Mr E Rooms: Behind the scenes at Scarborough's top rated tourist attraction

Mr E Rooms on Vernon Road have proved time and again that where there’s a will there's a way.

The number one rated attraction on the North Yorkshire coast, and winner of the Best in Business at the Scarborough News Business Awards, 2023, has certainly faced its fair share of challenges since opening in 2018.

The business took a hit during the coronavirus pandemic, when they, like many others, were forced to close during the lockdown endured by the people of Britain.

On reopening they faced a further challenge as a water leak destroyed much of their hard work in May 2021, forcing the business to close until April 2022.

Run by Neil Arnott and Damon Hotchin, Mr E Rooms offers an escape room experience with a difference.

The rooms are designed to appeal to all ages at the same time – a truly inter-generational experience in one of eight incredibly detailed and themed spaces ranging from Houdini’s workshop in New York in 1905 to Churchill’s secret War Office bunker.

With a wide range of puzzles to solve, games to play, riddles to decipher and quests to complete, the team can truly say that ‘behind every door, there’s an adventure’.Mr E Rooms is one of the largest single-site escape rooms in the country - and the two men plan to develop this further during 2024 to expand the offering to 10 rooms.

Another major development this year will see the installation of a four lane outdoor axe-throwing experience, bringing a hugely popular and 'on-trend' activity to Scarborough.

Joint owner Neil Arnott said: “Our customers love our games, our attention to detail in the decor and design, the level of customer service we offer and - above all - the sheer fun they have while they are with us.

“We know this from the amazing reviews we receive - Escape Room Scarborough has over 1,000 five star reviews across Tripadvisor, Google and Facebook.

“We are the No 1 activity in several categories by traveller ranking in Scarborough on Tripadvisor, and have been awarded the 2023 Tripadvisor 'Travellers' Choice' Award.“However, although we are busiest in the summer we remain open for 362 days a year - our customer profile is so much more than the 'tourist' market.

“We work closely with all the major businesses in Scarborough, providing a great place for staff (whether an informal night out or as part of structured staff development).

“Over the past few months we have welcomed teams from Bourne Leisure, Plaxton, McCain, Anglo American, Coventry University, GCHQ and North Yorkshire Council, amongst many others.“We also work closely with a number of local schools - one of our proudest achievements in the past year has been the way in which we were able to adapt our games to provide a superb learning experience for children from a number of local secondary schools, as part of 'Maths Month'.

“This involved liaising closely with maths specialists from the schools, to adapt the puzzles in our War Room and Psychic games, to meet the demands of the national curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4.

“Over 110 young people visited and played over two days in March 2023 - and we all had a whale of a time (even if our heads were a little mashed by the end of it!)”