Reviews of The Guelph Grotto Climbing Co. (Gym)

Jeanine BB

Two kids I was caring for were here for a week in mid-July for their camp. Was totally impressed with the summer camp staff. Super friendly and seemed to really care about the kids and did a good job to entertain them all week. I had heard good things about this place but had never been here. The kids liked the week so much, they want to return next year for another week. So, I guess that means it is a hit! Would recommend.

Athena van Nacht

Love this place but they could do more to prevent sick children running around literally licking the belay ropes.

Loka Shankar

Good clean gym with great staff. They make you do a test before you hit the walls which is great (don't want any accidents). Prices are reasonable and they have discounts for students.

Gerrit Bos

Engaged and enthousiastic staff. Regular updates to climbing problems. Large variety of routes.

Rob Murray

Super fun, great place for a date night or just a fun day/night out. The staff are awesome!

Joey Rossi

Awesome Place, staff is super friendly and helpful. Clean holds that change frequently, would recommend to friends.

Richard Schwarting

I love climbing here.

Oberon Robinson

Older climbing gym but good route setting. Gets crowded at busy times - would be nice to have longer hours on the weekends. Otherwise a good spot for Guelph climbers.

Jonah Monaghan

Awesome routes and staff. Great hours and the perfect place on the weekend to go if you don't mind it being a little extra crowded.

Kathleen Fortier

Friendly staff

Stephen Maloney

The single best place to get activity in Guelph. The staff is great, they change up the routes frequently, and the challenge is progressive so there's always something at your skill level and more just outside of it. Been going for 4 years and am throughly in love with the place

Hello my name is

great place for a birthday party

D J

Fantastic staff, constantly changing routes, friendly, courteous, and welcoming members and volunteers always around. A bit crowded here and there but nothing too bad.

Zoey Taylor

The Guelph Grotto is a staple in the Guelph community. If you haven't been you need to give them a call and see how they can best help you with a first climbing experience. They make everyone feel so welcome and encourage all levels to come out and visit. Can't wait for covid to be over and be able to climb again. Thank you for being awesome grotto team!

The Creative Nook

Thank you Guelph Grotto for being a second home to me! The staff and the environment is so welcoming! You guys are always so accommodating!

Nickee Nielsen

Great place for a fun day! We took our staff there for our Christmas party and we had a blast! Very responsible prices as well

Tara Signorelli

Parking is very limited and it's very hard to find the entrance here. (Tucked into a corner between 2 buildings). Once inside it's a bit dark and not as well ventilated as newer climbing gyms. The entry areal has an awkward pinch point and not coat hooks or shoe cubbies, plus a lack of seating However, staff are very knowledgeable and helpful and the climbing equipment is great.

Joel Porter

My three kids have enjoyed the camps here!

Tricia Kopec

Our team had a great experience doing a team building afternoon! With 20 of us we were able to learn how to belay and get some climbing in. The team at the Guelph Grotto is awesome and I highly recommend this as a team building event.

Hanna Bennett

Very friendly! Nice atmosphere

willybhardagain

Loved it

kye

Nice gym, climb here all the time

Tim Kecskes

I've been a regular member for 3 years. The gym has a great community and wonderful staff.

Doug Beaton

Friendly to a first timer

Vanessa McQuade

We are big fans of the Grotto! We have climbed there for many years and just recently did a team building day with work which was so much fun! Their team was so nice and accommodating; helping those that had never climbed feel comfortable, while those that had climbed before got to have just as much fun and help each other out. Really great day and would highly recommend it :)

Clare Ramsahoi

Great indoor climbing gym. Had an awesome staff member belaying for us and the experience was well worth the price. Good variety of options from bouldering to auto-belays and different challenges to try. Definitely an excellent way to get some strength training in while having fun!

Phil Carriere

Enthusiastic staff. Limited space unfortunately.

Paul Demarco

We took our team of 25 people to the Grotto last week and had a great experience! The team there was extremely helpful and they had us working together to climb in no time. Would highly recommend any company that is looking for a great team building activity to give this a try.

Angela Wise

The staff here a great. They made it a great first climb for my daughter

andrea c

Super helpful staff with my very large group. My whole team enjoyed the experience immensely. Just note that parking is weird, only behind the building.

Will Nut

Excellent staff and facilities with areas for any level of climber. Fair prices too

Dave Hawley

A bit small, but there are new problems to try every two weeks, so doesn't get boring.

Pauline Broadhurst

Kids love this place and the staff are great.

Jennifer Girard

I enjoy rock climbing here. The best time I go is between 3 to 5 during the week. I have never been on the weekend. It's a lot smaller and a tighter squeeze than Grand River Rocks but still has challenges. However, I feel if you're vertically challenged (short) it's not as friendly with the holds. In comparison to GRR, some climbs are almost impossible for me to achieve (which happens less frequently at GRR than at the Grotto). The staff is friendly and so are the people who go to this gym (thus far). Overall a good experience. I do come back frequently.

Alexandra Beggs

Great gym for bouldering. Lots of space and fun routes. The staff who helped us was great but very overworked. Watched two staff walk past him dealing with a line up of at least 5 people and not help him, while at the same time was in the middle of belay testing my partner and I- we didnt mind waiting because he was the only one there but seeing two other staff walk by and not assist him was unimpressive. We were there during a class for kids which meant a lot of the top rope routes were isolated for them and we couldn't use. Ran out of routes to do quite quickly.

gervais corriveau

Staff not suited for children. The girls that was helping seemed toe that she hated her job.

Patrick O'Donovan

Had a fun time!

Marcus Lechner

Good gym and they have a great deal on student semester passes. Staff are always friendly and the reset frequently enough to never run out of problems

Alex Mackinnon

Small gym, teenage staff that don't take their job seriously. Poor belay testing. Dusty, auto lockers that fail to close on their own. I have been climbing 30 years , second worst gym.

Dugan Maynard

Lots of climbing options and helpful staff— really like the wall that you can climb over and go down the other side.

Ben Harper

My two boys ages 10 and 8 loved the summer camp. Lots of time to climb and lots of different challenges to try. They also get a month of membership after the camp which is a great deal. The staff were great when one of my kids got sick one of the days. Would definitely recommend to anyone if any age.

Andrew Scadding

Great gym- the staff regularly change the routes,good balance between bouldering and roped climbs, plus there's a micro brewery right next door

Brent Morrison

Amazing staff, facilities and climbing and bouldering!

Aaron Robb

The gym is set up very well, and the staff very helpful. There are lots of runs which are challenging but really fun, and we spent 4 hours there with a group of 4, never having to wait in line for other people to finish a climb.

Chris Edwards

Great indoor climbing facility that is an established name in Guelph. Offers several different options for climbing as well as auto belay tools if you want to climb independently. In my opinion more fun than the gym!

Alicia Newell

Friendly and helpful staff! A bit on the dusty side compared to some other climbing gyms but it’s pretty good!

Steve Main

Place is not huge but its a great climb spot. Staff is very versed in their stuff.

Ben Davies

This is a terrific facility that feels like an all ages social club. Well run with friendly staff, good music, lots of climbing options, and regular updates that keep it fresh.

Chris tone

Had my daughter's birthday party there. The party room space was dirty and fridge was covered in juice inside. When we arrived we had to prompt the gentleman at desk for info on where to go. It was obvious he did not check the room before we arrived and we were the first party of the day to boot. Our party was to include a free shirt for birthday child and vouchers for each child attending. When I asked about it I was told we did not get them even though the website for birthday parties clearly stated we did. So when I pointed it out I was told they were out. I asked if they had a plastic knife as I had forgotten mine for the cake. I was told no and if they did have one it would be unsanitary. I was also overcharged for my daughter's birthday party. The difference was refunded but needless to say the gentleman who was attending to us was very wet behind the ears or just extremely lazy.

Ian Jasper

Great staff, lovely atmosphere, good workout

Jordon Kehoe

Great climbing gym with great people. Washrooms are not the best, its hot in the summer and busy in the evenings.

Baraka Gitari

I'm a novice. Staff were friendly and helpful. There were courses that i could attempt.

Mikala Wheeler

Terrific climbs and community, but be prepared for a busy gym

Karl Weinstein

I've been climbing here for over 15 the gym has changed a lot in those years but only for the better. The staff is great as are the people who climb there. They have 5 autobelaying machines and run a good mixture of routes for difficulty. The staff also change the routes on a regular basis.

Blake Hetherington

This gym has a great vibe. I've only been a few times so far but I plan on going more in the future. Also, being conveniently next to Royal City brewing gives them both points in my book.

Colton Donaldson

The routes change so there is always something new to challenge yourself with each time you come.

Tasman Webb-Apgar

Best Climbing gym EVER, after this lockdown they are expanding to have even more space. Solid bouldering and routes, closer to outdoor grading than some other gyms. Friendly, helpful staff, and a very inclusive vibe

Mauricio Flores

Unsafe place, now I understand why they make you sign a waiver, my child got seriously injured, (concussion), we didn't have a good experience. I felt frustrated.

Ryan Donahue

A little pricey

Jason “The Difference” Huestis

Lots of fun... Great instructors

Bekah Calder

The staff were all very friendly and informative and the space was clean and professional. My kids had a great time. It is definitely expensive though!

Fitora

My group had SUCH an amazing time. Dave and Joey were SO awesome. They communicated everything so well, cheered my family/friends on and overall were great teachers. We couldn’t stop raving about how much fun we had when we got home! They made the experience fantastic. Very scary but lots of fun!

Greg Holley

Staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. Super chill spot for climbing with nice tight knit community

Andy Cook

Really pushed myself as a first time climber, but can really see this being a place I'd like to spend my free time.

Finlay Small

The grotto is awsome! The boulders, top rope and lead routes are good fun. The crew is upbeat. The music is good. The work out room is only available sometimes so make sure to plan ahead if you want to train after your climb.

Jonathan Puddle

Great climbing gym with friendly, helpful staff. Great other climbers as well.

Quinn Thompson

I climb here regularly. Some of the teen staff don't take their job real serious, but the rest of the staff are awesome! The climbing itself is great, and the whole floor is a mat, which is nice. Really busy nights can be annoying, because it is small, and there isn't a lot of room. The facility isn't very nice, bathrooms suck, and it get's really hot inside during the summer. Also, their kids programs during the week encourage a lot kids to run around without any etiquette which is also annoying. Overall, despite all the things I don't like, I still enjoy climbing there a lot! Maybe one day they will move their gym, I think a larger, and nicer facility would realy help!

Mark Powell

Absolutely amazing place, super friendly and helpful staff, and a great atmosphere

Bob Davis

Great place to climb indoors. Also host an awesome independently run aerialist program.

Bill Huneke

Great variety of climbs. Several auto-belays make it easy to bring the kids

Courtney McCarthy

Great facility, amazing staff.

Mike Bernier

Really friendly and helpful staff. Awesome setup for climbers of all skill levels.

Ryan Vielma

Guelph Grotto's staff is extremely friendly and knowledgable on all aspects on climbing. I just started climbing there and was very happy with the level of customer service that I receive every time I go in! They offer a bunch of different routes for all experience levels and the place is always well kept! Great spot for fun with friends and coworkers!

Arthur Harkins

Guelph Grotto is my fave indoor climbing gym. All staff are friendly and helpful and as a team they've done a fantastic job of working with their members during COVID. The quality of their top rope and bouldering is on point, I always feel safe and supported by the atmosphere they've created and I've only had friendly encounters with other members. Overall it's a great place for climbers of all experience levels. Can't wait for the next lockdown to wrap up so I can get back to doing what I love here.

Tim Lambert

Great environment, reasonable space for climbing. Focus on boulders, but also has some decent top-rope and lead options. Monthly membership available for a good price, and has a student discount.

Rory O'Connell

Great gym for bouldering, top rope, and lead! Friendly and professional staff :)

Alex A

Why Grug smash rock, when he can climb rock? Grug like climb rock. You would like climb rock too.

Nic Altobelli

I like climbing in Guelph, but I personally find the setting at the Grotto to be frustrating sometimes. I love the staff and the crowd that it draws.

Andrew Bresnahan

Great staff; good bouldering routes for various abilities; diverse climbs with varying difficulty, some with auto-belay; very welcoming scene. Recommended.

Kristian Smith

Great place, my son has been coming here for summer camps for years and he loves this place. The staff here are amazing, they are helpful, professional and friendly. They have a positive attitude and they are always encouraging there customers to climb. I would recommend this place to anyone that's looking for a unique experience.

Chris Bagg

Great climbing gym.

Eddie Ma

This is my first climbing gym. People are fit and friendly, so if you're a beginner like me, you'll get a lot of hints for how to maneuver in your climb. The bouldering puzzles reset pretty frequently, so it's always a fresh challenge.

Jimmy Wysoczanski

experience level... over 9000!

Amanda Silveira

As a beginner, I love my experience at this rock climbing gym. The atmosphere is inviting and friendly, the staff are all so lovely. They have fostered an environment of positivity and inclusivity. No one will bat an eye at you falling over and over, everyone is falling. The boulders are changed often, which is super exciting. If you're thinking of stopping by to see what rock climbing is like, don't hesitate! ????

Mallory Thompson

Great pricing for a full day of climbung

Sandor Pall

Website was a little misleading, although they accommodate kids, they are more geared toward the adults. And that’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t what I was looking for

Jenni Love

Staff was amazing. Went there with our Scout group. Very helpful. Personally helped me achieve more than I thought was capable of. Would defiantly return.

Alex Chow, MEd

Been coming here for 2 years. Best membership price at any climbing gym I've ever been to. Although every other climbing gym I've been to is more physically impressive, it's small footprint creates a fantastic welcoming community of the regulars. Has occasional yoga classes and a few weights/cross-training equipment in the back for members

David Clarkson

Great gym. Friendly people, with lots of great routes and, probably most importantly, great route setters.

Peter Mozuraitis

Indoor climbing is such a fun, social, intense yet laid back way to stay active. Way more fun than a typical gym, located right beside a brewery is a lovely convenience

Matt Hiskett

Helpful staff, great place to take your time learning how to climb.

James Ewing

Amazing gym and awesome people I'm on the competitive team and I go every day

Michelle Kelly

Great fit n place

Seth Panagapka

Lots of fun

Kails Graham

New and exciting! I go every once in a while and my boyfriend loves it too. Highly recommend if you are looking for something fun.

Owen Mototsune

A bit all but they've got great routes for bouldering Not too much lead but a ton of top ropes Yoga every other Friday at 5:30 Reset routes every month or so

Leah Hidalgo

All rock climbing gyms need a staff member like Megan (or spelt like Meghan..?..)!! I did a belay refresher class with her and wow she was on top of everything and basically had me feeling like the next Alex Honnold within an hour. Very thorough, knows what she is doing, pumps you up, and is way cool. 10/10 would recommend her if you want to improve climbing techniques. Overall awesome gym with friendly staff, people, and environment. Such a delightful experience.

Thomas Braukmann

Great place to climb. Staff are really friendly and helpful. Also have quite a few options if you are into bouldering.

Sam Engstrom

The Grotto circa mid 2017 was an amazing gym, but at this point I’ll be climbing at Core (15 minutes away, just off the 401) once my semester membership runs out at the end of the year. Since last year, they have ramped up their children’s programming, drastically reduced the amount of boulder route resets, introduced a new grading system that makes no sense (routes go from “this is a ladder” to “ok easy no problem” to “excuse me pardon what?”), changed their hours to leave little kid-free daytime hours open, and of course, raised their prices. I get that kid groups have low operating costs, so it’s easy to profit on those alone while giving paying members the short end of the stick. I wouldn’t even mind the crowds of children if they would return to complete boulder resets every 2 weeks and the old hours where they opened at 11am. Leaving boulder sets up for 4 weeks (especially with the current grading system that does not leave the setters accountable to ensure a skill gradient is present at all) results in them getting extremely dirty by the tail end of their lifespan. Plus, if a set with particularly difficult or undoable routes goes up, you’re stuck with them for almost a whole month. The early morning hours feel like a halfhearted attempt, 10-3 are the only hours I can go if I work an opening or a closing shift. Furthermore, now that they’re only open at 3 in the afternoon, the back workout room is usually full with a lesson. I also haven’t been impressed with the supervision or lack thereof that kids get. They run under people while they’re on the wall and don’t understand they need to take turns with all the other members paying to be there. If you’re going to act like a babysitting service and invite all these kids groups, at LEAST do a better job monitoring them. I had emailed the Grotto last year asking what was going on with the less frequent boulder resets and got a non-answer in response. I’ll email them again directly with these issues again, but unless they focus on their members again and not just kid camps, my climbing group and I are taking our business elsewhere.

Mary Anne Young

Great gym, great people. It's been a Guelph institution for over 20 years!

Lee Ann

My go-to rock climbing place! Best in the region, always changing the lay outs, friendly staff! I love it!

Marco Marsili

Great place to climb, but parking is tight

David Williams

My daughter has been in 2 weeks of their kids camp. She adores it! Not a confident kid normally but has really grown in confidence in this camp. Great job! ????

Evan Mayer

Very friendly people and always have interesting and fun bouldering routes!

Devin Jorgensen

Great helpful staff and facility

Daniel Byrne

Best (and only) indoor rock climbing gym in Guelph.

Hayley Marrison-Shaw

Although it might be one of Ontario's oldest climbing gyms, it is far from the best and showing its age. Wooden walls and slick holds. The staff member at the front was highly unhelpful. Crowded and very limited safety measures. Limited lead options. The upstairs bouldering cave was very cool though!

Morgan8378

I like this place, though im used to climbing facilities with more open space, so i felt a bit cramped. Still had a blast, just needed to get comfortable in the space and get used to the setting style here.

Jacob Wright

Great people! An awesome place to excersise!

Jolene Bell

Kids love it! Wish there was more space for parents/spectators to watch.

Christopher Dumigan

A year ago I would have given this place 4 stars, however they have been recently making changes for the worse. They increased their prices while providing nothing extra to their patrons, and they have initiated an ambiguous grading system that solves nothing they intended it too. They have also reduced the frequency of re-settings, and many routes will remain unchanged for several months. All climbing gyms have a training room, however the Grotto feels it is fair to their members to hold non-climbing related classes during peak hours, meaning it cannot be used much of the time. One definate positve thing is that the staff are all great and really nice to be around. I climb at the grotto 3 times a week as there is no other gym in Guelph, however when you compare cost/benefit to other gyms in the area (Grand River Rocks), the Grotto pales in comparison.

Blake Gustafson

Great atmosphere. Nice people. Things to climb.

aM N

Good gym. Every changing climbs. New weight/strength room.

K Woods

Best place ever! Great place to learn, chill and make friends! Great vibes great staff!

Lauren Campbell

Great place to climb!

Lisa Poole

Had a great time! Hadn’t been for a long time, our instructor Jake was great, very patient and gave us lots of info. He is a fantastic teacher!

B

Perfect place to start a new hobby. This sport can be for anyone, The grotto is a great place to get a feel for rock climbing in a safe controlled environment.

klopataralo

Amazing place! My kids love it. Different levels of challenge. Great staff, very helpful. They have a bunch of programs for all ages. You have to try it out.

Cody Dalton

Love it!

Julie Dunleavy

Incredible staff who are dedicated, passionate about climbing, and welcoming of climbers from all walks of life. They have handled this pandemic with immense clarity and firmness in their policies for the health of our community

Michael Anselmini

Amazing staff. Good variety of problems. Awesome time!

ROSS Watson

My 7 year went to summer camp here and loved it! The staff were great with him and he really enjoyed the activities.

Dan Brown

Interesting experience

climb & beer reviews

Visits: 2 Cost: Cheap The Grotto is a fantastic standby and I suspect will exist for a very long time. The gym is fairly small, and suffers from old-hold syndrome that many old gyms face. The setting is a little boring but improving, and it's fairly common to see climbs on the wall for quite awhile. I've seen one injury in this gym - the bouldering is in the centre of the room and so sometimes people land on each other - so just keep an eye open. It's a good quality gym that will suit you well if you're in Guelph.

ncampese

Our favourite place to be. Great gym, challenging routes, supportive community, and absolutely wonderful staff. We love you guys.

Wade Proudlock

Great people (Tyler and Seth are bosses), great culture (climbing humans are good humans), great gym (lots of route resets). Love the Grotto!

Verena Wildenstein

Best climbing gym! Love the people

Lee Reck

Awesome staff and community feel. It's small but has so much climbing/training - even moreso than some bigger gyms. Well priced.

Mary Ann Zamora

This is a fantastic climbing facility! And their aerial silks program with Lorraine is bar-none! She is just wonderful!

Joshua Rully

Great place for training hard and the setters do a great job at keeping routes/boulders interesting and realistically graded when compared with outdoor counterparts. Plenty of hours to chose from for training or climbing with friends and the prices are great!

Doug McGowan

Great place, good bouldering sets, amazing vibe. I've loved climbing there for a year and a half now and couldn't ask for nicer people.

jeff brandmaier

Daughter loves this place! She attends week long camp and always comes home pumped up on what she accomplished! Also tired from all the exercise.

Telka O'Donovan

Had a fun date night here. Great workout and we had a great coach too.

DJ Farnworth

We just had a birthday party for our 6 and 8 yr olds. Staff was amazing and the kids wore themselves out going up and down the walls. Something for every skill level. Thanks Guelph Grotto!!

Jon Gingrich

Passionate staff who know their sport. Small but offerings for all skill levels

Zach Charbonneau

I really like the Grotto. I've been hanging around in one capacity or another for about 3 years and although the gym is small and the temperature can be brutal, I really enjoy the atmosphere. There's a good foundation of people who are happy to just be climbing. If you are just learning people at the Grotto are real helpful and nice about giving you tips and tricks on how to get your next move.

Jason Perri

Great. It was our first climbing experience.

Kon T

Local climbing gym with an active setting team and grey staff, perfect for hanging with friends or having a birthday party at.

James Francey

I wanna start off saying nothing is particularly bad about the gym. For beginners and first timers trying to get into the sport the grotto is amazing and awesome place to take the kids. If ur a first time climber it's a 5 star gym. As an experienced climber I wanna start off by saying it's not a bad place to train but nothing stands out and jumps out as good. To start with the pros climbs are fun, staff is amazing, and the holds are a good level of worn where they aren't slippery but won't destroy ur hands. There are no horrible things that would make me avoid but alot of room for improvement. Firstly this could be mistaken but my understanding is that the bouldering gets reset once a month and the top ropes don't get reset. This isn't enough as there is never anything new at the gym and it gets boring if ur going frequently. A once a week rotational style reset would be much more entertaining for members. Secondly, alot of the climbs (I have only climbed the easier ones blue and under, but it seems to look similar a bit higher) the setting is all one move wonders with few fun interesting movements, alot of the climbs for beginners are not interesting movements that force climbers to learn a new technique room for improvement on the setting. Lastly the training area has great lattice boards but it would be nice to see some more free weights for the climbers that wanna hit specific muscles. A few improvement as well are the staff doing more frequent walk through of the gym and interacting with participants would increase the atmosphere and build bonds with the participants. Overall I would love to increase the rating if things change and am very excited for the grotto to expand in December.

Tanya

Not enough auto belays _ staff was super friendly and helpful

Rebecca F

We came here for the Date Night package and had a great time!! Staff members were friendly and knowledgeable. It was my first time climbing but I felt safe and had a great time! The other people there were also really nice, there were children, parents and adults, a fun activity for all ages.

thatteleguy

Awesome gym with great hours and super friendly staff

Brandon Bott

Staff is always friendly, good enviroment and a fun date night

Ryan Mahood

Best climbing grotto on Victoria Rd.