The Refuge Climbing and Fitness

I went to The Refuge with a few friends, and the way the guy at the front desk treated us was bad enough that I think people should know before they go. I'm under 18, so my waiver has to be filled out by a parent. I was texting my mom so she could do it, which is the only way it can actually get done. He saw me on my phone, decided that meant I was filling out my own waiver and doing something wrong, and refused service over it. He never asked me a single question. He just made up his mind. That’s the part I could get over. What I can't get over is how he treated the people around him. He talked to me like I wasn't a person, just an annoyance in his day. He also talked over the woman working next to him, answered for her, and bossed her around like she didn't count. If someone treats a paying customer and his own coworker like that in one short visit, I have a hard time believing I'm the only one it's happened to - in both a coworker and customer.

N

Nibblez

via Google

Alot of fun routes and good temperature control. Good workout area as well. They had alot of different hang boards to try. The bathroom was very clean and had feminine products. The art in the bathroom was also captivating. There is clear focus on customer experience throughout the gym.

C

Caleb Karin

via Google

Walked into this gym and was immediately met with front desk staff that didn’t want to give me or my friends the time of day. Very passive and unhelpful. Signed the waiver just to walk around and check out the place cause I was actively hunting for a membership and was willing to pay right then and there if I like what I saw. Walked around the gym, there was a ton of bouldering and the setting looked like a great time with some good climbs. The atmosphere on the other hand was a different story. The whole place was filled with gym bros and the air was full of a testosterone and masculinity. Which is fine for some, just really not my vibe. I decided against it and went to Nevada Climbing Center where after checking out the vibes and the gym, promptly bought a membership. If you’re looking for a gym to spend your money at I would explore all options and take a tour of the place first before you do!

B

Brad Belikove

via Google

Edit 8/28/2025 I'm updating my rating to 4 stars. I been as though i was not entirely fair. These gyms are about the climbers and the routes they climb. Based on that alone it's a 5 star place Its when you add the other things that I mentioned that aren't really pertinent to the climbers did you have to start lowering the rating and even then I don't think I was fair when I took away two stars So I'm updating it to four stars but keeping an original review because that all still remains relevant I think i've been to the other places around Vegas (as a watcher, not a climber) my son says it's a lot more advanced. and pretty confusing at first they don't have the grades on the routes they have like a number and it's from 1 to 39 based on easiest to hardest. I don't know they said it was left over from a competition and they just kept it The holds on a route are the same color but they also use a color system for the difficulty and those two colors do not match. And the only place to find out what color is what difficulty is on a poster at the front of the gym. then they put the color on some tape and the tape on the starting holds. Sometimes they have to color the tape the right color to match the difficulty and that never matches the holds. This type of stuff might cause frustration for a newbie but for I don't think it'll be a big deal if you've already climbed a few times It's not very clean but I mean due to the nature of it and the nature of the sport it's not really expected to be clean. There are other places in vegas that are immaculate though. The staff is super friendly and there's a lot of camaraderie between climbers. It can be very intimidating for a newbie though I think. And the routes are higher difficulty than they appear One of the great things about this place is if you're not a climber just a watcher who hangs out with their climber there are seats at every single area so you can be sitting down in a bench close to your climber and record or cheerlead etc. however good luck finding an available seat which brings me to my biggest issue with the place It's a lot more crowded than the other and I mean A. LOT. MORE. CROWDED. at no point where we not almost shoulder to shoulder with somebody. there was an entire section of the gym that was standing room only. Based on the confusion of the routes and how packed it was I would say start somewhere else and only go here once you are comfortable as a climber then you won't have to deal with any of the issues

K

Kenton Anderson

via Google

Pros: 1. Grading is closer to outdoor grades than most gyms. The grades will feel stiff compared to most climbing gyms. 2. The staff are friendly and supportive. 3. Open until 10pm. 4. This is the closest climbing gym to the strip if you are one of the many people visiting Vegas on business, and you just need to get some reps in while you're away from home. 5. There is a small workout area including a moon board, tension board and some weights. There are also 3 auto belay stations if you bring a harness, but this is primarily a bouldering gym, so I would consider these more of a training perk. Cons: 1. Chalk is everywhere. I've climbed in gyms all over the US, and I've never seen a gym with a chalk problem this bad. The first thing I noticed when I walked inside was the chalk cloud in the air. This will undoubtedly cause many regulars to have chronic lung issues later in life. This place would really benefit from 2-3 chalk eaters. Also, chalk is layered so thick on some of the holds that it is sometimes hard to tell if you're on route if an adjacent problem is a similar color. These should be thoroughly cleaned on a more regular basis. 2. Layers of paint on the walls. It's peeling off in many places and scrapes off under your fingernails. It's clearly old and time for a renovation. 3. Unaware crowds. Like most busy gyms this place gets crowded. Unfortunately, people here just sit in crowds under overhanging walls limiting the useful climbing space.

A

Anna Suki

via Google

My first time at this gym and I absolutely love the settings. I’ve been climbing for 1.5 years and noticed some of the VB-V3 climbs are sandbagged. Not sure how beginners can even climb some of the easier sets! The gym has a training area and it’s so well used. A lot of climbers here don’t slack on training and you can tell because there were a lot of strong climbers on a schedule or had their training apps on! I personally enjoyed the treadwall because I don’t have this back at my home gym. I also appreciate the tension and moonboard and the different varieties of climb, especially the slab wall. Not sure if I would recommend this gym for beginners but if you’re more on the experienced side, I think you’ll appreciate the sets here.