The Last Resort – Vancouver’s Most Immersive Theatre Experience
Tonight was the first time I visited the Waldorf, a tiki bar with multiple floors and plenty of nooks and crannies to hideaway in. I love how involved the theme was with beaded curtains, bamboo wall features, and light up palm trees. I wondered why I have never visited before.
Tonight. this would make the perfect backdrop for “The Last Resort – Vancouver’s Most Immersive Theatre Experience”. This is a repeat showing of this live theatrical show from years previous, but my first time at such an affair, and admittedly I was lost. So before you go, read my post for what to expect and some best practices, for the best experience.
First of all you want to read up on the storyline. There won’t be much of an introduction and this sets the stage of what you can expect.
The story goes “The Last Resort – a lavish tropical hotel suspended in time, hidden within the Bermuda Triangle, where escape is uncertain and every choice shapes your fate.”
“Set in 1971, The Last Resort strands guests inside a seductive purgatory paradise inhabited by unnerving staff and fellow lost souls. Guided by Tarot, fate, and free will, audiences choose their own path through an immersive world where time stands still and nothing is quite as it seems.”
“Seventeen performers animating two floors of tropical club lounges will guide you through an 80-minute immersive journey with over 200 scenes unfolding simultaneously. Will you follow the faded movie starlet clinging to her last gasp of relevance? The snooty concierge struggling to maintain order? Or the playboy convinced he can buy his way out of purgatory? You get to choose your own adventure at The Last Resort”.
The show was so popular on its original run that Dreamqueen Immersive has brought it back to Vancouver this February for an extended one at the historic Waldorf Hotel. We were invited for this preview and given the ability to take photos and record footage for the purpose of reporting on it. Otherwise there is a no phone policy, as to not distract the actors or ruin the storyline for future spectators. Similarly, you are told to not engage or speak to the actors unless spoken to, or to touch anything, as tempting as it might be.
I suggest arriving right when the door opens to be able to enjoy a couple of drinks and the ambience at the main bar. This is also where the fun and games begin for VIPs
You are greeted at the door by “Luna”, dawning a celestial crown and silver wardrobe to represent the “The Moon”. Beside her is “The Hermit”, wearing a shell as a more obvious connection to the name. Each character represents a tarot card with all the bartenders playing various “Cups”.
I recommend getting the VIP package for the perks and how it furthers the interactive experience with a scavenger hunt and prizes. VIPs are given goodie bags and their tickets include either two cocktails or three mocktails, plus their own table at the start of the show. Drinks are available at the main bar on the ground floor. I suggest arriving right at 7pm, an hour before the show starts to enjoy it and your table. The cocktails are classics renamed after the 7 deadly sins, to match the death theme. Sloth, lust, gluttony, pride and wrath. Your only mocktail option is a Shirley Temple.
During this hour you want to locate the “Sun” tarot card. She is dressed in yellows and oranges with a similar “sunny” disposition. If this is a cruise for those in limbo, she would be your activities coordinator. VIPs can claim their itinerary brochures from her. This is a catalog of games that you can choose to engage in. There are side quests to seek and find trinkets, some reward you with prizes if you are successful, others are the prize. There is also a scavenger hunt with photo clues and questions to answer that pertain to the show.
Only during the reception can you hunt for mini ducks, pet rocks, and mood rings; all of which you can keep. Here, there is also a game of chance where you can wind the crank and either end up with a good or bad fortune.
Guests are eventually invited to head downstairs, where they learn to do the hustle by the main stage. This does talent come in handy later.
From here it is a choose your own adventure, as you get to know and identify all the different tarot card players. You pick the one you like the most and watch their story unfold by following them. This we didn’t realize until much later in the story, and by that time we were already lost. You can easily get caught up jumping from one character to the next. Following the narrative of the one that captures your attention the most, briefly, but then you never discover what is actually happening.
The idea is that you are a fly on the wall, background characters that get to witness “reality tv-like”scenarios unfold. And by following one character from start to finish, it means that the experience is different each time you return to watch it all again, when choosing a different character to then watch.
A lot of the scenes are dance related with show elements like juggling and magic interspersed in between. Guests are given either a white or coloured lei to signify their willingness to participate in the theatre aspect. White means you rather just watch and not be acknowledged, while any other colour indicates that you are willing and wanting to interact with the actors, not that it is a guarantee.
Overall, this was a unique theatre showcase, and one that I not only never experienced before, but one I was not expecting.
For those interested in tickets the show will be run I h from February 1st to February 22nd, 2026. Every Sunday with two shows a day. There is special eerie addition and an extra special sexy show one midnight to look out for on Friday the 13th of the month.
For tickets visit the link below. I am also doing a giveaway for 2 VIP first class tickets on my Instagram page at @magmei, if you want to enter to win.
https://www.dreamqueenimmersive.com/
The Waldorf
1489 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC
