Latest news with #Alsheikh
CairoScene
13-08-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
This Escape Hotel in Saudi Turns Your Stay Into a Survival Game
This Escape Hotel in Saudi Turns Your Stay Into a Survival Game Explore spellbinding escape rooms—from cursed tombs to jungle chaos—at the Escape Hotel. Found in Jeddah and Riyadh, it's a full-day plunge into puzzles, pressure, and team dynamics. Of all the ways to spend a night off in Riyadh or Jeddah, choosing to get locked in a room on purpose might sound…questionable. But at The Escape Hotel, that's quite literally the check-in process. Just you, your crew, and an ominous voice announcing you've got 60 minutes to make it out alive—or at least in one piece. Spread across both Saudi cities, The Escape Hotel isn't your typical stay. It's a story-driven experience where each room is its own immersive, cinematic world—designed to drop you headfirst into the chaos of a live-action thriller. You might find yourself in a Harry Potter-style wizarding chamber, chanting spells and decoding dusty scrolls. Or in a mummy's tomb, where ancient relics whisper secrets and the walls seem to breathe with curses. Prefer the high seas? There's a whole pirate dungeon, lit by flickering lanterns and littered with cryptic maps and creaky surprises. There's also the Jumanji room—a wild jungle adventure with hanging vines, secret compartments, and a countdown that drones like a war drum. And for the brave (or just recklessly curious), the Zombie Room throws you straight into full survival mode—with live performers, unsettling soundscapes, and jump scares that test your reflexes and your friendships. Regardless of which disturbing 'room' you check into, once that door shuts behind you, there's no turning back. Not until every riddle is solved, every code cracked, and every dramatic twist faced head-on. The brain behind the mayhem is Alanoud Alsheikh, who brought The Escape Hotel to life in 2017—before Saudi's entertainment scene really exploded. 'I wanted to create an immersive, cinematic experience that goes beyond the usual escape room,' Alsheikh, CEO of The Escape Hotel, shares with SceneTraveller. 'We even added live actors to make guests feel like they're part of a real, unfolding story.' In fact, the team's commitment to realism sometimes raises eyebrows. 'We once had props held at customs for months because they looked like they belonged to some kind of forbidden temple,' Alsheikh recalls, laughing. 'That says it all.' The crowd? A wonderfully chaotic mix: teenagers, parents, tourists, couples, corporate teams—basically anyone with a tolerance for suspense and a friend group to test it on. Each game is private (thankfully), with a two-player minimum. So it's just you and your handpicked team—your ride-or-die, or your ride-or-let's-watch-them-panic. Inside, there's yelling, laughter, drama, high-stakes decoding, and the occasional existential crisis. You find out very quickly who crumbles, who leads, and who's just here for the vibes. Rules are strict: no phones, no food, no stilettos, and definitely no breaking stuff—even if the mummy room is really testing your patience. Abide by the playbook, and the reward is watching your team gradually crack something together—then scream in celebration when the final lock clicks open. It's the kind of experience that sticks with you. Between the logic puzzles, the adrenaline, and the high-pressure teamwork, you leave not just with memories, but a sharper sense of how your friends and family operate under pressure—for better or worse. So if you find yourself in Riyadh or Jeddah and want a stay that trades room service for riddles and bellhops for jump scares, Escape Hotel might just leave you wide-eyed, adrenaline-pumped, and wondering if you ever really knew your travel companions at all. Call it a stay. Call it survival. Either way, checking out has never felt so earned.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Patients speak out after thousands exposed to infection risk at Toronto gynecologist
Public health officials are warning some 2,500 people they may have been exposed to blood-borne infections at a Toronto gynecology office where medical tools were not properly cleaned. Toronto Public Health said in a letter to patients that during a four-year span beginning in October 2020, tools at Dr. Esther Park's clinic in the High Park neighbourhood weren't cleaned properly, resulting in a "very small chance" that bacteria and viruses could have been passed from one patient to another. Zahra Bakhsh was one of the patients who received the letter with the news that she could have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. "I was enraged, I think I spent most of the day in shock and I felt quite ill by the end of the day," Bakhsh told CBC Toronto. "I felt numb. I still do right now," she said. In a follow-up statement, the public health agency said it believes the risk of transmission is low but it's sharing the information as a precaution. The patients who may have been exposed had procedures, including endocervical polyp excision, endometrial biopsy or even the insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD). "We recommend that affected individuals consult with their health care provider for appropriate testing and contact us with any questions or concerns," it said. Amal Alsheikh, another patient at the clinic, said she was so distraught when she received the letter that she didn't go to work that day. "I was panicking, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't sleep," she said. Alsheikh went to her family doctor the next morning. Her blood tests came back negative, but Alsheikh said she was terrified while she awaited the results. "I didn't want to tell my family, because I didn't want people to worry about me." Now, Alsheikh wants to see the gynecologist's licence revoked. Doctor, clinic offer no response A clinic staff member told CBC Toronto neither the clinic nor Park would provide comment on this story. The office's answering machine says Park is retiring and no longer accepting new patients, and that the clinic will be closing in April. Dozens of Park's patients have shared negative reviews of the doctor online. CBC News reached out to the clinic but a staff member said they are refusing to comment. The office's answering machine says Dr. Park is retiring, no longer taking new patients and that the clinic will be closing in April 2025. (CBC News) The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) said it's investigating Park in relation to infection control issues in her practice. Further details on the college's physician register show Park's licence has been restricted since December 2024. "Dr. Park has agreed to restrict her practice to office-based gynecology," the CPSO'S website says. "Dr. Park will engage in professional education in the differential diagnosis and management of endometrial thickening in the asymptomatic post-menopausal patient, and medical record-keeping." Park previously worked with Unity Health, however a hospital spokesperson confirmed she has not been involved in any clinical work at St. Joseph's Health Centre since July 2024 and resigned from the hospital in December 2024. Patients still want answers Bakhsh's test results came back negative, but she still wants answers — especially now that she knows there are thousands of others like her. "I have so many questions. I hope someone does have access to her and can ask her how over the span of four years this could happen." "I want to see justice, I just don't know what that looks like," she said.
CBC
06-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Patients speak out after thousands exposed to infection risk at Toronto gynecologist
Public health officials are warning some 2,500 people they may have been exposed to blood-borne infections at a Toronto gynecology office where medical tools were not properly cleaned. Toronto Public Health said in a letter to patients that during a four-year span beginning in October 2020, tools at Dr. Esther Park's clinic in the High Park neighbourhood weren't cleaned properly, resulting in a "very small chance" that bacteria and viruses could have been passed from one patient to another. Zahra Bakhsh was one of the patients who received the letter with the news that she could have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. "I was enraged, I think I spent most of the day in shock and I felt quite ill by the end of the day," Bakhsh told CBC Toronto. "I felt numb. I still do right now," she said. In a follow-up statement, the public health agency said it believes the risk of transmission is low but it's sharing the information as a precaution. The patients who may have been exposed had procedures, including endocervical polyp excision, endometrial biopsy or even the insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD). "We recommend that affected individuals consult with their health care provider for appropriate testing and contact us with any questions or concerns," it said. Amal Alsheikh, another patient at the clinic, said she was so distraught when she received the letter that she didn't go to work that day. "I was panicking, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't sleep," she said. Alsheikh went to her family doctor the next morning. Her blood tests came back negative, but Alsheikh said she was terrified while she awaited the results. "I didn't want to tell my family, because I didn't want people to worry about me." Now, Alsheikh wants to see the gynecologist's licence revoked. Doctor, clinic offer no response A clinic staff member told CBC Toronto neither the clinic nor Park would provide comment on this story. The office's answering machine says Park is retiring and no longer accepting new patients, and that the clinic will be closing in April. Dozens of Park's patients have shared negative reviews of the doctor online. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) said it's investigating Park in relation to infection control issues in her practice. Further details on the college's physician register show Park's licence has been restricted since December 2024. "Dr. Park has agreed to restrict her practice to office-based gynecology," the CPSO'S website says. "Dr. Park will engage in professional education in the differential diagnosis and management of endometrial thickening in the asymptomatic post-menopausal patient, and medical record-keeping." Park previously worked with Unity Health, however a hospital spokesperson confirmed she has not been involved in any clinical work at St. Joseph's Health Centre since July 2024 and resigned from the hospital in December 2024. Patients still want answers Bakhsh's test results came back negative, but she still wants answers — especially now that she knows there are thousands of others like her. "I have so many questions. I hope someone does have access to her and can ask her how over the span of four years this could happen." "I want to see justice, I just don't know what that looks like," she said.
