A Guildford Escape
Nothing beats a last-minute weekend escape, with plans to rest and restore peace of mind - unless you spend hours locked in three different rooms, trying hard to solve what seem like impossible puzzles.
When I suggested to Andy that we needed a night away - I meant nothing fancy, just a simple room and rest, giving us time to plan what to do for my upcoming Christmas birthday. So I wasn't expecting a four-poster bed at Worplesdon Place, and a visit to Paradox Parlours - an Escape Room venue in Guildford.
Firstly, a massive shout-out to Rhys Stroulger, whose Instagram post featured Worplesdon Place. When we were looking for a hotel room, it came up on my feed, and it seemed rude not to book when he gave it such a good review.
Secondly, Lucy at Paradox Parlours was the most magnificent gamesmaster this weekend, keeping us rolling through three amazing rooms, even when we flagged and were truly being the Dithering Duo.
Worplesdon Place - Featured Boutique Room - Cost £191 (1 night)
This is a historic Grade II listed country pub, restaurant, and boutique hotel located in Perry Hill, Worplesdon, near Guildford, Surrey. 
I don't usually think a bath in the bedroom is a good idea, yet after a stay at Port Lympne's Lookout Bubble, it definitely changed my mind about bathing (and sleeping) in the same room. Aside from the bath and oversized bed, the room boasts a stocked mini fridge and an honesty bar, a large walk-in shower in an equally large bathroom, and plenty of room to move and relax. Little welcome treats on the bed were the icing on the cake.
Our room requirements are a hot shower, a comfortable bed, and plenty of quiet when we look for hotels. Even though this is a dog-friendly venue, we didn't hear a single bark the whole time, and slept like babies after a warm soak in the bath.
General Manager Tom Harris walked us through the dinner menu to ensure it catered to my lactose- and gluten-free diet, and we opted for sea bass, as it seems to be our flavour of the month. Dinner was booked separately from the overnight room cost, and the menu was keenly priced. Service was good and the food excellent, with the only issue being the unavailability of after-dinner coffee. We waited a long time to be offered a dessert menu, and by the time I found someone to ask, the coffee machine had been turned off. First-world issues, and there was a coffee machine in our room we could use. The hotel is definitely on our 're-visit' list.
Paradox Parlours Escape Rooms - Cost £68 per game (for two players)
1: Recording Studio: with everyone’s favourite DJ Alex Swift. Your help is needed to remaster the number-one track before it goes live. Search the room and put your love of puzzles to good use.
2: The Case of the Missing Gun: A notorious criminal faces trial, with a missing piece of evidence that would put him behind bars for good. Travel back to 1930‘s New York, and solve a myriad of puzzles to save the case.
3: Venus: The fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Will you rise to the challenge and put an end to VENUS? Or will technology tighten its hold on mankind, forever altering the course of history? 
We are keen escape room players, now totalling over 100 games together. To avoid spoiling anything for future players, we can only say that these were some good rooms to play in. Many escape rooms are now more of an assault course with endless sub-rooms opening throughout the game, so it was a relief to find games that focused on players solving the puzzles rather than trying to be overly complex.
That is not to say the games and rooms at Paradox Parlours were not a challenge. There was enough to keep us on our toes and require a lot of brainpower. The Recording Studio was linear and followed a smooth course through to completion. A few neat puzzles and some more complex, but we did manage to escape in time.
The Case of the Missing Gun had us going over time and, without caffeine in our system, probably wasn't a Sunday morning game for us. There was a lot to complete, and the brain power needed escaped us. Some really good puzzles and interesting ideas in this room. Just take a few more players.
Venus was a padlock-free game and required interaction through a computer screen throughout. A similar idea to Locktopus in Reading. You are working against a machine, and you will need your wits about you. For the geek in us, it caught our attention and had us hooked from the start. You will need to communicate well with your teammates and work together on this. We managed to escape in the nick of time.
If you work up an appetite, then Hanki is just a few doors down from Paradox Parlours in Jeffries Passage. Well worth a visit too. We finished the day with a hot chocolate from Knoops, and headed home...still without settling any plans for Christmas or my birthday.