The Refuge Climbing and Fitness

Refuge is the second climbing gym I have ever visited (first gym in Vegas) so there’s not much I can compare it to but I love it so far. The staff there is friendly, attentive to any questions I (or other climbers) may have, and when I’ve had issues in the past they assisted me promptly and professionally. Can’t complain.
The restrooms are clean, the weight area is organized, pretty cool place over all.
The mats are a little more stiff than the other gym I went to in California, but they do help break falls. I’ve fallen from the top and even after a couple of days surprisingly my legs aren’t hurting from it.
I recommend it.

I’ve been a member for 3 months now and really enjoy this facility. It is clean, fully air-​conditioned, and the staff is very friendly. They change the routes on a regular basis to keep the climbing fresh and challenging.

Love this place for bouldering! Had a membership here for a bit absolutely loved it! Family friendly, great environment for beginners. The staff is very good about helping climbers with difficult sections of wall. Plus Tue walls are constantly changing the staff is great about getting everything switched out.

Everything you could want from a bouldering gym. Super clean, comfortable layout, and interesting problems. Definitely worth checking out!

New, well maintained facility. They change problems (on average) by-​weekly, sometimes every week.
What I like most about of the gym is their friendly, helpful staff. They are very good at giving you points, they cheer you up, and are passionate about climbing. I started climbing as a complete beginner about 4 month ago, all by myself. I won’t be able to stick with this sport for this long without their help.
Highly recommend it.

This gym is new and well maintained. The staff is very helpful, especially if you need beta. They put new problems up all the time, and it keeps it interesting. Sometimes, though, the problems can get intimidating with the height of the walls and the crazy moves the staff will put in there.
This is an all bouldering gym, so if you want to do routes, try one of the others.

Unfortunately Refuge is my least favorite climbing gym in Las Vegas. Refuge is strictly a bouldering gym. I came here on the opening day and have also climbed here several times after.
First negative I encountered was my climbing group asked around the opening period if they would consider a punch pass option. My group consists of boulderers and climbers and since there is neither top rope or lead at Refuge we did not want to buy actual memberships here, instead we wanted to utilize a punch pass like other gyms have. The response we received was a curt no, as the gym wished to keep a «member oriented atmosphere.» They would never consider a punch pass option. Low and behold several months later, when Refuge was low in the profit margin, Refuge slashed prices, and… introduced a punch pass option.
Another negative, Refuge over inflates their problems (as a lot of climbing gyms do) meaning that they set their routes easier then reality. At Refuge, you can boulder V5s yet when you go out to somewhere like the Kraft boulders you can only boulder v3s.
Some more cons, more expensive than NCC, zero top rope, zero lead, zero auto belay. I also find the gym community/​atmosphere to be lacking compared to R2C2 and NCC.
Pros, there are some fun routes, Refuge does host bouldering competitions
This is my least favorite climbing gym in Las Vegas but I will return with friends for competitions and the occasional bouldering only days.

Awesome place with everything you could ever ask for to fulfill your wildest indoor bouldering fantasies.
The routes are unique, fun, and challenging with a range of difficulty allowing all range of climbers to find what they are looking for. The place is also enormous and super spread out, lots of seating, a comfy couch area, fully equipt weight-​room, and even showers.
The staff is also crazy helpful and they offer classes for beginners. Also free yoga class for members.
If your looking for a place to hone your bouldering indoors, this is your place! If for some reason your reading this review and have never climbed before, go check it out!

I’ve been climbing for about 20 years now and I have a «love/​hate» relationship with climbing gyms so my opinion usually isn’t worth posting on Unilocal.
What I like:
1. No ropes for kids to swing around on.
2. This place is NOT at day care center for soccer Mom’s to drop the kids off while they enjoy happy hour with their boy friends.
3. The climbing problems are sophisticated and have been set by someone who actually know’s what a V5 should feel like.
4. The height is a little too much for a drop so it keeps posers and little kids out of the gym. You may even have to down climb a little.
5. The employees don’t act like they know more than you and they don’t treat you like you’re a newbie.
What I don’t like: It’s a little more expensive so I hope they share memberships with the other gym in town for access. I wish they offered better deals for a full year commitment and I would like to see a retail section so they can sell Shoes, Chalk, and Apparel.
I think you should give this place a go if you need a place to train when it get’s super hot out.

this place was awesome. a variety of levels for everyone. be mindful though this is a bouldering center which means no cords to pull you up the wall therefore the walls are only 15ft rather than 35. also its difficult to find. the adress stated is on the main street but the building is actually on the alley off the main road.

An entire gym of rock climbing walls of varying difficulty, this otherwise bare bones gym is a great place for kids or adults alike to practice their rock climbing skills which is great exercise as well as training agility and hand eye coordination. There is one couch section for non-​climbers or resting climbers to relax. There is also a small gym area with free weights, a few exercise structures and a handful of machines (bikes, etc). There is a room for parties/​aerobics. The kids parties include climbing and eating for 2 hours during which the staff helps the children climb the large walls with safety equipment or the smaller ones without safety equipment. The children are allowed to climb or not climb as much as they want and they even play some games like monkey on the wall. They will be offering camps in the summer but pricing is not yet available. What keeps it from the five star level? there is not a lot of parent seating. Further the staff gave almost no assistance to the party by helping to round the kids up to eat or for cake. The parents had to do the work. There was also very little in the way of instruction or assistance offered the children who seemed reluctant to climb. Still the kids all had fun and it does seem like a good place to try!

We found this through Groupon. It is an awesome brand new place to climb. It’s clean and the staff is very nice and helpful. It’s mainly bouldering which is a technique of climbing without ropes. They do have one wall that you can use ropes, but this is mainly used for birthday party’s so if you want to use ropes you should call ahead. There is also a small place to stretch and work out before you start. If you just want to sit and watch they have 2 huge couches that you can relax on.

When I first heard there was going to be a new bouldering gym in Las Vegas, my initial thoughts were «cool…not going to be a good place to train, maybe check it out when it rains and the sandstone is soaked.»
Then I came into the refuge and my mind was thoroughly changed.
To call this place a climbing gym is to use a misnomer, it truly is a training facility. The offerings of fitness and yoga incorporated with VERY good route setting really helps push this place to what Las Vegas has long needed.
Within a week of opening, the number of local hardmen and hardwomen I have seen frequenting this place reinforced what I had already suspected: This place is awesome.
It has a very open feel to it, the walls are quite tall and downclimbing is an essential skill here if you value your knees/​ankles. Staff is fantastic as noted above, and most of the time they are wearing staff shirts. Most climbing gyms I have been to I haven’t been able to tolerate the ‘bro’ mentality and condescension many of the staff members have, that is absent here.
I agree that it is a bummer that vending machines are the only food/​drink options other than water here, also would be nice if they sold a few things like chalk and tape… but that is truly nit picking.
The owner is very active in the gym as is his manager, and both are very receptive to and often solicit feedback. Now if only I could get stronger so I could climb some of those V-​Thatisreallyfreakinghard problems…

Clean gym, friendly atmosphere, great routes /​problems!
I stopped by for a climb while on vacation and I couldn’t be happier with the decision. Here are some reasons why you should climb here:
Problems /​Walls:
Beginner — Expert throughout the gym… most gyms reserve the overhangs and slanted walls for more difficult problems, but Refuge has bigger holds throughout the gym so you can still have fun on seemingly difficult problems at only a v2-​v3 level.
Staff:
Justin gave me some beta on a few routes that I would have never figured out and the owner Jeff actually worked one-​on-​one with me providing advice on climbing technique. The two tremendously helped me advance the way I approach a problem.
Gym:
In addition to clean holds and new mats, Refuge also has clean bathrooms, water fountains, cubbies, couches, changing rooms, lockers, yoga room, and a complete traditional gym — they have it all.
Final Word: I wish this gym was in my neighborhood, my local gym doesn’t chalk up! (duh-​duhn – tshh)

In comparison to the two other climbing gyms in town (R2C2 and NCC)
Pros:
*TONS of bouldering routes from V0-Vcan’tbelievehowhardthatis with slab, overhung, really overhung, and upside down. Even when the gym is crowded, there are still plenty of spaces to climb
*the routes change regularly
*the work out area is a real work out area (running, biking, eliptical, and rowing machines that have plenty of space, kettlebells, dumbells, barbells, pull up bars, etc)
*a shower, changing rooms, lockers, shoe cubbies, super clean bathrooms
*yoga classes
*incredibly professional staff who wear staff shirts and actively monitor the gym
Cons:
*a drink vending machine and snack vending machine, but limited options and cash only
*more expensive (Day pass is $ 17 while RRCC is $ 15 and NCC is $ 14. Adult EFT monthly membership is $ 64 while RRCC and NCC are $ 50)