PanIQ Room San Diego

After having had a confirmed reservation for nearly two weeks, I was contacted last night at 6:20pm to be told that my reservation for tomorrow, (Wednesday, 11÷25÷15), will NOT be honored as they are shuttering their San Diego location, (which is a shame), as of last night (Monday, 11÷23÷15)
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To add to my dissatisfaction, I was told to contact Groupon directly for a refund and when I did, Groupon Customer Service said they had not been informed that the business was closing and they wanted to verify that before issuing my refund, (totally understandable on their part, but unprofessional on Paniq’s part to not have informed Groupon first).

In addition Paniq’s San Diego website still is active and appears to allow future reservations!
Bad form Paniq!!!
I had a friend coming in from out of town for this experience too. What a drag.

I have tried their Voodoo and Cementery rooms, and both have been great! Robert, our game master, was pretty cool, too.
One of the hardest parts about the rooms is getting started and figuring out what everything is about. Once that it out of the way, it’s just a matter of delegating the puzzles to everyone in the team to try and get out ASAP.

We got a groupon for this place and decided to check it out. We decided to do the Voodoo room since it was advertised as medium difficulty. Figured we get a feel for it if we liked it or not.
Our group has done a few of these escape rooms before so we’re not stranger to them but we’re always looking for that first initial thrill again. PaniQ gave us the feel for it but it just wasn’t as satisfying and immersive as the others we’ve done.
I think it would definitely be good for beginners getting into it for the first time and I do realize there is more difficult room but getting out in about half the time required seemed a little easy. Still, the staff was very nice and very open to suggestions afterwards. They know they have some polish to do, which is good because if I were to describe the entire experience it would just seemed «rushed».

Had bought a groupon for myself and my kids. We called earlier that afternoon, after booking a couple days prior online, to make sure everything would be fine. We arrived 20 minutes early and no one was there. We rang the bell, waited, called, emailed — nothing. We stayed there, in the street, until well after the appointment time. Have had to seek a refund through groupon because it has been a week and the company still hasn’t returned a call or email. I’d avoid them.

They didnt reset the room (Voodoo Shop) properly after the previous group played, which resulted in us solving one of the very last puzzles first and we got the final, exit-​the-​room key within 3 minutes. We might have set a world record for escape rooms with 57 effing minutes to spare, somebody call Guinness.
We decided to play out the rest of the game anyway but didnt get very far because one of the puzzles required long, metal wires to fish for a key inside a plastic box but the wires were broken and we had to radio for 15 minutes to get the attendant to slide new wires under the door. Awesome.

WORST «escape the room» experience we could’ve asked for! No wonder they were offering a deal on living social/​groupon (my friend bought it so I’m not sure which)
Problem 1: We were DYING from the stuffy heat inside this basement since they had no ventilation or air conditioning! It was so uncomfortable we couldn’t enjoy our time
Problem 2: it was way too easy compared to another one I’ve done in the past
SKIP it in my opinion

There are a handful of these escape room opening up in San Diego. PanIQ is a great one for beginners. My friends and I completed the Voodoo room in 27 minutes with NO hints. I recommend checking out for Groupon deals. I do not think it is worth the full price of $ 160. The rooms are located in a basement in an old downtown building. Although it is very clean, the rooms are unbearably hot. It feels like there is no air circulation, and the rooms are a lot smaller and have fewer puzzles compared to the other escape rooms in San Diego. I have only done the Voodoo room, which I recommend if you are a beginner.

Did 2 rooms here and they are a ton of fun!!! With great themes in each room we did. We did get groupon deals for both, which I would highly recommend finding. Its very hard to justify the full price of 30 dollars. But we went for around 15, and it felt like a steal!
The cartel room was amazing!!! Challenging, but amazing. Great theme, great props.
We also did the vodoo room. Im not sure if its just because this room isnt as cool as the cartel room, but it was a little let down doing this room second. The props are good, the puzzels are very cool, however felt a little short and wasnt as much to explore as in the cartel room.
Overall, this place definitely deserves more than a 3 and ½ star rating. Especially after ive visited other escape rooms.

Last year, PanIQ Room Hollywood was our first official escape room experience. This year, we were excited to follow up with their new location in San Diego, where Voodoo Shop and Creepy Cemetery were games #44 and #45 respectively for me! Now a much more experienced escape room player, I look at the games a bit differently than I did that first visit in Hollywood — but they were still enjoyable. Like Hollywood, the issue in both games that persists is their formulaic nature and lack of clear connection between the majority of the puzzles and the each room’s theme. I think the theme is one thing that PanIQ really has going for it — where although the scenic is far from over the top — the themes themselves are fairly unique for the escape room genre. So many companies have a «rob the bank» or «diffuse the bomb» or «mad scientist laboratory» themed room. They become painfully cliché, even if the game play itself is fun. A voodoo shop? A cemetery and crypt? Those stand out in a world of duplication, and get my ticket money with much less hesitation!
As more experienced players, we found the games in San Diego to definitely be a bit on the easy side; walking in, my fastest escape previously (as defined by time left on the clock) was 27 minutes. We finished the Voodoo Shop with 29 minutes remaining, and then followed up by finishing the Cemetery with a whopping 40 minutes remaining. There’s certainly magic in a room pushing you hard enough that you only have minutes — if not seconds left to complete your escape, however that being said, even finishing so lightning fast, we really did still enjoy our time. While I wish they added a few extra puzzle layers to lengthen the experience, it’s still a game I enjoyed and thus a game I recommend.

I think this is a great room for beginners.
We did the Cemetery and it is beautiful. My husband and I got stuck on the first lock because we couldn’t find the «puzzle» and had to wait until the 25 minute mark to ask for a hint. Once we found it we blew through the rest of the game in 18 minutes. I should mention we’ve done over 40 escape games, so we’ve seen many of the puzzles before.
It was very hot in the room and the fog makes it feel even more stuffy, not exactly the cool night air I have felt in real cemeteries at night… so it takes away from the ambience a little. Granted it was in the 90’s today so that may not always be the case. And note at this time they have no bathroom, so luckily we arrived over 30 minutes early giving us time to walk to the public restrooms a few blocks away.

This was a fun spot. They did a great job with set design. The puzzles themselves were fairly easy. Other PaniQ Rooms and escape rooms have taken 45 to 50 minutes while this one took under 30. We were told that 35 was average. That’s way too easy in my opinion.

For starters, my posse was pretty sketched out by entrance door along 5^th & Broadway. It had a paper sign taped to it with instructions to ring a door bell or call the number the indicated number gain access. Pretty easy to miss even during the day so try to get a really good idea of where it is if you’re going at night for the first time.
Once the guy greeted us, we descended down the stairs… again, at this point, feelings of sketchiness were increasing among the members in our group. The host was reassuring in saying the entrance was about the creepiest part of all of it.
We looked at the waivers, all of it was reasonable. The part they could probably clarify on the waiver/​consent sheet is that when they have photography/​video of the patrons, that it’s not recorded or stored anywhere in which they would publish or use on their social media. The host was very helpful in responding to our concerns.
Little giving much away, our group thoroughly enjoyed the Voodoo Room. We came out of it having a great sense of accomplishment and adventure. Upon exiting, we were already talking plans to do another room.
Only downside is that they didn’t have any restrooms at the time because the only restroom they would have access to, was in the part of the building that was under construction. That part was the only legitimate sketchy part. But you know, to prevent any discomfort on that front, just empty your bladders before you come, or solve the puzzles quicker to escape sooner.
We were really happy with our experience and would highly recommend.

Given the bad reviews, I expected it to be a lot worse than it was.
When we got there, we rang the doorbell & Candace/​Candice came and welcomed us in pretty quickly. We went downstairs to the main area that was cooled and had couches to check out the waiver. I gave her my GroupOn at that time and she explained rules/​talked to us, then led us into the room for The Cartel. She basically let us in, asked us not to take pictures/​videos, and closed the door.
The whole experience was really cool & fun & we finished the room with 23 minutes to spare! It did get a little bit hot as it got more intense, but the main room had a nice fan to keep us cool.
Candace/​Candice was awesome & so nice, the room itself was fun, but I probably wouldn’t go back without a Groupon. With the Groupon, its a good deal.
Only other issue I had was that trying to find parking (with all the one way streets & stuff) was a bit difficult; so arrive early.

I don’t usually write reviews, but we visited Paniq Room this past labor day weekend, we want to do something different and fun. Couple family friends joined the plan that my cousin recommended. I visited their Los Angeles place and is amazing!
In few minutes we were able to to book and reserved our spot online. Once there our game master treated as very politely and explain the rest of the group the main rules and mysteries! Even though we did not make it in time, the game was very exciting and family and friends oriented!
Everyone loved it! I will go and try the rest of their tracks anytime! Just an awesome alternative for any-​day!

Fun time. Good with a group of 4. Did the voodoo room, probably will go back to do the others. Off top, it’s really warm in the rooms so dress accordingly.

My family and I have always wanted to try a live escape game after seeing videos online. When I saw that we have one here in SD, I quickly purchased the tickets and booked the reservation to celebrate an upcoming birthday. I was so excited, I even made a video invitation to get everyone pumped-​up.
I got a call from PanIQ Room a day prior to the reservation date that the room I reserved was under maintenance. Really? You’re just calling me now? A day prior to the event? Not only they are asking to change the room theme, they wanted to move the time 3 hours later which is at 9pm. What’s the point of making a reservation? I refuse to change the time and told them the inconvenience it is causing me. They then decided to let us keep the original reservation time and room. Which I really appreciate.
The goal is to find and use objects that help the team solve puzzles and escape for 1 hour. They ask everyone to turn off all cellphones before we begin. We picked the Creepy Cemetery room. It was so dark on the first room for us to not use our cellphone light. Proper lighting is needed in this room.
Second room was very confusing, there were so many locks that are not even included in solving the puzzle. I suggest coloring the locks that are not included in the puzzle, then give all players a heads up to not even bother opening the colored locks. (It totally wasted our time thinking all the locks have keys) The last room of the Creepy Cemetery was the best of all 3 rooms.
This place needs a lot of work. The leak at the Creepy Cemetery has been going for a month and is still not fixed.
The «baby AC» is not enough to cool the entire business facility… Let alone one room.
This place has a lot of potential if all the necessary repairs are done. Everyone here was friendly and we all did have a great time despite of me being jerked around before our reservation.

The place is at a very convenient location (Gaslamp Quarter) The staff is very friendly and entertaining. I like the themes of the rooms, I think it’s a great place if you have some friends to hang out with and you want to find something intellectually challenging and adventurous activity to do! I recommend to everyone!

It was definitely interesting! We did the voodoo room, we were a group of four which took us about 30mins to solve. In the beginning it took us a couple mins to figure out what the first clue was after that everything fell in to place which made solving the puzzles pretty easy.
Since we finished it pretty before the allotted time the host allowed us to do the cartel room which was soooo much harder!!! I think the hardest part was trying to figure out where to start first.

I paid $ 99 for on Groupon for 6 of us to try PanIQ Room. I overpaid by $ 50.
The locked door makes the place look abandoned. There is a small 8.5×11 piece of paper with a phone number, and that number does not work. A bell on the door did not immediately summon someone. I then called a number on the Groupon, and someone answered; as that person came to the front door, her colleague came through a door 2 doors down to let us in.
You go down stairs. The stairs reek of urine.
The bathroom was out of order. We were told to go to a neighboring business. Not a business that PanIQ had an arrangement with, just anywhere nearby and try not to get noticed.
We chose the Cartel Room. The puzzles start fun, but they’re all variants of arranging something to reveal numbers, and using those numbers to find more things to arrange. Not much variety at all. Even worse, 2 key parts of the puzzle were broken. There is a door on a hinge that we were told to be careful opening. I was careful, but I didn’t realize we were supposed to find a key for the door; I opened the door within 5 minutes of being in the room. We then got to a computer and figured out the computer’s password. You are supposed to enter information into the computer. That information was already entered for us, which must mean the attendants did not completely reset the room before we entered. Had I figured out the computer’s password quickly, I could have completed the whole room in 10 minutes purely because the room was broken in these 2 key ways. Very unprofessional.
I then mistakenly left my food behind. When I tried to call the number on the Groupon, I was connected to the LA location. I have no idea how the number that called the San Diego location 1 hour earlier now called the LA one.
A group that came out 15 minutes after us received a coupon for a free round because one of the puzzle’s keys broke. Very unprofessional.
Panic room puzzles sound like a fun idea, but this felt like a frat basement run by high schoolers.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a new, fun activity to do with another couple. I had zero new ideas until I scanned groupon and came across this little gem. You get 1 hour to solve a series of puzzles through clues in themed rooms for up to 6 people for $ 69.
We chose the drug cartel room, and although pretty challenging (we needed help a couple times, after 25 minutes you can use a radio to ask for helpful hints), it was so much fun! They have created a very realistic environment that makes you feel you are really in that scenario which makes it so much better. And the lovely ladies running the show even allowed us slow pokes 10 extra minutes in the room, lol, we still didn’t solve all the puzzles to make it out of the room! Even though we didn’t solve it, we enjoyed having to work as a team and use our brains a little. Finding something new to do in San Diego is always a plus too.
We really had so much fun and loved it so much it’s hard for me to see any negatives, but I do have a few tips for anyone planning to go do this. 1) There are no bathrooms here and you are locked in a room for an hour. Use the restroom right before you get to the place, especially if you’ve previously been to dinner and had a few drinks. 2) Keep their phone number handy. We were lucky enough to walk up to the door just as they were opening for the night, but this place is accessed through a door that can only be opened by staff. The staff uses a realtor lock box to get in, so if you see this door you’re in the right place. There was no permanent or temporary signage for this place, so look for it by address. It’s right across the street from a Subway. 3) These rooms are in a very old downtown building, underground or in the basement level. Our reservation was at 7:30pm, and it was like a sauna down there. I recommend that you wear shorts and a tank top to combat old building ventilation issues. Believe me, you’ll thank me later. We sweat bullets down there! 4) The more people in your group the better, more minds will help you better escape the room.
Other than that, what a great night out! Thanks for the fun and challenge Paniq Room!