We, instead, got to have our work conference dinner and outing at the Wabasha Steet Caves. It was so cool! Well, the catered-in dinner lacked quite a bit, but enjoying it in such a historical and storied place was great. Getting the tour after dinner was awesome! Just wish the old speakasy would have been opened...

We did the Saint Paul Gangster Tour $40 per person (2 hours).  which is a two hour bus ride. It states that Our tour is the only one that starts at the historic Castle Royal Nightclub, a gangster hangout from the 1930s, preserved today as the Wabasha Street Caves. Let's be clear that you do not go into Castle Royal Nightclub aka the street caves. That is an additional $10. The tour could have started anywhere. My Uncle who is a Marine Vet , his son , and his grand son ( Army) flew out from NC to attend the Vikings.Cowboys game. We needed something to entertain them on Saturday and we decided the Gangster Tour sounded like a plan. we arrived at 11:40 for the check in as it recommends you get there at 11:45 so you don't miss the bus. There was a little building that had a sign on the door, ticket check in here with a big neon OPEN sign. We knocked for several minutes on this door and also tried the entrance for the Cave Tour. No sign of life. We got back into the car and I decided to call the number on the site. A woman answered and reported that she was the owner of the business. I started explaining our situation and she cut me off and went on a spiel that we were too late or too early for the Cave Tour. I tried to interject ( again and again) that we were there for the Gangster Tour.... the balance of the people in the car were yelling for her to STOP TALKING AND LISTEN. when she finally did listed to the details she mentioned that her husband should be on the job and that this is a problem... She rambled on for a few more seconds then we saw a guy come out the door of the Cave Tour entrance and stand there. I got out of the car ( keep in mind it was about 15 degrees and breezy outside) and asked him if he worked here. He said yes.. and I asked him if the room with the Open sign was in fact open, so we could use the facilities and maybe grab a pop. He told us there was bathroom on the bus but begrudgingly walked us over the shack where the bathrooms were. We then walked over to the bus and boarded. The last two people that boarded could not sit together and the staff made no effort to ask people to shift so they could ( It was a full bus). The bus itself had comfortable seats and were not too cramped. It also was comfortable temperature wise Each side of a row had a permanently fixed monitor hanging down between each two seat section. These monitors had two purposes. 1) To obstruct a lot of the view space as we drove through the neighborhoods. and 2) absolutely nothing. The entire tour was on the bus so it depended on you being able to see the sites from inside the bus. I assumed that part of the tour had video of some kind... but there was none. The tour guide was knowledgably and even humorous from the small amount of narration that I could understand. The audio was too loud ( I was a rock musician so says a lot). Not only was it painful volume wise, it was so distorted most times you could not understand what he was saying. I was going to say something but I was toward the back and assumed he would not be happy about my suggestion to hold the microphone a few inches away from his mouth as when he did this by accident, it was perfect. Otherwise it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher if she was a male and was performing in a thrash band. Overall it was an embarrassing experience . I feel that at $40 at 56 seats ( $2,240 ) per tour, they could spring for a bus that provided decent viewing angles and a reasonable sound system.

Ghosts and Graves Tour..not at all what we expected. This was more of a poorly written theatrical bus ride. Too dark to see the houses, the stories were difficult to understand, they were chopped up. The best thing was it was a brand new bus, but the windows fogged up making it more difficult to see.

We hosted a company wide party at the Wabasha Street Caves and had a wonderful experience. Prior to the event, the team was extremely helpful in coordinating for our group. For the event itself it was a unique experience that most of our staff hadn't seen before. We went on a very entertaining tour prior to dinner. The staff was very flexible and allowed for us to do some minor programming in the dining area. They even set up a microphone for us to use for our presentation. Highly recommend for other events.

The tour and guide were very good and had it not been for their attitude toward mask wearing, I would have given them 5 stars. We toured 12/27/2021. About 60% of the group had masks on. The tour guide did nothing about social distancing. Instead of being transparent and stating that masks are optional, heir website cited the city guidelines. When I asked why they did not require masks I was told because we don't have to. Clearly, ticket sales trump the health and safety of paying customers. They even had an employee outside on the curb in frigid temperatures with sign stating cave tours. The tour guide offered the group her flashlight to see the bullet holes in a fireplace, joking, I have had all my vaccine shots, like diphtheria, and laughed - no mention of the rise of Covid. The website stated the guides could accept gratuities, and she stated so as she ended the tour. But that was the moment I decided - no tip for you. My wife, son and his 8 month pregnant partner were with me. The virus is clearly not a priority with the company, so tour at your own risk! The only good thing about the group of strangers that those masked stuck together and those unmasked did as well. So, it was safe - no thanks to the company!