Simply walking into the lobby for the new Holey Moley Golf Club at Irvine Spectrum Center offers guests an array of bright visuals, attendants at the ready, and oh yes, an actual golf cart.
Keep going right, and you’ll find a miniature golf haven, full of unusual sets — think the moon landing and dinosaurs — elaborately-themed cocktails and food.
Turn left and you’ll enter an entirely different but equally engaging scene at the Hijinx Hotel — a Wes Anderson-meets-Willy Wonka mashup of themed game rooms, karaoke space, restaurant and even a hidden speakeasy.
Bright visuals greet guests as they enter the lobby of Holey Moley at Irvine Spectrum Center.
(Jessica Peralta)
“We have a 27-hole Holey Moley with a stunning bar here in Irvine Spectrum, which will be our seventh Holey Moley in the U.S., and for the very first time [in the U.S.] we are launching our fantastic Hijinx Hotel, which has 15 challenge rooms, a stunning bar, a hotel lobby, a speakeasy and three private karaoke rooms,” said Blaise Witnish, global chief executive of Funlab, the Australian-founded company that owns both brands.
The two entertainment venues, spanning a combined 35,000 square feet, debuted Dec. 12 at the Irvine Spectrum Center, near the Regal theater.
Though the Hijinx Hotel looks and feels very much like a wacky, whimsical hotel, it isn’t a place you can actually stay overnight — though you can certainly stay for a while. Witnish describes it “at the intersection of immersive entertainment and social competitive play and/or competitive socializing. … It looks and feels like a hotel. It’s where you play, not stay.”
Visitors check in with the reception team at the hotel lobby where they might run into a “guest” in full white robe or a bellhop ready to tend to needs. Once guests get their room key and game time, they can head upstairs for the “elevator attendant” who will send them through to the rooms. Though not actually an elevator, guests walk through doors made to look like one. All the staff the guests meet along the way are playing a character.
“We have the bellhop, we have the reception team, so their uniforms are all within the character they’re playing,” Witnish said. “Then our hotel housekeepers are actually our games masters, and they’re responsible for really helping you set up.”
Housekeepers even have a cleaning trolley, with Hijinx-branded toilet paper, travel shampoos and towels.
Set designs at Holey Moley are varied and detailed, including this dinosaur.
(Jessica Peralta)
Hijinx Hotel’s 15 challenge rooms are made up of unique themes and game types — from an arcade room and sports room to a ball pit and many more. Three corridors house five rooms each, with players assigned one corridor at a time. Challenge rooms, accommodating groups of two to six, can be purchased in three different sets: five, 10 or 15 rooms. Each room is activated by the guest room key. Once the game is activated, players can keep track of their score on a screen. Each room can take anywhere from a few minutes to around 10 minutes to complete.
“Behind every hotel room is something truly remarkable,” Witnish said. “It’s completely unique and different from any of the other rooms. … One room can be literally a donut land ball pit to a hotel lodge, a holiday lodge that you would find at a ranch where you need to match food items to the crazy characters.”
She said there’s two rooms within Hijinx Hotel where guests can win items like stuffed animals if they get the highest score of the day. For those who don’t win, merchandise is available for sale, including hotel slippers like “crazy pink slippers” and donut slippers.
“We even sell our eye masks, [including] a googly eye mask, which is hilarious and super fun,” she said. “We sell crazy unicorn trophies for work parties, corporate events that are looking to give away a prize at the end of all the games for the winning team.”
According to Jack Kehoe, general manager for both venues, guests can book nine, 18 or 27 holes of mini golf at Holey Moley. Guests can take extravagant cocktails out on the course with them. Twinkle Toes, made with vodka, watermelon, lime and Sprite, is served in a “unicorn chalice, ” while Rub a Dub, with gin, Aperol, lime and peach topped with sparkling wine, is served in a “bathtub vessel.”
In addition to challenge rooms, the Hijinx Hotel includes a library area for lounging as well as taking in more entertainment.
(Jessica Peralta)
Kehoe said some of the mini golf hole designs were inspired by guests.
“We had a write-in from one of the kids who used to visit a lot,” Kehoe said. “They had a bunch of ideas for the holes.”
There are also some California-centered golf holes, including one with a “Holeywood” sign. Other include a pizza box with a pepperoni slice, a museum art exhibit and a haunted house.
Both entertainment experiences are designed for all ages, but at 8 p.m., they both become 21 and over.
“We have the ability to do that where a family at midday on a Saturday is going to have an absolute great time,” Witnish said. “But ultimately at 8 p.m. at night, you could enter our venue and feel like it’s very elevated, sophisticated, great for adults and heading to the speakeasy after you’ve played five challenge rooms … just feels like what a fantastic, adult environment.”