How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 7.79
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 7.68
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.68
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 7.28
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.2
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 7.73
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.1
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 6.93
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Summary:
Set in a hotel built in the early 20th century, Sinister Suites brings its customers a unique opportunity to experience a haunt within a piece of history. This haunt is a multi-floor experience where guests travel up and down flights of stairs on their journey through the hotel. Every room within the hotel is a scene of horror like no other. The hotel is so vast that the group runs the risk of getting lost, thus the security follows every group. The hotel holds the secrets of cannibalism, madness, violence, and terror. People should experience Sinister Suites if they dare!
Cast: 7.68
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 7.5
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 7.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 7
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.5
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Sinister Suites had a large cast of energetic actors lurking within the rooms, ready to scare the customers. While some of the ‘main’ characters have bios on the website, all of the cast seemed to have individual characters. Dialogue was occasionally predictable, with a fair amount of screams, some ‘get outs’ and several allusions to us being food, but some others were really unique and interesting.
The cast had a struggle on their hands as our group was sent through with a group of terrified youths who literally ran through most of the haunt, but they still managed to get some personalized interactivity. We really enjoyed the creepy hospital hallway girls; they followed our group and whispered eerie phrases to us.
Costuming: 8.68
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8.5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 9
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 8.5
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Sinister Suites had a really talented makeup artist and costuming crew. The appearances of the characters were creepy and really added to the character identities. The characters’ appearances were very well matched to their settings and the overall feel of their individual character.
The makeup techniques specifically were well executed and diverse, with SFX contacts, bald caps, and well-done latex work. One of our favorite looks was a character with her mouth sewn shut; it looked very authentic. Additionally, the actress was still able to make sound and scream because the makeup artist clearly took the speaking of the actor into account.
A few of the characters were in masks and those masks were highly effective because they were so few and far between and because the masks were extra detailed and creepy. A few of their ‘main’ characters are masked characters. We really enjoyed Jacky and her scary bunny face.
Customer Service: 7.28
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 8
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 7
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 7.5
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 6.5
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Sinister Suites has a lovely crew waiting to welcome customers as they enter the hotel. The entrance is easy to locate as they have a clear sign and flashing lights through some of the windows. Parking was a little difficult and people may need to drive around to locate a parking place.
The website was a little hit or miss on the information on the haunt, and we had to check their Facebook to see the ticket prices, but with all their resources people can find what they need to know about the haunt.
Once within the haunt, the place is very easy to navigate as everything is within the hotel. The hotel itself has a few attributes that are common in older structures. This adds to the ambiance, however, makes it necessary for an escort for each group. The hotel is rather large, but the haunt doesn’t use all of it. This makes it possible for people to get lost within the haunt, especially since the sets and the areas that are not set areas are both covered with black tarps. The hotel also has very steep stairs. Intelligently, the haunt has strict rules to not scare on the staircases, however, the stairs are thin-walled and a few of the scares in the rooms next to the stairs did cause jump scares on the stairs.
Atmosphere: 8.2
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 9
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 7
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Sinister Suites has a very creepy atmosphere. The historical hotel was decorated with old photos from the history of the hotel and old, large mirrors. The actors wandering the line area was also creepy and added to the atmosphere. While the area that customers see when they enter was creepy and had some actors working the area, it couldn’t prepare people for the chaos that awaited them within the haunt itself.
The clown line actor was another main character on their website and our group encourages people to see the character bios on the haunt’s site as it offers more depth to the characters seen both within the line and within the haunt itself.
Special Effects: 7.73
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 7
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 6
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 7.5
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Sinister Suites had a large variety of special effects in the form of sounds, lighting, and set design. Their sets were extremely detailed, with our favorite set being the insane asylum style room with tons of writings all over the walls. We did have issues with escapism because the scenes didn’t seem to flow with each other. Additionally, the old hotel had thin walls, so sounds bled over multiple scenes.
The special effects, while not perfect, aided to the scares and the feel of the sets. Our group only got glimpses as we were directed to stay with the youths who were running through the sets, but the glimpses we got were impressive with good use of lighting theory to add tension and uneasy depending on the color of lights used and the direction of light. They also had areas devoid of light to add to other senses being used.
Theme: N/A
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?:
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?:
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?:
This score is left “N/A” when we believe the haunt is trying to target a random variety of themes or phobias, rather than a single overarching “Theme” or “storyline.”
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Sinister Suites didn’t have a discernible overarching theme, despite the website appearing to be alluding to a theme. Our team did see some recurring ideas, such as insanity and cannibalism, however, the sets did not flow enough to be considered as having a story.
The hotel added to the spooky feel of the haunt and we kinda wished that the small bits of theme had delved further into the history of the hotel or ‘history’ of the hotel.
Scare Factor: 8.1
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 7.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.5
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Sinister Suites was a pretty scary haunt, with intense sets full of loud sounds and wild characters. The youths that our group was put with were clearly scared, despite their protests after the haunt was over. The thing that was both a good safety protocol, but took away from the scares was the fact that the two groups (the youths and our team) were required to stay together and we were reminded as such by the security personnel following us multiple times. The scenes made the whole haunt very creepy and eerie, then the actors expounded on this with jump scares and creeping on our group. The ending was a very strong scare with Jacky the crazed bunny woman and a chainsaw-wielding cannibal scaring the guests to the stairs.
Entertainment & Value: 6.93
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 7.5
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 7
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 6.5
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 6.5
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Sinister Suites was a unique experience and it was fun to be able to travel through the historical halls of this hotel turned haunt. The haunt took our group 15 minutes to travel, which might be because of the running that the youths were doing. Tickets are $20.00 so the minutes per dollar ratio was 0.75 which is lower than the average we have been seeing.
The hotel is really neat, but aside from some lobby actors and souvenirs, there weren’t any other entertainments from the ticket price. We enjoyed the experience of going through a historical haunt, and if our readers want that experience Sinister Suites is a haunt like that in Georgia.
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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