Architots

My son celebrated his birthday in May, so we had already gone to quite a few birthday parties for his classmates. I literally searched on Unilocal,Time Out Magazine, Mommie Poppins and NY Magazine for recommendations. Since he was turning 5, I wanted a place that «did all the work,» and kept the kids contained and entertained considering the weather is iffy in early May.
I’m extremely pleased with my entire experience for the following reasons:
1) Exclusive: you get the whole place to yourself, so you’re not stressing about the kids moving around, going to the bathroom, having to «watch,» your stuff, etc.
2) Instructors: There are two wonderful girls who worked very hard and professionally to ensure that I wasn’t stressed.
3) Theme: We chose the Construction-​theme and it was adorable. I went online can got my own construction balloons, good-​bags and a specail vest on Amazon for $ 14 for my son. I wrote all the kids names on their helmets so we could keep track of them and gave out name labels to all the parents too.
4) Lay-​out: The kids played in the front together, then went to the back to do two projects and boy were they quite. They all got a chance to get their face-painted…no extra charge. There was a huge table for the adults.
5) Food: I order sandwiches and salads from the deli next door and everyone was raving about how tasty the food was. The kids sat in the middle in a long table and they looked so cute. They had pizza from next door. Each kid got a cupcake and we sang happy birthday w/​a candle on my son’s cupcake. Make sure you have an accurate # of kids because there are no extra cupcakes provided.
5) Playtime: Once food and cake were over, the kids did games in the front play area. They had a toychest for prizes that each kid got. Very cute.
6) Front Desk: There was a table in front that everyone placed their gifts on and then I lined-​up all the goodie bags for each kid to take as they left.
7) Price: I thought it was reasonable vs. going to Chuckie Cheese, etc. It was my choice to spend extra on deli food for adults.
8) Unique: If you want a unique-​type party that it’s super loud, expensive or sketchty where your kids will really enjoy themselves, this is your place.
I can honestly say that the kids and parents all had a really nice time and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
There’s a sports bar and nail salon across the street, so I let parents know that they didn’t have to stay at the party. Some stayed, so did errands.
There is no other place like this in the 5 boroughs, trust me, I checked. Since it was my first «kid’s party,» for my son, I found that I was able to enjoy myself more because they took care of so much and I was less stressed. The kids had a blast and my son was beaming.
All of the parents were saying that they had no idea that the place even exists, so it’s worth checking-​out.
Good luck!

We had the Design & Construction party there and it was great! My son is very into art and building so this was the perfect party for him. The place is very nice and clean, the staff was great with the kids and very helpful! I would definitely host another party here and will recommend to anyone looking for a party place.

We had a great experience hosting a three year old birthday party with a Knights and Princesses theme at Architots. The staff was very helpful in the planning process which made it easy to make sure everything went well. The birthday girl and her friends and family enjoyed games, arts and crafts and face and hand painting. Pizza and cupcakes topped off the fun time. The party area was well designed and the staff was positive, helpful and engaged. Fun time for all!

This place is Ok, but something’s just a little off. I had my kids in gymboree and really liked it, but architots is closer to my house. In theory it’s great, and i guess it just depends on who’s in the group you’re with. I had great times and not-​so great times. Pros: Miss Sue tells a story that is worth the price of admission. She is fabulous and the kids just adore her. The structure for the tots is free play, story with activity, snack, and craft. Being the neurotic that I am, I wish the toys in the free play area were organized a little better. I guess it’s hard to keep on top of that. I also am not so confident they are cleaned. If a parent is not monitoring their child, there can be playdough eaten or other unsanitary things. Also if a parent is bringing their kid here to «learn» manners, it’s at the detriment to the other kids. Finally, there is very poor communication. More than twice I’ve gone on a saturday to find them closed. There was no notice the week before or during the week that they’d be closed. So that’s annoying. If this loosey goosey structure does not bother you go get a story read by Miss Susan — fabulous. I’ll probably go back to gymboree.