Reviews of Romper Room Indoor Rock Climbing Centre (Gym)

Brianna Hamilton

Great community of climbers and awesome routes for different levels. Doesn't feel stuffy or fake like some gyms can, more like a local laid back spot.

Derek Bodner

Great indoor climbing gym and the people who go seem to be a good crowd..

Joseph Ghetler

Great environment for kids

Cameron Dixon

Great selection of walls and difficulties to climb and nice staff. Will come again if we are in town again.

Lisa Fehr

Friendly and helpful staff. I have been bringing my kids here for years and they love it.

Zack Penn

1) If you have asthma or are irritated by indoor air quality DO NOT GO HERE without a dust mask. There is a noticable haze lingering from the gravel floor. I immediately felt wheezy after one climb and was kept awake all night with a cough (no sickness prior). Mats need no ne installed ASAP. 2) Most ropes available for the top rope routes had been well used to the point of varying diameters by nearly 5mm. This make it hard to fit into some belay devices and hard to take slack when belaying. 3) The holds on the walls are old and worn down. Some of them had a black shine to them from the amount of use and slips. I love climbing and was only in Nanaimo for 2 nights so we decided to check it out. After experiencing the condition/ quality of the gym I would never return and would tell the north island climbing community to avoid if they can.

Dorian Munro

I did a lead climbing course and it was good and covered everything that was needed but it felt very rushed and not as thorough as it could have been. Definitely would have preferred a opportunity to do a few more practice climbs rather than finishing up early. As a gym the gravel takes some getting used to and it’s very overhang focused seeing how it gives off a cave like feel. I went on a super hot day and you could very much feel it get notably hotter at the top of a climb. Overall fun gym

Kris Y

Visited the Romper Room today while on vacation from Alberta. Only had room for shoes & a chalk bag, so climbing at Horne Lake wasn’t an option. Definitely felt the old-school vibe of the gym, which was cool, but it could definitely use some adjustments in order to operate at the standard of today’s gyms. A few notes from my experience: A gym orientation was not given or offered. The employee asked our group of four if we had used auto belays before. Two hadn’t, so she offered to do an orientation or if myself or my partner (who have both used auto belays before) would show the other two in our group. We opted to show them ourselves. This wasn’t an issue, but I was surprised to see that an employee would pass on their role & responsibility to a visitor. Poor safety in the bouldering area. 4 crash pads for the entire bouldering section. Two pads were occupied by people sitting on them. I can’t blame them as there is no seating. The other two were in use by people actually climbing. This area can certainly accommodate many climbers, so I would suggest adding more mats. The Moonboards have adequate padding, so I would expect the same in the bouldering area of the gym downstairs. Why is gravel a choice for the flooring? It creates a dusty environment (on top of chalk in the air), makes holds slick, and doesn’t offer much protection in the case of a fall. If 2 $5,000+ Moonboards can be purchased, adequate flooring and mats should be a priority. - Does hold-washing take place in this facility? I could nearly see my reflection in some of the holds. - Route-setting did not seem all that creative. Routes / problems lacked flow and nice moves. I still did enjoy my time here, as I would have seriously missed climbing for a few weeks while away from the Bow Valley. There are improvements that could be made to this gym.

Chris F

Love this place. Been sending people years. Great facility. Friendly and professional staff. Always been a great experience. Glad to have them near by.

Lesley Farley

Had my kids birthday there and the kids loved it. Staff were very accommodating and patient.

Shirley Perry

A great place to celebrate a birthday

Kip Hartwell

The kids love it. I think they don't have gravity there.

Silas Ashton

Pretty expensive but pleasant staff. For the love of God clean the urinal!

Erica Bakewell

My really son enjoyed his birthday party at Romper Room. Thanks for making his Day special!

YesNoMaybeSometimes

Best climbing gym north of victoria, great terrain features. But it's old and dusty and the floor could use an upgrade. Either way though, community is great and always always a fun time here with the new routes they set every couple weeks.

Mehdi Naimi

Great place for meaningful exercise! Amazing guides and instructors! An atmosphere of camaraderie.

Matthew Breakey

Great routes and friendly staff. Big lead area. My only knock is that the wall is a bit short.

HyeJin Kim

Good place to enjoy climbing

Jeremy Loewen

Great customer service. They were very willing to donate to my bursary foundation, and provided knowledgeable information regarding youth climbing

Kamilla Duha

Such an amazing place to go to socialize and workout. The staff are always there to help out where needed.

Deraek Menard

Great place. Tons of fake rocks. They're all over the walls, and boy do they have walls. Boulder cave, lead cave, top ropes, you climb it in a gym, they got it.

derrick kunstmann

Amazing staff and hard climbs ????.

Johnathan Lewis

Awesome gym and awesome program for belaying!

kiva ganie

Fun routes and helpful staff

Khorus Tobin

I had my birthday party here and it was the best. The staff were really friendly. I will totally be back.

James Robinson

We booked a family session for 2 hrs with a belayer. All of us loved it! The belayer ( Mia ) Was fantastic, very patient and encouraging towards the kids. We will be back.

Taisa Andrushko

I love this place. Great and supportive environment, rad staff, affordable. A great place to spend time, climb your heart out, and meet some cool folks.

spdfxrce

The staff are really encouraging and very friendly. Some walls are more challenging than others but that's a good thing.

Nicole Paradis

My son enjoyed it so much he cannot wait to go back what a cool experience!!!

Hez Ronningen

If you get stuck climbing inside I can't think of a place I would want to be. Fantastic routes that are graded hard but will challenge you!

Eleonora Malyshenok

Nice gym. My husband and son climb there a lot. But I prefer when there are mats all over the bouldering area.

Alessandro Morelli

Love it. Climbs are fun, challenging and constantly updated.

GreenWilder

So much fun, great way to work out, staff is nice.

Jim Stelmacker

Amazing staff and lots of fun climbing.

Khandro Gagné

Took the guide coarse and the belaying certification course really friendly staff. If you like a bit less of a hoard of climbers call for best slow times they are more then happy to tell you!

Nathan Tsai

Great place with great rates with great people! It has a gravel floor and I think there's no heating, but the "real thing" is just like that! Always enjoy myself when I go.

Mitchel Davie

Amazing and relaxed rock climbing gym for all skill levels. Friendly staff and a welcome environment for any level of challenge.

Kim Boyce

Loved it and everyone there is super nice and helpful!

Jen Hale - Thomson

Really great rock climbing gym! The only reason I give it a 4 is because when my fiance and I were doing our belay course, we didn't have the greatest experience. We were in a decently sized class and I get that he had to spend time with everyone. However, the instructor didn't seem to care for the fact that we already knew what we were doing. He actually ignored us for a while and didn't look at all thrilled when we had completed the knots without his step by step instructions. The rest of the staff there is great and we still continue to go

Yard Plots

Great place. Daughter always has so much fun. Super staff who are dedicated. Be back soon

Kooper2080

Really good pricing and exercise for beginners and more experienced climbers

Jamie Popkin

Friendly staff. Lots of routes and places to boulder. There's an upstairs that's great for hanging out and watch others climb. Really family friendly.

Stuck in a hole

Lots of fun. Great service

Silver H

Very good???? Excited!!!

Alicia McLean

Great spot, great routes and great staff

Don Bowden

We had my 11 year old sons birthday here today with 9 kids and they had so much fun. The staff was friendly and very helpful!

Kelsey Crozier

Love getting high here! Craig is legend.

Brian Delves

so much fun. very friendly and patient with people who've never tried rock climbing before .

Anthony Dyson

Perfect place to practice your Rock climbing skills before taking them to real life. Safe for all ages

Robin Fast

I partook in a bouldering technique course led by Jonathan recently. Immediately I became much more confident climbing with the proper foundational skills and safety precautions freshly in mind. It was a lovely evening!

Adam Zanbilowicz

Friendly staff. Treat my son very well - great kids club.

matt mcmillan

Well equipped, great set up, family friendly and affordable.

mygamertag2010X

Lots of fun! Only $15 for the day!

Daniel “SLAYER” Scholey

Keep climbing ????

Vancouver Island Real Estate Network

What a fun birthday party option! These guys were great! The kids had an absolute blast at the party and they were so tired and happy after it was wonderful - parents were thanking us for such a great experience. The facilities were very clean and the atmosphere was fun! We will be back for sure! Thanks Romper Room. Quick reminder to folks - bring your own water bottle lol

Winona

im obsessed. rock climbing is crack

Mike King

Great roped climbing, top rope and lead, and excellent bouldering. Routes are changed regularly and are always high quality. Nanaimo is lucky to have such a gym.

autumn Kennedy

So cool

Ilan Goldenblatt

Awesome climbing gym. Short walls, but excellent route setting. Very technical. Great bouldering area. A top notch locals gym for a town of less than 100,000 people. Great staff. Great great for sale. Good beverages on offer. Fun music played.

christina cleveland

A super friendly, engaging climbing gym! Great variety of routes, and clear increase in difficulty as you move up from 5'7-5'12. The routes are not as high up as some gyms (not as tall) but they more than make up for it by having them more technical. The routes cycle through at a good rate, so you get to really project courses, but the routes still stay fresh! It has a really great program so you can Belay groups to earn free climb passes. This is great for people on a budget or who are going to school to make it more affordable.

Lindsay R

Amazing staff however not a great experience sadly. If you are bringing children or need to use auto belay be prepared even in slow times to wait a long time. Awful to see some adults having their children re use the belays over and over without sharing with other children and this is an issue that should be addressed and monitored. Over all we stood and waited the majority of the time for only five auto belays available. Won’t be back with our youngest.

Nadya Geselbracht

Love this place!

Rob Moroto

Thank you Romper room! We had a terrific time today! Your staff are incredibly helpful, our kids had a great time and so did we. The routes are fun and challenging - we’ll certainly be back!

kurtis

We had a great afternoon here. We will be back again

Terry O'Brian

Nice atmosphere. Great selection of climbs!

Mark Beaulieu

Had a great boulder. They just set some new problems. Good fun

Lindsay de Carvalho

Great knowledgeable staff. Good with kids.

Dion Knighton

Very friendly staff and helpful highly recommend

Travis Thiessen

Fun place

Ryan Menzyk

Kids had lots of fun

Dan Hall

It was a great experience. My six year old grandson thoroughly enjoyed the time there and the instructor, Gavin, was so very patient with all the kids. We will certainly take him there again.

Easha

This is my favourite gym in the world. Others are right in that the routes are extra technical to make up for the shorter walls. I actually like this better because I feel that the practice I get is more valuable :) the gym really has a hometown/family feel and a more authentic vibe than some of the newer, fancier gyms. Really fits in with the spirit of the sport. The rock-like walls are also a nice touch. Disagree with some of the negative reviews below...if shiny, luxurious facilities are your top priorities, maybe you should try a different hobby? This gym is amazing and such a special feature of Nanaimo! Great routes, great atmosphere, and always so welcoming.

Rob Halsall

Bouldering, top-rope and auto-belay. This gym has something for everyone. Great staff too!

Ami

I came to this gym while visiting from the mainland to lead climb as they have a large roof section. Online there is no mention of having to call in to book a belay test so we just dropped in. Unfortunately the person working said she can only give top rope tests. Their top rope section is fairly easy, only two 5.12's and one 5.13 which my partner easily finished. All the other difficult climbs were lead only. At one point there was three staff members behind the desk, all of whom were untrained to give lead tests. My experience at this gym was extremely disappointing and unprofessional, it was my partners first time in the gym and he did not even receive an orientation. A gym that offers lead climbing should have staff that can give belay tests.

Karly Karly

Anyone rating this gym above 3 stars has likely never been to any other rock climbing facility. Romper Room was built 3 decades ago, in the 90s and IT SHOWS. People frequent this climbing gym because it's literally the only option available - the next nearest ones are 1-1.5 hrs drive away. The floor is gravel, which is unpleasant to walk on or land on and holds tonnes of dust. It also makes the holds very dirty. The air inside is not filtered or circulated at all so when you leave after an hour or two your nose and mouth are grey from being clogged with dust. The floors need to be updated to the current industry standard of impact mats that most other gyms on the island and mainland use. The routes are re set often enough and that is awesome, but are still limited by the height/size of the building. The building does not have the square footage to support the customers who frequent it. The gym is often very crowded and one is left standing around waiting for their turn. As with many businesses in Nanaimo they have not expanded to meet the demand, and yet continue to sell memberships and invite more groups there. Over spring break there are 40 kids at once climbing, on top of everyone else who are regular customers, and not even a thought to us, not opening early to accommodate the regulars at all. At least 4 ropes in the gym are so old and poor quality that they are difficult to belay with, knots tied in the ends, parts of the rope so bunched up that it can barely fit into a belay device - front desk staff have been informed but weeks later the ropes remain in use. When customers are lead climbing they are climbing right over the heads of other customers. I've been hit by someone falling simply because I was walking by and have seen near-miss incidents as well. Despite their facility being outdated and small they still charge the same rates as much nicer facilities. I will say the staff here are decent, a few are excellent, a few are not at all. They don't seem to have enough front desk staff sometimes, with the phone ringing off the hook unanswered because the staff are too busy. This business has gotten too comfortable, too stagnant, largely due to lack of competition in the market I assume, and lack of innovation/motivation on the owners part. There is no other gym available so people will keep coming here I guess.

Jonathan Poirier

Gym with lots of potential put kind of misses the mark walls are cluttered and routes arent well graded and set almost seems like holds are on the wall and they just randomly throw tape on holds. Some 5.9s were harder then the 11s. Grading was all over the place

Shane Aebig

Great place to take the kids and parents. Good workout, fun and challenging. The staff are amazing.

Jon

Love this place! Great community and good variety of roots for all levels - highly reccomend checking it out!

Calvin Pequin

Was great first time

Caisa Heyes

We brought our summer camp to this facility in August 2018. Not only were the 'leaders' extremely un-engaging with the children, they weren't able to explain proper safety concerns to the children in a way that they could comprehend but had no issue getting mad at children for not following the rules. There seemed to be zero management around, and was being run by no one older than 16 this specific morning. We paid for a full hour and our appointment ended 15 minutes early (only got 45 minutes of climbing time for an hour pay). We were also kicked out of the building when we asked to eat lunch upstairs in the corner to avoid the summer fire smoke (which was at an extreme health warning). Extremely unprofessional and lacking any type of management. Would not recommend going here, especially for their prices.