Thrilling Escape Room Set To Open In Downtown Douglasville: WATCH

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — The "Can U Escape Hotel" escape room will open Saturday, March 24, in downtown Douglasville.

"We are in a historic building downtown so we are theming the whole business around an old hotel called Canyon Escapades Hotel and when the bulbs are burnt out it reveals Can U Escape Hotel," said co-owner Brad Kimmel.

"Room 201: The Heist" is the theme of the first game. Each game will be set in a different era.

For the uninitiated, an escape room is a physical adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzlesand riddles using clues, hints and strategy to complete the objectives at hand. Players are given a set time limit to unveil the secret plot which is hidden within the rooms. Escape rooms are inspired by "escape-the-room"–style video games. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons and space stations and usually the various puzzles and riddles themselves follow the theme of the room.

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"We are opening the first escape room in downtown Douglasville," Kimmel said. "Escape rooms are a great compliment to the local restaurants especially because most people pair an escape room with a meal out either before or after their escape room adventure. We have seen that first hand with our other local Escape Game business, Escape Woods. People always ask us for local restaurant recommendations when they are at Escape Woods. We also wanted to add additional entertainment to downtown while adding a little history."

Kimmel's escape room is located at 8440 East Courthouse Square, Douglasville. Cost per player is $28. Kimmel stresses that reservations are required in order to book each game. Reservations can be made via the website or Facebook page.

Kimmel is joined by two other owners Jeremy Baum and Nikki Giovacchini. Giovacchini has been involved in the movie business for 30+ years and an experienced prop master in the movie industry, bringing a bit of Hollywood to the adventure.

Kimmel and Baum married the farmer's daughters of Sleepy Hollow Farm, located in Powder Springs, and the two couples worked to grow the farm. But once their father-in-law started involving them in farm operations like the Christmas Tree Farm, corn maze and pumpkin patch, the two couples soon created "Escape Woods."

"We set out to make Escape Woods something different from anything in the world and become the first outdoor escape room company. Not long after that, the two couples met Nikki Giovacchini, when he and his wife and son visited the farm, shortly after they moved to Georgia from LA.

"This newest venture of ours has spawned from our successes and enjoyment of running our other businesses in the area Escape Woods and Sleepy Hollow Farm," said Kimmel. "For over 40 years we have created long-lasting memories for people all over Georgia and we hope to continue that with our newest escape rooms."

Room 201: The Heist, the adventure starting Saturday in Douglasville, will cast players as owners restoring an old building. A wall is opened up to reveal a cryptic map and newspaper clippings of a train robbery in 1849 that yielded $400,000 in gold bars and has never been recovered. The train hold up took place within eight blocks of the Canyon Escapades Hotel. Historians tracked the bandits to the hotel, where they a stayed for a few nights. Their names were confirme in the hotel ledger. From the look of the cryptic map, X marks the spot, right in the hotel still to this day. You have one hour to find the gold before the employees at the hotel are keen to what you're up to. Through detective work, some fine interrogation and old fashioned sneakiness its possible you and your group can strike gold!

Photo and video courtesy Escape Room