BY JANELLE VALES-YASAY AND REINA TEJANO-BERIÑA
The spirit of summer is, no doubt, at an all-time high these months of July and August in Riyadh. While some of you choose to escape the heat in cooler places outside the Kingdom, those who choose to stay can still plan for an enjoyable and fun summer with these list of exciting indoor activities that are taking the city by the heat wave! At DQ Living, we know what you can do this summer!
GO TO THE MOVIES
The big screens of VOX Cinemas have brightened up Riyadh’s entertainment scene, creating great moments for friends and family to enjoy. VOX Cinemas is a well-known name in the region when it comes to movie entertainment. Since the inauguration of their first branch in Riyadh last year, VOX has been instrumental in bringing in a variety of Hollywood blockbusters and Arabic movies to Saudi Arabia. They have also diversified their branches to feature each of their signature cinema concepts: from fun and casual to exclusive and luxurious. Their range of services give patrons the option of choosing their kind of movie-viewing experience.
Booking for a ticket is done primarily online via their website or app but some branches offer on-site purchases should seats be still available. Their portals are updated every Sunday and Wednesday for upcoming show times and payments are accepted via credit/debit cards. Depending on the movies’ classification by the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), there are some limitations for children’s viewing. Otherwise, there are movie screenings solely dedicated to kids. The experience at VOX Cinemas has been a pleasing one so far. The service teams in particular are made up of young and cordial staff who man the concession stands and ticketing kiosks. The MAX and IMAX screens at Al Qasr Mall and Riyadh Park in particular stands out the most to me for its Dolby Surround Sound and 3D screenings, respectively. As soon as the movie finishes, the cleanup crew are quick to ensure that the theater is ready for the next batch of viewers. Owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, the goal of Vox Cinemas is to eventually open a total of 110 screens in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2019. They have already begun expansion in Jeddah and Dammam.
In the meantime, there are currently four branches in Riyadh, with more coming soon.
Riyadh Park North Ring Branch Road (8.42 km from the DQ)
4 screens total
Perks: Standard, IMAX and KIDS cinema
Ticket prices: SAR 50/Standard; SAR 60/IMAXAl Qasr Mall As Suwaidi Al Am (11.65 km from the DQ)
15 screens total
Perks: Standard & Premium seating, MAX with Dolby Atmos Sound System and KIDS cinema, Ticket Kiosks, Nutella Bar
Ticket prices: SAR 70/Standard-MAX; SAR 80/Premium MAX; SAR 50/Standard; SAR 60/PremiumThe Roof Al Yasmin (15.60 km from the DQ)
8 screens total
Perks: Standard and KIDS
Ticket prices: SAR 50/Standard; SAR 60/PremiumKingdom Centre King Fahad Road (5.91 km from the DQ)
8 screens total, private seating of 30 only per cinema
Perks: VIP experience, inclusive of fully-reclining leather seating, individual call buttons for in-cinema waiters, immersive surround sound, a Gourmet Kitchen with 24K gold-dusted caramel popcorn and signature mocktails for snacks.Ticket Prices: SAR 140/VIP 2D
Jump, Flip, Climb, Zip, Freestyle in One Place
Unleash your energy at the trampolines of BOUNCE, whether its with your gal pals or your kids – you’ll surely have a spirited time. Located at the Rawdah District, BOUNCE is a 3,500 square meter trampoline park with 80 interconnected trampolines, a dodgeball arena, slam dunk, cliff jump and a freestyle playground complete with a zip line, bouldering wall and spider climb. The vibe is bustling with bursts of laughter, groovy music and active people all around. Once you get your valuables stored and the special BOUNCE socks on, it’s time to literally, jump around! While it has been named as the world’s first female only trampoline park, boys aged 10 and below are still allowed within the premises. Their programs are diverse with highly energetic and friendly coaches that oversee each activity. Choose one and enter it based on your skill level. The Flight Academy teaches the use of the trampoline as a gymnastic sport; the Wall Runner course is an adventurous endeavor meant for adrenaline junkies and the Summer Camp is a specifically designed program for kids aged 3 to 13 years old that involves exercises and play time. The venue is a haven for group activities. They welcome corporate team building sessions, school trips and even kids’ birthday celebrations. A dedicated party room is available on the lower floor for food and festivities that can be organized by BOUNCE staff, with packages including the food, giveaways and host. Other than that, you can always choose to come with your girl friends, and bounce your day or night away!
BOUNCE (16.41 km from the DQ)
13212 Khurais Branch Road Al Rawdah District, Riyadh
Tel: 920006744
Opening Hours: 10: 00 AM – 11:00 PM (Saturday to Thursday) 1:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Friday)
Social Media: @bouncemideast
Website: https://bounce.sa/en/
Important reminders:
– Bounce Grip Socks are required at all times.
– Booking online in advance is highly recommended as sessions may sell out.
– Abayas are not allowed while jumping.
Line Up for a Strike
While video games have created digital versions of activities like bowling, there’s still a different kind of excitement (and exercise) that comes along with playing the real thing. So haul up your friends and family and pack some socks because here is a quick guide on where you can flex your bowling muscles for fun.
Strike Bowling Alley (1.95 km from the DQ)
Described as a “bowling lounge”, The Ritz-Carlton has managed to provide a bougie bowling experience with its six, well-manicured lanes set apart in twos. There is some festive lighting going on on the ceiling but the pin deck can use some form of light to be more visible. The couches are really comfortable and the juice bar at the back can keep everyone hydrated, for a price. Thursdays and Fridays are exclusive for families while rest of the week is open for all patrons. They also have a 100-inch TV where you can watch sports shows while waiting for your turn.
Rates: Minimum charge of SAR 120 per person from Thursday to Saturday.
SAR 50 per person per game from Sunday to Wednesday.
Opening Hours: 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
UBC Bowling (4.62 km from the DQ)
The Universal Bowling Center is one of the OGs of the bowling scene in Riyadh and also the largest. It has a total of 30 lanes (12 for the Family Section and 18 for the Men’s Section) and has been known to be the go-to place for many serious/professional bowlers. Regional tournaments have been held here for decades. The facilities itself looks a little worn down through the years and even the score sheet graphics are non-existent but its reputation precedes itself. They do offer additional activities like the billiards, table tennis, arcades, air hockey and some video games. They have an in-house restaurant that serves snacks and a Dunkin Donuts nearby.
Ticket Price: 25 SAR per person per game. Bowling shoes included.
Opening Hours: 4:00 PM – 1:30 AM daily
Marina Bowling (7.83 km from the DQ)
A smaller bowling joint beside the food court of Marina Mall, this space has seven lanes and a coffee shop nearby. Seating is very limited with minimal décor. Lighting is ample and the scoreboard is nothing fancy. While it was the first bowling alley incorporated inside a mall, it’s as simple as bowling areas can get.
Ticket Price: SAR 26 per person per game.
Opening Hours: 4:00 PM- 11:00 PM
Yalla! Bowling (11.65 km from the DQ)
This newest bowling spot is located at Al Qasr Mall, right beside VOX Cinemas. It has a total of eight lanes with a fun electronic score sheet that lets you take a selfie and animates it to various cartoon scenarios (whether you strike, split or spill over to the gutter). They have a spacious hall with lots of seating booths for you to enjoy their snack bar that sells pizzas, fries and a Starbucks. Background music is also being played so apart from the rolling balls, it may feel a bit noisy.
Ticket Price: SAR 35 per person for 1 game; 135 SAR for a team of 4 persons per game. Bowling shoes included.
Opening Hours: 4:00 PM- 11:00 PM
WiFi Bowling (15.82 km from the DQ)
They may only house a total of six lanes, but this bowling center in Ar Rayyan district is also home to several pool tables, an arcade, 3D virtual reality games and a two-level snack bar. It’s a quaint little spot where people can rent the space for their own personal tournaments or fun days. Lighting is pretty dim and would probably be more fitting for teenagers or adults who are young at heart.
Ticket Price: SAR 40 per person for 1 game
Opening Hours: 3:00 PM- 1:00 AM
Explore and Conquer Virtual Worlds
Here you are at a virtual world. The next level is upon us! Do you have what it takes to explore, play, and conquer? Prove it at the newest gaming arena in town… Zero Latency Riyadh! Zero Latency brings together state-of-the-art wireless technology and motion tracking to bring the next level of virtual reality gaming to you. You don’t even have to be a gamer to enjoy this free-roaming, multi-plater virtual reality game. Just gather your squad, wear the suit, pick up your weapon, and shoot! Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Zero Latency has been opening up their warehouse facilities in the Middle East and its recent branch is in Riyadh. Stepping into Zero Latency Riyadh immediately transports you to a futuristic dimension with its cool lighting and neon signs. Their social lounge bar welcomes with refreshments while you wait for your turn. Screens in the lounge show the action in the warehouse and also the statistics of players.
A briefing starts the adventure; the staff gives the dos and don’ts and off you go with your vest that’s quite heavy. Entering the warehouse means entering the virtual world. Once you wear the VR googles, you are going to get lost in a world of zombies and war. The experience is action-packed and mind-blowing! It’s 45 minutes of immersive fun with your heart pounding and adrenaline flowing while killing zombies with your group. In this virtual realm, when you move, the game moves with you. It’s amazing! It can also be quite hysterical when it’s your first time and you get confused and bump into your friends. You can also scream your hearts out! After the game, a debriefing follows and your scores will be shown. You can compare scores with your friends and also see who’s in the leaderboard.
Currently, Zero Latency has three games. The most popular is Zombie Survival where you must put down wave after wave of zombies with different weapon ranges. Engineerium is quote the fantasy world with its ethereal, ancient alien story. And Singularity will plunge you to a secret military space station where you fight with killer robots and rogue drones. You know what’s a good activity to release your pent-up emotions? This. In this world, you’re stanning and winning!
Book your free-roam VR experience now!
Zero Latency Riyadh (16 km from the DQ)
Salma Centre, 4210 Imam Abdullah Ib Saud Road Ash Shuhada, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Opening hours: 8:30 AM – 2:00 AM daily
Rate: SAR 70 per person
Tel: +966-55-392-8885
Website: http://www.zerolatencyme.com/home/
Drift and Drive at Doos Karting
Rev up your engines, fasten your seatbelts and hold that steering wheel tight as the excitement turns to full gear at Doos Karting in 3…2…1! The race track is abuzz with speeding go karts. Drivers are donning helmets and safety straps while completing laps and you could feel their energies are high. Watching them go gets me excited and eager to try it out myself. I was standing inside the huge racing hub of Doos Karting – the first electric go karting venue in Saudi Arabia. Their 350-meter indoor race track is located at the Hiteen District, and it is fully air-conditioned. The rest of the karts are parked at bay and plugged into their respective stations. Teams are required to register at the reception and await orientation for the proper go kart use and safety measures. Once everyone is suited up in their riding uniforms and helmets, the race marshals will guide each rider to their karts and then the most awaited countdown to the finish line begins. Each session goes on for 10 minutes and whoever gets the most laps within that time frame wins. To make things more photo-worthy, a title stage for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd placers are there for a chance to pose with the prize: a prestigious bisht wrapped over the champion. Doos also offer certified training programs with the Turbo and Pro courses for those who want to upgrade their skill levels. Of course, these come with age and height requirements along with exceptional speeding potential. It’s an activity that welcomes everyone. Men and children are welcome every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday; Women’s days are every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; while Saturdays are dedicated for the families. Promotional rates until August 31: SAR 98 per adult; SAR 85 per child aged 8 to 12 years old.
For more inquiries:
Doos Karting
8521 Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdula Aziz Rd Riyadh 13513
Tel: 920008311
Email: info@dooskarting.com
Website: www.dooskarting.com
Social Media: @dooskarting
Pick Up a Brush and Paint
Painting is a daunting task, yes, but why not start with a ceramic? Sit down, relax, and paint at Café Ceramique. Café Ceramique in Sahara Mall lets you unleash your inner artist, or at least your children’s. They offer a variety of ceramics from animal shapes to plates to mugs and even Riyadh landmarks like the Kingdom Tower and Faisaliah Tower. After choosing a ceramic, you then choose the paint colors you want to use for your masterpiece. Several brushes of different sizes are already prepared in each table. It’s quite fun to visualize the pattern you want to draw and paint. There are pamphlet guides that give tips for better application and effect. If you’re a kid though, just go for it. Sometimes, unplanned drawings and paintings make the most interesting artwork. The whole experience is very relaxing and calming. It keeps one’s mind focused at the task at hand. During our recent visit here, we chose a travel mug to paint and we painted for at least three hours without thinking of the time. We were lost in the moment and we enjoyed it.
Painting is an expression of ideas and emotions and even if we’re not pros, we were proud of our project. We felt like artists for a while. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a paintbrush in your life; everyone is welcome in this part art studio and part café venue. For kids, this will definitely keep them interested and immersed for a while. Yes, it can get messy but they learn a lot from this activity. The best part? It’s indoors and you and your children can paint to your heart’s content. While at it, you can also enjoy the sandwiches and drinks that the restaurant offers. It will take seven days to get your work of art because the ceramic needs to be baked and glazed. Return for it and you’ll have something you can display or use after. This is one relaxing activity during summer that you and your kids can enjoy. Apart from their branch in Sahara Mall, they recently opened a new one along King Fahd Road. It’s never too late to widen your imagination, unleash your creativity and paint.
Café Ceramique
Branch 1: Sahara Mall
Branch 2: King Fahd Road (opposite Riyadh Gallery) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Operating Hours: 3:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Social Media: @cafeceramiquesa
Outwit and Escape
These Rooms The clock is ticking! You have one hour to figure out an escape route with the help of clues. Your problem-solving skill is in overdrive, your mind is bursting with ideas and your heart is pumping fast. You and your friends have to get out of this room alive! Of course you do! Get out alive, I mean. But within the time limit, now that’s the challenge of an escape room.
Riyadh has seen the rise of escape rooms as the world gets introduced to this live-action team-based game where players unite to decipher clues, solve puzzles, and finish tasks in one room to accomplish a goal in a limited amount of time. Most likely that goal is to escape the room. What makes being stuck in a room for one hour with family or friends appealing? It doesn’t involve going out into the sun this summer! Haha. Kidding aside, it’s totally fun! It’s a thrilling adventure that lets players uncover make-believe worlds, especially when these rooms give life to characters that we’ve just read about. Take for example Sherlock Holmes, the fictional private detective written about by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the subject of Escape Arabia’s most popular room. In this live escape game, Detective Sherlock Holmes has been kidnapped. Players need to find his famous pipe to go to the police, “save” Sherlock and ultimately, escape the room.
There were so many challenges in this room that left us baffled and when we first tried it, we weren’t able to escape on time. We had better luck in their other rooms: The Taken Room, where one player will be locked while the others solve puzzles to free him, and Area 51, where conspiracies abound and players have to unravel the truth behind it. Break Out, probably the first escape room game in the city, also has a Sherlock-inspired escape room named after the detective’s address: 221B Baker St. Their rooms are sophisticated and well-thought of. The Secret Room in Othman Bin Affan Road also has their own Sherlock Holmes Investigation Office. But try something different and try their Jack Sparrow Warehouse. Play in teams of 2 up to 6 persons. Escape The Room, on the other hand, has all the excitement packed in their rooms Mafia Kingdom and The Prison.
Talk about literal “escape”! While these venues are already away from the city, venture further and find Escape Mission which features The Lab of Dr. Fizz where finding the secret blood serum of the mad scientist is a must to escape and The Joker Room that brings players to Gotham City. Ahaji, the newest establishment of this kind in the city, incorporated some Arabic flare in their rooms named Uncle Saleh and Pyramids. So many options, so little time! As a fan of mystery novels and the game show Crystal Maze when I was a kid, the escape room games greatly appeal to me. If it’s also your thing, you’ll definitely have fun with the escape rooms in Riyadh. Prices are around SAR 130 per person, depending on how many you are playing the room. The more of you, the lower the cost. It’s a great way to bond with your family, friends, and colleagues this summer!
Escape Arabia / escape-arabia.com / 7 km from the DQ Break Out / @breakoutksa / 9.78 km
The Secret Room / thesecretroomsa.com / 15.27 km Escape The Room / @escapetheroomsa / 11.53 km Escape Mission / escapemission.sa.com / 7 km Ahaji Escape Rooms / ahaji.sa / 15.11 km
