I took my granddaughter here as she was on spring break and they had a special for the week - unlimited games for $15.99 each including shoe rentals. They had plenty of kid size balls weighing 6 pounds each and the lanes were set up with bumpers for us. We played three games and loved it. The bowling alley is clean and organized and the staff was helpful. The location is easy to find and there is plenty of parking. Only criticism - they charged me $89.00 for two of us versus the special rate. I made the error of not getting a receipt but since I take pictures for Yelp, I was able to send a picture of the lane we were on along with the time and date there and give them enough details where they reimbursed me the difference. Lesson learned - check the total charged and get a receipt read more

Bowlero Durham - Lane with bumper - Arcades Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Came in today, front desk was so helpful. it's our first time bowling and we weren't sure how it worked. They charge $6.77 per person per game and a $5.99 shoe rental. Azariah was so helpful. made our experience extra special. We will be back ! read more

Bowlero Durham - front desk ! selling summer passes - Arcades Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I've been bowling here for a few years and have wanted to like this place, but twice in the past year, management sold the Horton Fun League's reserved lanes to another group without any notice, lanes we've been booked on weekly since September. To their credit, they did offer four consolation lanes this time, but with six bowlers per lane that's a pretty weak accommodation for a dedicated league that had been promised (and pays for) significantly more space. No apology or recompense was offered to the players who showed up expecting their normal setup, and we still had to pay for this cramped, subpar experience. The rest of the facility reflects the same lack of attention. Lanes outside of league nights are oiled infrequently enough that it's clearly not a regular priority, which affects anyone bowling casually. The ball return machines are rough enough to visibly damage bowling balls over time, the bathrooms are rarely clean, and the arcade runs at volumes loud enough to be a real concern for younger kids. None of these are unfixable problems, of course; they just haven't been fixed. It's worth noting that the staff are genuinely friendly and helpful, which makes the management failures all the more frustrating to watch. I'd love to see this place get its act together. It has potential, but right now, the management isn't meeting a basic standard of care for its customers or its league commitments. read more

I was visiting my sister and she took me to here to bowl. It was my first time ever, but it was a so much fun. Jasmin was especially welcoming and helpful. I'll make sure to visit again in the future. read more

First time visiting Bowlero Durham and it was a good experience overall. The place had a nice energy, lanes were clean, and staff had good customer service. Would come back here again. read more

Came on a Sunday night and it was busier than I expected! We were a group of 7 and were able to get lanes next to each other. The lanes were all very clean and plenty of bowling balls were available to choose from. They had music playing with only some of the screens working. We ended up bowling for I total of around two hours and had a great time! read more

Bowlero Durham - Arcades Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Fun spot to bowl. While in the Chapel Hill/Durham area, my family and I came to this Bowlero, which was a couple of doors down the hotel where we were staying. The atmosphere was very nice. Great customer service and the staff were very helpful. The vibe is open, with lots of cool lighting. It's huge and offers bowling, a few arcade games, food and beverages. Looks as though they have actually done some upgrades to the place like such as bowling areas with TVs, cool lighting and updated arcade games. This is a plus as to comparing this location on the outside. The building on the outside is a bit dated. In fact, we actually thought it was closed, judging from the appearance off the highway until we saw cars parked in the back of the building. Nevertheless, we had a ball. The whole family enjoyed a couple of games, good food, and drinks. Just like Bowlero locations around the DMV (Washington, DC area), it can get a little pricey bowling here especially on weekends but they offer a lot of promotional offers and Groupons that are much better during non-peak hours. Overall, fun spot, good for kids, groups and bday parties too. read more

See all

Inside was crowded as it was a Friday night. There might have been some event going on. All the lanes were full so we didn't actually get to bowl because the wait time was three hours. So my kids and I took advantage of the small arcade. They had fun playing the games. And the bartender saw my daughter, trying to win and gave her a squish mellow. Overall, it was an OK night if I was back in Durham and needed something to do, I would go again. read more

Poor, very slow and inefficient customer service. We had to do both check in and check out and we had to wait 30 min for checkout. Although there were 3-4 people at the counter, only one person appeared to have sufficiently independent and the others had to ask supervision of that person. The bowling system also showed many errors and mistakes that we had to ask for help. Cannot recommend. read more

Fun and hip spot in Durham for a friend or work bowling outing. What really stood out to me was how friendly the staff was, especially the young lady at the front desk. She was super accommodating. We had a group of 6 and made reservations last month but had to reschedule due to illness. The process to do so was extremely easy (handled through corporate). Our lane was ready upon arrival. I loved the vibe here and that you could order via QR code and have food delivered to your lane. Service was quick aside from ordering a beer, and it taking quite a while. I went to retrieve it from the bar and was told that the alcoholic beverage orders don't go through due to state law. There's a nice variety of bar-like food and beer/cocktails. I'm giving 4 stars vs 5 because I felt it could be a bit cleaner here, the sanitary rating was a little low for my liking, and the food was just okay. Also (not factored into my rating) but if you are coming from Chapel Hill and turning left into the parking lot, be prepared to wait a while for traffic. Otherwise it's in a great location! I'd go back here! read more

See all

Decent bowling experience but the wait and capacity is insufficient given it is the only bowling alley in Durham. Leagues and birthday parties tend to tie up lanes for most evenings and the lanes are reserved for hours prior to use for leagues preventing recreational bowlers from being able to bowl. Arcade is pretty small. Management staff was kind when we couldn't get a lane and gave us free game tickets which was appreciated. **Book online before going to avoid being turned away due to capacity restraints** read more

Fun place and great service! Pretty quiet on a Tuesday. Food was good and it's a good place to go with friends. read more

Had birthday parties for our teenager - lots of fun and great service!! They set up food and decor with thoughts and care! Food was great too! read more

If I could give zero stars I would. I have been bowling here for 20 years. The lanes have never been great, but the saving grace was the great staff who were lovely bowlers. For reasons I don't understand, they hired a new manager who had fired every single one of the existing staff who knew what they were doing and hired staff who know nothing about bowling. They can't even reset pins. The only good thing about this place is Chris the bartender. Save yourself the misery and go to Raleigh. read more

This place recently went through a change in appearance. They traded the booths for tables that are right in the middle of two lanes. This means that if you are coming here for date night or with a small group, you will be sharing a table with strangers in the other lane. Both of your parties sharing a table. The booths were further apart which gave you more distance with the other people but this just forces you to be close together. Also came here in the evening and the lights on half of the place are on??? Ugh, such a disappointment honestly. Everyone is so close together and it kills the vibe smh read more

Bowlero Durham - Arcades Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I had family in town for the holidays. 18 of the 35 people came bowling with me. Valero was very helpful and that I started an online reservation, didn't complete it, and they actually called me back to get everything in order... That was a nice surprise and very helpful. However, I was told that after the two hours, even if we were in the middle of our second game we would be able to finish that game without interruption. That was not the case... I had to ask people there to and three times to please let us finish our games And that way we can leave and make more room for other people that we're in line waiting to bowl themselves. Between the games/shoe rental costing $509 plus the food that we bought along with additional alcohol, we easily dropped $750. For that amount of money, I should not have to hunt down employees in order to get some basic customer service. read more

Gave us a Lane, and the area was completely dirty. Disgusting, wouldn't recommend coming here. read more

Bowlero Durham - Arcades Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

3 stars for the alley 5 stars for the staff doing their best with what they have. I'm a league bowler and have been bowling almost 40 years. The staff is friendly and I love that they brought in Bryson from Village Lanes but would be a lot happier to have him back in the pro shop where he excels in his knowledge and professionalism, I won't let anyone else work on my gear. The alley itself is comparable to others in the area, but overpriced in my opinion. Management also prioritizes parties over leagues and cancels leagues on nights they have reserved months in advance, this is a bad practice and if there were other options left in the area I'd bowl there instead. read more

I was here the other night for a relaxing night of bowling. I reserved online to beat the waitlist (reserve the lane day off... TRUST ME). I came in was greeted by (), we got shoes and a lane ASAP... Overall staff was GREAT. Bartender Chris made a great drinks. The Playlist was playlistin'.. The manager () did a SOLID and APPRECIATE IT MUCH. Definitely will be back again. Coming on a weekend night RESERVETHELANE read more

This past weekend I brought a group here and had a blast! Our group loved their time bowling and the food was delicious. Who knew that pizza and chicken fingers at a bowling alley could be so good?!?! The staff were great to work with. Thank you for making our outing a success! read more

This rating is for the practically unusable Groupons they are selling and horrible customer service. Bought one for six people, first tried to make a reservation and learned not possible with Groupon. Have to walk in and take your chances. This was related by a customer service number somewhere. Fair enough. Called the Durham store directly and asked when less busy times might be. "We are pretty much always busy." Asked what the typical wait time could be. "Two hours." League play all day Saturday. So, I am going to get 6 people together, drive 45 minutes, wait two hours (or longer?) to bowl for two hours? "Yes but maybe some day will be less busy." Totally insane. UPDATE: I'm updating this review from one to three stars based on our experience today. Even though I was told repeatedly, that between three and four on a Saturday, every lane would be full with league play, we took our chances with the plan of just driving over to the other bowling alley in Durham if we needed to, (who were much more accommodating on the phone) because folks had their heart set on bowling. When we got there, the whole place was practically empty. So, we were able to pretty much walk straight in and play. Everybody had fun. All the employees were very pleasant, despite being obviously understaffed because everything was very slow. They had great attitudes about it, though. Was definitely worth the price of the Groupon. Would not pay the $340 value the Groupon supposedly was. But fun was had. read more

I don't understand the three starts here. It's bowling. What are people expecting? It's a big bowling alley that's relatively clean, has beer and soda and video games, and everything worked. Auto 4-stars for any bowling alley that meets the standard. read more

Pretty decent bowling alley amidst a dearth of good lanes in the area, a little overpriced. I bowl here weekly for a league night and the best thing about this place are Bryson and a few other employees that moved over here when Village Lanes closed (I'd give them 5 stars). I wish Bryson were working in the pro shop because he is such an expert at drilling balls and working on gear. Bryson drilled my ball back at Village Lanes and I've never had a ball that fit so well. I'd probably actually visit the pro shop here if he were working there. Otherwise, there have been some equipment hiccups with the lanes, but the staff are always friendly and jump in to help out, usually in a reasonable amount of time. I also wish the business prioritized leagues more on league bowling nights, rather than catering to walk-ins and parties. read more

We were unable to make a reservation in person, being told we can only make the reservation online- which charges a $25 service fee. We wanted to also edit that several people had their own shoes, however online doesn't allow you to select number of shoes needed. When we showed up and thought our numbers might change we weren't able to change anything. Our lane tables were dirty, and the lanes kept "crashing" with having to go up multiple times for the lane to be reset, which eats at the 2hr timeframe we were slotted. read more

Went here last night around 9 pm. First of all the workers didn't know that they had unlimited bowling I guess it was lack of communication. The food had closed at a certain time and we didn't know that so we were a bit irritated and drunk because we wanted food. The drinks were good honestly. The energy was nice everyone was just having fun would go again. The wait time was a bit long because they had leagues playing there but overall a good night and experience. read more

a group of friends and I all bought fall passes and have tried twice now to bowl. both times we were told we would have to wait until 8:30-9 to get a lane due to the leagues using all the lanes. you can't make reservations with the fall passes so they said call ahead to make see if there are any lanes open. i wouldn't bother getting the pass unless you're able to go during working hours, or late at night. it's basically useless if you work a day job. not a great use of $40 :/ update: the email i received after reaching out to the email provided was an automated response telling me about the things i can do with my pass and recommended that i pay $15 more dollars for the premium pass. had absolutely nothing to do with my review lol read more

Rainbow league loves Bryson! He's super nice and does a great job. Hope he sticks around for next season! Bowlero as a company isn't great and we all miss village lanes read more

0/10 Came here with big group and a reservation and showed the confirming email only to be told by management that they had forgotten about our party and did not have any lanes for another 30 minutes. We waited just for the lanes to be full of garbage. read more

I cannot believe that I had to make a yelp account to post how terrible this establishment is. The management is lazy and unhelpful. I had went and asked someone at the front desk for some assistance or a manager and saw them attempt to grab them but ended up being shooed away by two male managers one black with glasses and the other white male with beard while both were at different areas on their phones. I was not going to make a review even with such terrible service from management but the icing on the cake was the fact that I had saw a manager go ahead and take food off of a plate before sending it out while actively chewing on it bare handed white male with beard. I wish I could give this area a (negative) -5 stars!!!! read more

This place is as bad as it gets and would not recommend to anyone. Unsanitary and poor service.

I used to come to this place all the time before the name changed. the Bar and restaurant staff are extremely rude. Flo has a terrible attitude and clearly wasn't in a good during my visit, which is unfortunate bc I was looking forward to drinking at one of my favorite bowling alleys. I was met with a condescending tone that made me feel like an unwanted customer and that left a sour taste in my mouth, so much so that I didn't go to her bar after the first interaction. read more

Overall a decent bowling place. Definitely overpriced, and more commercial than professional. The most legitimate thing about them is their employee Bryson, whom they hired from Village Lanes when it closed. They don't seem to have him working in the pro shop or anything though, which is bizarre considering his substantial experience. The place would improve significantly if they understood what they had in him. read more

Decent bowling, mid service. Could just be that they were busy that particular day, though we had to wait awhile for for an employee to fix our lane. Other than that, would definitely recommend for a fun outing. read more

Very expensive birthday party, with terrible food and extremely slow service.

Good place for bowling parties and open bowling. If you are a league bowler, you can do much better. Leagues here are low priority for service. An employee with a full cart of house balls rolled it across the approaches of the entire league during the 2nd game. Our lane was stuck - wouldn't provide a full rack. After notifying the front desk, over 20 minutes passed with no correction. Called the front a 2nd time and got polite lip service but no action. Fortunately, an employee of Bowlero bowls on our league and he took care of it. The other tech was attending to open bowlers. The league is only 11 weeks and required full payment in advance for all 11 weeks, so if you quit the league, you lose your money. I may go there for open bowling, but I will look elsewhere for my next league. If you need to order food, be patient... read more