the captain before the time ticks to zero. This is ranked 3/5 for difficulty.
Confectionary Conspiracy- 5/5 difficulty
Whimsy and supernatural, Confectionery Conspiracy is ranked at 5/5 for difficulty level. ThHis follows the story of whispers among the townspeople that the “whisk & whimsy” bakery uses a magic ingredient to make the pastries taste so good. Other bakery owners around town have started to become suspicious. One bakery decided to find out and steal the secret ingredient for themselves. While the owner Madame Meringue is out for a delivery, the team decides to sneak in and steal the secret ingredient then. Will your mission be successful or will you be caught bread-handed?
Inside the Magic
The escape rooms are very immersive, filled with minute details that serve to fulfill mystery and perfection. I went to two escape rooms, one with a lower difficulty and one with a higher difficulty.
Academic Misconduct:
The easier room, Academic Misconduct, was vibrant and had a calm atmosphere created by the nostalgic music and the warm lights. The theme was of a 90’s high school and it fit the theme magnificently. The lockers in the back of the room, the letter-man jackets scattered across the room, pom-poms shining like stars on the wall, and the vending machine in the corner added to the atmosphere.
Legend of Sorro Bay:
The Legend of Sorrow bay was very well put together. The second you walk in the room it has that old musty-wood smell like a ship, the lanterns light the room slightly and fit the pirate theme perfectly. The fish scattered in little buckets around the room, the ropes, and chains on the walls and hanging from the ceiling really had an immersive effect. The puzzles were very hard and captivating. This was definitely harder than the Academic Misconduct room—even with three people we couldn’t manage to escape.
Overall:
I really liked these escape rooms because they offer unlimited hints - whenever you need them, whether they see you need help or you ask. You have one hour to complete the escape rooms, if you fail to complete it in that time, your attempt becomes fruitless. You have the option to see what puzzles were left and/or what you missed, or you could just come back another time. There were puzzles that were very difficult to solve, but not impossible. It required a lot of teamwork, collaboration, and got your brain engaged.
Conclusion
I recommend this escape room to anyone and everyone. However, it would help if you have experience with the escape rooms or solving puzzles beforehand to be familiar with the amount of thinking it takes to complete these. If you are coming to Sweet Escapes to have fun laughs with friends I would recommend doing the easiest difficulty - at least to start with. At first, when I saw the tickets were $40 each, I did not think that buying those tickets would be worth it. However, once I made it to the escape room and looked around at all the details, effort, and time that was put into it, I realized it was definitely worth it. The effort that was put into this is astronomical and I am very glad this was brought to Paso. This will bring a little more fun to our small-town, offering a new adventure for people of any age to go on with friends and family.