Thank you for your feedback denicee! Wine Vault took 3 years to build - storyline, plot, flow and delivery. Russell and I love every part of this design, so thank you for your shared enjoyment of the room.
We typically ask players if they would like an explanation, so I apologize if you did not get asked. I will make sure to share your comments with my staff as a training tool. The room videos were originally made to be the only explanation and we learned over time, the hard way, that 95% of players need multiple explanations to comprehend the instructions. Broken items are very costly to escape room owners., especially small businesses who actually care about broken elements :)
I like your suggestion of a note for a refill however, I am afraid if we give players a pen, my walls and every prop will be ruined. Also - learned the hard way. I will bring this up at the next staff meeting to discuss a different & improved way for refills without room interruptions.
The photos in the room - we don't allow it because we do not have time to "reset" before photos are taken. For example, if a puzzle is solved, you can see the solution in the picture (ie wine bottles) It could possibly ruin the experience for the next player that happens to stumble upon the pic online. Another - learned the hard way lesson :)
When you visit us next time - please tell us that you want no explanation or storyline told. We can skip it for you. We will also make sure to only refill before we start the room and after the experience is over. We will also reset the room after your experience for you to go back in to take photos. Our customers are very important to us and your feedback is very valuable. Thank you for supporting small and local! - Amber, owner