Anyone looking for the best escape rooms in the Netherlands will quickly find themselves at DarkPark. DarkPark is the most awarded escape room company in the world, which is why so many escape room enthusiasts travel to the Netherlands each year to play. But don't just take our word for it. Check the evidence! Here you'll find an overview of all the international awards DarkPark has received over the years.
“We’ve come to expect artistry from DarkPark, and they always deliver. Into the DarkVerse was a beautiful blend of personal experience, technology, and nuanced design.” That is what the American platform Room Escape Artist said about Into the DarkVerse after their team played this groundbreaking escape room in Delft. The crowning glory of our work.
When we introduced a completely new concept with Into the DarkVerse in 2025, we knew we were taking a risk. The American escape room platform Room Escape Artist had enormous appreciation for that boldness and for the craftsmanship behind it, and rewarded us with a REAction Award. It's a prize only a handful of companies receive each year, so one we're extra proud of!
Heiner Stepen of the German escape room platform Escape Roomers DE has one goal: to play every escape room in the world, and he is well on his way to getting there. So this is a man who knows what he's talking about, and when he told us that Into the DarkVerse was, for him, the best new escape room of 2025, we were over the moon. Even more so when he backed it up with an award!
When we opened Into the DarkVerse in 2025, we never dared dream we'd be nominated for an international TERPECA Award so soon. We were even happier when this escape room landed at number 112 in the world that year, out of more than 50,000 escape rooms worldwide.
Just before its closure, Stay in the Dark secured a fourth TERPECA award, cementing its place among the top escape rooms in the world. Although Stay in the Dark can no longer be played, DarkPark is on a mission to keep expanding The DarkVerse and continue surprising fans from around the globe with boundary-pushing adventures!
For the sixth year in a row, The End received an award at the escape room awards, once again being voted one of the most enjoyable escape rooms in the Netherlands by fans from all over the world.
In 2024, Stay in the Dark received the coveted Golden Lock Award from Room Escape Artist. This prestigious prize is awarded to the most impressive and immersive escape rooms worldwide. Stay in the Dark stood out with its innovative game design, intense atmosphere, and deep narrative, offering an unforgettable experience that stays with players. This recognition highlights DarkPark's ongoing commitment to delivering top-quality and groundbreaking escape room adventures.
In 2024, Never House was honored with the Golden Lock Award by RoomEscapeArtist.com, a distinction reserved for only the most exceptional escape rooms worldwide. This award highlights the unique and immersive experience that Never House offers, featuring a meticulously crafted story and puzzles that continue to surprise players. Winning this award is a testament to DarkPark's creativity and craftsmanship, solidifying Never House's position as an unforgettable addition to our offerings.
Stay in the Dark also received recognition from Germany this year. Although the name of the podcast might suggest the recognition came from France, it was in fact the Germans who named Stay in the Dark the best escape room in the Netherlands.
For the 7th consecutive year, DarkPark was recognized as the audience favorite on Escapetalk, the largest escape room review platform in the Netherlands. This ongoing appreciation from players is a testament to the dedication and passion that goes into designing every adventure at DarkPark. Winning this award demonstrates that the experiences we create consistently leave a lasting impression and resonate with both new and returning visitors.
In 2023, Stay in the Dark achieved an impressive 18th place on the global ranking of the TERPECA awards, one of the most prestigious accolades in the escape room industry. This placement highlights the unique nature of this experience, with its perfect balance of suspense, storytelling, and innovative game design. The result reinforces DarkPark's position as a pioneer in creating memorable and groundbreaking escape room adventures.
In 2023, The End once again secured a spot on the TERPECA rankings, this time at 65th place. This recognition highlights the enduring appeal and quality of this escape room, continually surprising players with its challenging puzzles and immersive narrative. The mention is a testament to DarkPark's consistent dedication to delivering experiences that are celebrated worldwide, challenging and inspiring players time and time again.
In 2023, The End was honored with the Bullseye Award for Best Escape Room in the Netherlands, a remarkable recognition that confirms the exceptional quality of this experience. The combination of a compelling story, ingenious puzzles, and a unique atmosphere makes The End a benchmark for what an escape room can achieve. This award is a testament to the passion and creativity DarkPark pours into every detail of its experiences, emphasizing that The End remains one of the most acclaimed and celebrated escape rooms in the world.
In 2023, The Orphanage received the Bullseye Award for Best Horror Escape Room. This prestigious recognition highlights DarkPark's ability to create terrifying and immersive experiences that keep players on the edge of their seats. The Orphanage combines a chilling atmosphere with ingenious puzzles and a spine-tingling story, making it stand out as a must-play escape room for horror fans. This award is a tribute to DarkPark's ongoing commitment to quality and originality in the horror genre.
In 2023, Stay in the Dark once again proved to be one of the best escape rooms in the Netherlands by securing a spot on the 'Best of Morty' list. This recognition highlights the lasting impact and innovative nature of this immersive experience. The unique blend of suspense, storytelling, and game mechanics ensures that Stay in the Dark leaves an unforgettable impression and continues to stand out as a must-play for escape room enthusiasts worldwide.
In 2023, The End also secured a spot on the 'Best of Morty' list. This recognition underscores the enduring appeal and masterful design of this escape room, which pushes players to their limits with its immersive narrative and challenging puzzles. The End remains a favorite among escape room enthusiasts, once again proving that it belongs to the absolute top when it comes to unforgettable and intense gameplay experiences.
In 2023, The Orphanage was included in the prestigious 'Best of Morty' list, a selection of the most impressive escape rooms worldwide as recognized by the popular review platform Morty. This acknowledgment highlights the lasting impact and quality of this iconic escape room, years after its initial opening. It reaffirms that The Orphanage still ranks among the absolute world-class experiences, offering unforgettable adventures to players from around the globe.
Honeymoon Hotel has been one of the top escape rooms in the Netherlands for years, and in 2023, this escape game earned a spot on the prestigious 'Best of Morty' list, further solidifying DarkPark's status as a global leader. This recognition highlights how this adventure, centered on atmosphere and suspense, continues to captivate and challenge players in ways that go far beyond standard escape room experiences. Its place on this list is a testament to the appreciation from both visitors and experts who recognize the unique elements that make Honeymoon Hotel stand out.
For the 6th consecutive year, we proudly accepted the coveted title of audience favorite on the largest escape room review website in the Netherlands. Each year, Escapetalk compiles a list of the best escape rooms in the country, and DarkPark is consistently featured. This recognition, based on thousands of reviews from enthusiastic players, is a tribute to the hard work and dedication that DarkPark invests in every experience. The trust and appreciation of our audience remain our greatest compliment.
In 2022, DarkPark once again raked in multiple awards at the most prestigious escape room elections in the world. This year, Stay in the Dark climbed from the 15th to the 9th spot from 242397 escape rooms worldwide. An unbelievable feat! On top of that, once again, 5 of our 6 escape rooms made the finals this year.
We got to receive our 10th TERPECA Award this year. This was the 4th TERPECA Award for The End in Zoetermeer, and with that, it is not only the best escape room in the Netherlands, but also the most successful escape room in the Netherlands when it comes to international recognition.
The jury report on our second at-home escape room game speaks for itself: Witchery Spell stands out from the crowd of play-at-home escape games by combining story, puzzles, and design into a polished, cohesive experience. DarkPark managed to conjure a self-contained experience that’s magical from start to finish and makes you feel like part of the story.
This year too, our escape room was rated the best. The biggest escape room comparison website in the Netherlands, Escapetalk, chose DarkPark as a fan favorite for the 5th year in a row this year.
2021 was our best year so far in terms of TERPECAs. These international awards are seen as the Oscars of the Escape Room world and are as such the highest possible form of recognition an escape room can get. This year, DarkPark ended up third worldwide in the Best Escape Room Company category, and was once again the only Dutch escape room company that received awards in both categories. Furthermore, a whopping 5 out of 6 of our escape games made the finals this year.
Even though Stay in the Dark had not been open for long and international judges had had very few opportunities to visit this unique experience due to Corona, this exceptional project still got rated so highly that it ended up at the 15th rank in the world in the Best Escape Room Worldwide category. An enormous surprise and an unprecedented crowning achievement.
This year, The End has once again - for the 3rd year in a row - been declared to be the absolute top of the world from 177,417 total escape rooms across the world by 796 escape room experts nationally and internationally. This was the 9th TERPECA for DarkPark in 4 years, and the first year that DarkPark managed to get 3 awards in the world rankings.
Near the end of 2021, after two years of constant lockdowns and travel restrictions, possibilities slowly started to open back up for international guests to visit our escape rooms. This resulted in no less than two Awards from Germany, the first of which being the Award for Best Escape Game Adventure for Stay in the Dark from review website Escape Maniac.
Also from Germany, we received the news that Stay in the Dark was chosen as Best Escape Game 2021. This time by review platform Escape Roomers DE. That shows that even the Germans consider Stay in the Dark the best escape room in the Netherlands.
For the fourth year in a row, DarkPark Zoetermeer received awards on the largest escape room comparison website in the Netherlands, and was chosen as a 2021 fan favorite by Escapetalk visitors.
In 2021, the official Dutch escape room magazine Trapped handed out a one-off set of awards in playful categories, including 'best parking' and 'most original emergency exit'. More than 1200 voters named Stay in the Dark the best themed experience, with 19.9% of the votes. This bloodcurdling experience in Vlaardingen had only just opened at the time, so we were more than a little proud to get this recognition from the community right away.
Most of these awards are given out near the end of the year, but review website Armchair Escapist already gave Witchery Spell the title Best Home Escape Room Game as early as January of 2021.
The TERPECAs are seen as the Oscars of the Escape Room world. This year, 596 escape room experts from all over the world chose the best escape rooms out of a total of 130,594 of them worldwide. In the Best Escape Room in the World category, The End in Zoetermeer received 13th place this year.
DarkPark was the only escape room company to win Awards in both TERPECA categories in 2020 as well. DarkPark was praised for its high quality and wide range of escape rooms, earning 20th place in the world ranking in the Best Escape Room Company category.
This year, we also received recognition from England once again. Once a year, review website The Logic Escapes Me gives out a number of Awards to Escape Rooms that are worth traveling to that specific country for. In 2020, that honor went to The Orphanage, which was recognized by the English and added to the list of the best escape rooms in the Netherlands.
In 2020, DarkPark Zoetermeer once again belonged to the fan favorites of the biggest escape room review platform of the Benelux, Escapetalk. DarkPark landed the Award for best escape room in the Netherlands for the third year in a row.
Once again, recognition from America. For our Home Adventures this time. Cici and Brandon from Escapetheroomers were not able to visit our physical Escape Rooms this year due to lockdowns, but that did not stop them from ordering our Home Adventures and awarding them the Best Overall Tabletop Game 2020 Award.
Visitors from Escapetheroomers.com also got to vote and they awarded Witchery Spell with the highest possible acknowledgement, a golden Award for Witchery Spell in the Best Tabletop Game Player's Choice Award category.
The TERPECAs are seen as the Oscars of the Escape Room world. This year, 370 escape room experts from all over the world chose the best escape rooms out of a total of 82,865 of them worldwide. In the Best Escape Room in the World category, The End in Zoetermeer received 23rd place this year.
DarkPark was the only escape room company to win Awards in both TERPECA categories in 2019 as well. DarkPark was praised for its high quality and wide range of escape rooms, earning 18th place in the world ranking in the Best Escape Room Company category.
Every year, American review website Room Escape Artist chooses a small amount of escape rooms worldwide to be considered the best that year. An Escape Room can only win this prestigious Award once, and in 2019, The End received that honor.
This year, we also received recognition from England. Once a year, review website The Logic Escapes Me gives out a number of Awards to Escape Rooms that are worth traveling to that specific country for. In 2019, both The End and The Honeymoon Hotel made that special list.
In 2019, both DarkPark Delft and DarkPark Zoetermeer won the Award for fan favorite among the Dutch public as the most enjoyable escape room in the Netherlands, based on more than 30,000 reviews on Escapetalk, as well.
In 2019, reviewers from Escape Maniac in Germany came to visit DarkPark Zoetermeer. They were so impressed by The End that they decided to present this Escape Game with an Award and declare it one of the best Escape Games of the year.
The TERPECAs are seen as the Oscars of the Escape Room world. This year, 70 escape room experts from all over the world chose the best escape rooms out of a total of 21,738 of them worldwide. In the Best Escape Room in the World category, The Honeymoon Hotel in Zoetermeer was awarded 20th place this year.
In 2018, the TERPECA opening year, DarkPark was immediately showered in high praise, being the only escape room company to receive Awards in both categories. DarkPark was praised for its high quality and wide range of escape rooms, earning 6th place in the world ranking in the Best Escape Room Company category.
Every year, American review website Room Escape Artist chooses a small amount of escape rooms worldwide to be considered the best that year. An Escape Room can only win this prestigious Award once, and in 2018, The Honeymoon Hotel received that honor and was chosen as the best escape room in the Netherlands and far beyond.
In 2024, Room Escape Artist decided to modify the rules of the Golden Lock Award and, retroactively, to also award The Orphanage. In 2018, the rules stated that only one escape room per company could win this award, but they actually wanted to award The Orphanage that year as well, so this was rectified in 2024.
Escape Room review platform Escapetalk gives out yearly Awards for the most popular Escape Rooms that year, based on over 30,000 reviews from enthusiasts nationally and internationally. Both DarkPark Delft and DarkPark Zoetermeer belonged to the fan favorites this year.
For the third year in a row, DarkPark has won the title of Best Escape Room in the Netherlands. With the Honeymoon Hotel this time. Unfortunately this would also be the last time, as Escape Room Reviews ceased to exist that year and was taken over by Escape Rooms Nederland. Luckily, many notable Awards would take its place.
In 2017, the enormous amount of positive reviews on TripAdvisor led to a Certificate of Excellence for our Escape Rooms as well.
In 2016 we were royally awarded once again. This time, it was The Orphanage that got recognition from the Escape Room Reviews visitors.
2016 was once again a year in which DarkPark received many glowing reviews on TripAdvisor, resulting in another Certificate of Excellence for the best escape room in the Netherlands.
The amount of escape rooms in the Netherlands had seen quite a steep incline in 2015, so when the since dissolved website escaperoomreviews.nl held a vote to find the best escape room in the Netherlands, a fierce battle broke out. In the end, The Freakshow made it out as the winner!
Despite the medium being quite new at the time, Escape Rooms suddenly hit TripAdvisor's radar in 2015, resulting in a Certificate of Excellence being awarded to DarkPark based on the reviews of visitors from across the globe. This placed our escape room among the best in the Netherlands at the time, and it has remained that way ever since.
In 2014, NRC Next visited every escape room in the Netherlands. At the time, there were only 3. The Dentist was chosen as the best of those 3, and even though that's not the biggest achievement given the size of the competitor pool, it did indicate that, even back then, we were already setting the bar. The recognition never stopped after that, with many Awards that followed, despite over 1000 escape rooms being present in our country by now.
Even though we're not big fans of discount sites such as Groupon, we were still very honored that this giant declared us to be the best attraction in the Benelux! Nobody had heard of escape rooms at the time, so it was a real interesting experience for our visitors to be locked up and have to puzzle their way out, with this Award as a result.
