It's tucked away in a basement, hard to find the door to get in. Once you're inside go down stairs to the alley. They only have 8 lanes, all crammed in, very crowded. Bowling is expensive for what it is. $36 per hour. It is prorated- that is good. It is NOT handicap accessible at all unfortunately. read more

This is such a cute little bowling spot located in the heart of Needham. I took my niece and nephew here yesterday and it was all of our first times doing candlepin bowling. When we arrived, it was super busy, despite it being only 10:30 am. The employee working there was very friendly and put our name down, saying it would be a 30 minute wait. There were comfy benches to wait on until our turn. When our name was called, we were given the rental shoes and headed to our lane. We didn't really know how to play or use their electronic scoring system. Thankfully, the employee helped explain it to us. It was very easy to use once we got the hang of it! I really enjoyed the bowling experience and the smaller bowling balls were easier to use than I thought they would be! I appreciated how clean and tidy and well run this bowling alley is! Parking is very easy in the free 2 hour lot behind! read more

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My kids (8 and 9) had an absolute blast candlestick bowling at the Needham bowl away. This is a unique type of bowling that is only available in the northeast. I had so much fun playing with them too. The pins are in the shape of a candlestick, and the ball that you roll is smaller and easily used by little kids. It's nice that you don't hurt your shoulder rolling the ball after several games. Lol. I can't wait to visit family in the area again so we can go bowling ! Be careful to watch your time, it can get expensive pretty fast. Lol. read more

Needham Bowlaway - Bowling Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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Very unassuming from the outside. Was a great place for the kids to enjoy an afternoon of bowling. It's small but well worth it to be able to bowl candlepin read more

I absolutely loved this place, quaint and cozy with a great retro vibe. If you're looking for a good time this is the place. Price is reasonable and it won't disappoint. Good for all ages! read more

This was my first time trying candlepin bowling and I can confidently say I'll be coming back again! My partner and I had a blast here. We arrived without a reservation on a Sunday afternoon and were immediately given an open lane. We were lucky because shortly after there was a birthday party which took up most of the other lanes available. This place is pretty small, so I'd recommend calling in advance, especially if you're a bigger group. We intended to play for 1 hour, which lasted 3 games for us. Everything was clean and well maintained. It's not top-of-the-line technology, given the sport itself, but it all functions well without the sometimes unnecessary bells and whistles. If you're looking for something simple and old-school, this place is it! We were also especially impressed with the price - with shoe rentals included it was about $35 total for an hour of play. read more

Needham Bowlaway - Bowling Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

The best place for candlepin bowling anywhere ive ever been. The owner is extremely nice and accommodating.

If you wanted to bowl just like how they bowled a 100 years ago, then you have come to the right place. I heard these candle pin bowling alleys exist only in New England and before they disappear, you must check them out. You would think the tech would not be up to the mark, but for what this place charges, it was very very well maintained. Wish they had food, but they had discounts to the nearby joints. It was fun!! read more

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I had nothing short of a great time last night at the Needham Bowlaway! Located right in the center of Needham, the alley is nestled down in the basement of another building. Easy to miss, but cozy once you're inside. We called ahead about an hour prior on Saturday night to put our names on the list for 8 pm. This is not a reservation, as I was mistaken! However, we were immediately able to bowl when we arrived. Each lane permits up to 6 bowlers. Lanes are prorated by the minute & once you hit one hour it is $30. A pretty easy bench mark to understand & so nice that this is per lane and not by the bowler! Pretty unique experience at each lane. You are in charge of keeping your own score, however, the technology and track pad used is smart & will move the cursor to however many pins have been knocked down. Really, not difficult! Each lane also shares a wireless charging pad which was an appreciated touch. The screens clearly labeled what time you started & then also displays the current time. I really appreciated that so no pricing tricks were thrown on us! Overall, loved my experience for an easy date night! We played up 3 games in just under and hour and only paid $33 in total. $3 per shoe rental & the prorated minutes for the lane. We will be back! Just wish we could BYOB! read more

Needham Bowlaway - Bowling Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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Cute place run by a very nice family. There are 4 lanes for customers and 4 lanes for birthday parties, so it is best to call ahead. I saw mixed messages about this in other online reviews, but I think calling ahead is important on weekends or when kids are out of school. The prices are very reasonable -- $30/hour, $3/shoes -- and they track the time really clearly for you. Very affordable and lots of fun. They have cosmic bowling, which is really fun. It's noisy with so many little kids in a close proximity, but energetic and fun. The lanes worked perfectly, the scoring worked perfectly -- we haven't experienced that at other mom & pop bowling places. Street parking is easy and free on Sundays. Highly recommend. read more

So much fun! Went as a kid and now bring young people! Very nice owner. Clean. Easy entertainment for an hour or so! read more

We've bowled here a bunch - mainly as a family or with friends, but also now for a birthday party. The owner is always there and is super helpful. The touch screens/scoring system (designed by the owner!) take some getting used to, but once you figure them out, it's an easy way to keep score! I also really appreciate that the system shows you how long you've been playing, so you can keep track. I like the black lights and music on Sundays (although it does make it louder and obviously some kids don't like them). And the coupon at Hearth is a really nice little bonus. I love that we have this awesome hidden gem! Let's keep them going! read more

I can see why bowling at the Needham Bowlaway is like bowling in a friend's basement. It is located down a flight of stairs in the basement of a nondescript red brick building. There's street parking and a lot with 2 hour parking in the middle of the block. 8 lanes of candlepin bowling, a petite snack machine, a petite soda machine, an off-set space for a table to be set for birthday parties, a changing table in the ladies' room... it was minimalistic, but fine for our afternoon of bowling needs. The Sunday afternoon Cosmic bowl look was quite fun, and the music wasn't too loud to talk over. The shoes we rented shined bright in the dark. After a bit, we figured out that each player would play two sets before the next player was to take their turn. The scoring was the manual pushing of buttons, and when someone got all their pins down in three balls, a cartoon came up to entertain us on the screen. $25 per hour per lane, even though they told us there was a 5 person max per lane, the scoring program allowed us to add a maximum of 6 people. read more

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First time went candle stick bowling and it was awesome! Steve behind the desk did a great job programming the software! Great time!!!

This place is very cool. Small and friendly, in a unique basement location. Keep candlepin alive!

Great place! You want respectable place to bowl this is your place! Great staff! Friendly!

We threw two birthday parties for our twins (7 years old) and the gang at Bowlaway was awesome. Super helpful. Awesome to the kids. Awesome to us. Makes me really happy to support such an awesome small business. read more

As the sign by the entrance says...Yes! It's a bowling alley! 8 lanes of bowling await after you descend the staircase. Funky colorful lighting and peppy music make for a great bowling experience. Pricing is by the hour (pro-rated to the minute, so no rip-offs). Many shoes are available for rental. read more

I just had my sons 11th birthday party here. It was fantastic. The kids all had so much fun. The party package comes with a delicious ice cream cake from Lizzie's Homemade Ice Cream (which we brought home). You have the option of bringing your own cake if you like. We also added on the pizza package which includes pizza and juice boxes for all the kids! All paper products, candles, lighter, cake cutting knife was set out for us as well as trophy necklaces for the kids. They also let you submit a playlist of 20 songs to lay during your party. Would definitely have another party here! Stress free way to host a kids party for sure. read more

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To complete a local family fun day, this is the spot. OK, I'm not local to here but at least some of my family members are. If you never been here before, you would have a hard time finding it even with a GPS. Maybe I'm just an idiot to just look at store fronts instead of the side of buildings to find the sign. There is a parking lot in the rear so no worries if the street parking is all filled. This is the first time I played Cosmo Candlepin Bumper Bowling. For the most part, I was just goofing off since I was playing with my nephews and niece. Fun times with family. $25/hr, which is prorated, per lane. Max 5 persons per lane; but they were lenient to let us add a 6th. It's best if you make a reservation because this basement bowling alley is only 8 lanes. The scoring is computerized but it's manual. Boo! I don't want to use my brain to add when I'm goofing off! read more

Needham Bowlaway - Bowling Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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I took my parents here on a cold Sunday afternoon in January. It has a great vibe - colorful lighting and disco balls and popular music playing in the background. There are about 8 or 10 lanes, and about six of them were in use when we arrived. They let you call ahead the day of, which we did, to "put your name on the list" for a certain time. The manager was really friendly and efficient in getting us our bowling shoes and lane with him 2 minutes of our arrival. It was mostly families with children (including a birthday party group with 8 children) athough there were a couple of teenage girls playing by themselves, and of course us who were all adults. I'd definitely recommend this place for a fun time candlepin bowling. read more

Pretty crappy when you call ahead, told there are 3 lanes open and to come on down-- there won't be a wait-- and then as soon as you get there 20minutes later there is a 20-30minute wait. It might be great if you live right in Needham and can make it immediately but otherwise they desperately need a better reservation system. read more

Candle Pin Bowling is Fun! Bowlaway is in the basement. They play fun music. It's dark. Black light. They have disco lights! It's awesome. It's fun for adults and kids. It would be nice if they had some amenities like: refreshments - anything. They only sell soda and the machine hasn't worked in the last couple months. How about selling bottled water? Negative star for no amenities and being somewhat pricey. read more

Bowling in a basement? In a word - YES. Needham Bowlaway has eight candlepin lanes tucked away under Chestnut Street in the center of town. If you can't find it, just look for the "Bowl" sign with the candlepin on the side of the building. Parking is in a town lot behind the CVS. I was really impressed by the attention to detail that the owners lavished upon this place. The walls looked freshly painted, the ball returns were in great shape (though I miss the foot pedal reset button), the pins were clean, the bowling balls didn't make my fingers dirty, and the lanes themselves were in excellent condition. They had some good lounge music in the background, which made for a casual vibe. And, the machines worked perfectly while I was there. The atmosphere makes an old bowling alley seem brand-new. The color scheme is sleek and modern. They have computerized scoring - specifically, they use the Compu-Score semi-automatic system, where you punch in the scores and it adds them up for you. They have bright orange house bowling balls, making a welcome departure from most centers' dark, drab house balls. And, they have an elaborate Cosmic Bowling setup that includes track lighting on the bumpers. The only clues that this place is old are the ball returns "outside the pair" (common in houses that used pinboys before the invention of automatic pinsetters), the huge urinal in the men's room, and the stairwell down from the street. But everything else is completely up-to-date, and the staff are friendly and helpful. I agree with the reviewer who said that the Needham Bowlaway is a "hidden gem". While small, the place is a testament to what you can do with eight lanes when you invest a lot of time and money to make things work. Stop in and enjoy! read more

Small place but decent for a local bowling alley. I am not crazy about it but its not horrible. The parking lot is a great size and there are plenty of food locations around the area. I took a kid i babysit there and then went to treat down the road. It was a pretty successful day! read more

I'd file this place under "hidden gems of the Boston Area" This place is tucked away and so easy to walk right past it but venturing downstairs it's a world unknown! Candlepin bowling at it's finest here. The place is simple, maybe 12 lanes with a scoring system from the late 80's (but trust me, that adds to the charm!) Very little room for spectators- it's a no frills place just meant to bowl. Games and rentals were very reasonably priced and I plan on coming back here again, soon. They sell soft drinks in a cooler but that's it. No snacks, no beer, just bowling. read more

My friends and I were looking for a bowling alley located somewhat close to the Atrium Mall because we were looking to meet with people later on there for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I googled the Atrium Mall and then did a search within that area for candle pin bowling. What I came up with was the Needham Bowlaway. I scanned some reviews and it said there was only 8 lanes but it didn't click in my mind just how small the place actually would be. I was just glad to find a bowling alley that was close to our destination. It was a little hard to find but my GPS was helpful. We found a public parking lot behind the building where it is located, so that was a plus. The bowling alley is kind of tucked into a brick building with a tiny sign and a narrow staircase down to what looked exactly like a friend's basement. I couldn't believe how tiny it was when I got down those stairs. I also noticed that we happened to come during the hours of cosmic bowling with lights and music. The place was packed and I asked the guys at the counter if there were actually any lanes open. They took a look and then said, "One lane is open." They then proceeded to tell us that each lane had a limit of 6 players. No wonder! The place was crowded and filled with kids! My friends showed up shortly after that and were also shocked at the tiny size of the alley. We waited about 10 minutes while the counter guys adjusted families so we could fit on another lane (not sure why they had to do this, but it was annoying to wait when they said there was an open lane). We almost thought about leaving because they didn't tell us they were adjusting other customers to make room for us! When we finally got a lane, we were ready to pay for shoes. but they told us it would all be paid for afterward. We squeezed in and bowled. We had to pay by the hour, so we got to work. I hate feeling rushed and sometimes bowling by the hour is a better deal but at this joint you really had no choice but to pay by the hour. One thing we noticed was that the scores seemed to be taken by a computer. Not that I mind writing down my own score but sometimes the computer speeds up the process--especially when playing by the hour. I was also surprised to see the computers in this tiny place. but upon setting up our names on the computer, we realized that we had to type in our scores when we bowled! So maybe the only upside of these computer score takers were that they saved paper. They also sometimes were hard to control if we had made an error. When we were finished with our hour we went up to the counter to pay the guys. It was really expensive to play! With all 4 pairs of shoes and the hour's worth game it cost just over 50 dollars! Unheard of! We knew how much it would cost but didn't really think much about it until it was time to go (and we didn't really want to drive to another alley). We all handed over our cash grudgingly. We all made a vow to never go back. From reading other reviews, I realize that this bowling alley is a classic, has been around forever but to me it wasn't worth it! read more

It's in the basement and hidden away, it's small, it's old. For some those are all negatives, for me that makes this place truly special. It reminds me of going to Coney Island Hot Dogs in Worcester, and stepping back in time! I just had my daughter's birthday party there and it was affordable compared to other options, especially for a large group. Every kid loved it, as did the adults! read more

Great hideaway spot for family fun. They offer birthday party packages and also dance party bowling. Great value. read more

Needham Bowlaway - Bowling Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars. It is perfect low key place to bowl with kids. My kids loved the lights and music. The only thing that kept it from being 5 stars was the bathrooms. The woman's restroom really needed to be cleaned, it smelled strongly of urine. If they fixed this it would be 5 stars. read more

You'd never expect to find a little bowling alley tucked underground in the middle of downtown Needham, but it's a fun and well used space. 8 lanes of candlepin, complete with electronic scoring, and a nice "birthday" celebration table. Staff is friendly and it's clean, perfect afternoon fun stop! read more

Needham Bowlaway is litterally a "HIDDEN JEM". It can be so hard to find, most people give up trying, but when you *DO* find it, it's worth the search! HINT: If you're at the corner of Great Plain Ave. and Chestnut Street in Needham, it's right next to Harvey's Hardware Store. Look for two white lights above a small doorway on Chestnut Street! The Needham Bowlaway opened back in 1917, and claims to be the oldest continually operating bowling alley in the Boston Area. It was on the verge of closing as recently as the year 2000, but new owners came in, took over, and saved the place! (Whew!) Modernization began in 2001, and was ongoing until early 2005 when the place closed because of a flood (this alley is OLD SCHOOL, and in a basement)! After seven months of rebuilding, the Needham Bowlaway returned to operation, now completely modernized. It has 8 lanes of Candlepin Bowling on one level. It has lots of free parking in the municipal lot behind the facility. The Needham Bowlaway has one of the best Glow bowling packages that the Guru has ever seen in a bowling alley! The place is so small, you'ld think you were in your best friend's basement, and they fill it with lots of dance lighting and music (with two big subwoofers!) and lots of glow-in-the-dark bowling balls. The place sounds like one the best clubs in Boston - without having to travel to Boston! When they're not doing Glow bowling, they're usually playing cool lounge music! The Needham Bowlaway is a "Family Friendly" place, but don't let that scare you away! The place is fun for ALL ages - even those as old as the Guru! It is a "true" or "honest" house that can play tough from time to time. They do not have a game room, or pool tables. They *DO* have bumper bowling for children. They *DO* offer "Glow" or "Cosmic" bowling - one of the best in the Boston area! They use computer scoring for the public. Needham Bowlaway is "smoke-free" read more

I went to the bowlaway when I found myself and son stuck in Needham for a little over an hour while my daughter was doing a dance dress rehearsal. I looked up places we could go, and this seemed like the winner. Like everyone said, it was very difficult to find, given that its in a basement and the signage is pretty weak. Use a GPS. There is ample parking in a public lot behind the building. The bowling alley itself is pretty sparse, pretty small and crowded. It hasn't changed in 50+ years, but that is some of the appeal. One we arrived, they had two alleys open, but there were definitely people waiting after we got started. The attendant was very careful to explain pricing to me, $25.00 per hour pro-rated to the minute and $4 per person for shoes. While some may feel this is expensive, we got 6 games of bowling done in about that hour, so about $4.00 per game. While not cheap, it is in the ballpark of what it costs these days to bowl. The days of $1.00 games are gone. The alley itself was small, seating for 3, 1 scorer, and 2 others per lane. The scoring is a hybrid automated system. It will keep score, but you must enter the # of pins. I was a little confused in how it worked to start, but got the hang of it. For my 7 year old, candle pins are more fun that 10 pin, and with bumpers, which were up all the time even for me ( its not a fancy modern system where they go up/down depending on the person ). My son had a blast, we killed the hour of time we needed to, and while not cheap, it was certainly worth the expense. I could see myself coming back again. read more

It is a great small place in the basement, family friendly - we had a lot of fun! No problem to get a lane on a rainy late afternoon, and kids enjoyed the small size of a ball, glowing light. The only thing i found negative was a bit of a moldy smell probably cs it is in the basement. read more

What a gem! I was a little worried after seeing some of the negative reviews, but we had a blast. I went with two other friends and we all brought our 3-year-old sons. It's perfect for little kids. They even have tiny bowling shoes as small as a size 6! It can be pricey depending on how many people are in your party, but when we divided the cost by 3 it was only $10 per person, which is pretty reasonable for an hour of fun. Everything was clean and there was no wait arriving at 1 pm on a Saturday. It is a little cramped, so if we had more families joining us I might have considered getting another lane. The location is convenient, so even though there's no snack bar it's easy enough to go to Stone Hearth or somewhere else for a bite to eat afterwards. I thought it was an adorable place. It's not the same experience as going to a Lanes and Games type place, but for bringing little kids, it's perfect. read more

We hosted our 7 year olds birthday last weekend. We had about 12 kids and 4 parents. The number was perfect and the kids just needed help a few times. All the kids had a great time. Lizzy's ice cream cake came w the package and we opted for the Hearth pizza too. Great time by all! read more

We can't say enough about how awesome this place is. We just had a birthday party there for our now 6 year old, and it was stellar. Steve was so great, and having the birthday kid choose a playlist to have going during the party was such a fun touch. Bowling followed by pizza with little trophies for each kid made for the perfect day. Thanks so much, Bowlaway!! read more

Rented the whole place out for a society event and it was great! I especially loved that it was small and cozy. Loved the lights and music, overall a very positive experience and would definitely recommend coming here for a fun time. read more

Hitting the Bowlaway to knock down a few pins is a weekly occurrence for our group. Wouldn't think of going anywhere else. Great people, fair prices, and always a fun time. Highly recommend you swing through. read more

Excellent to spend a family evening with kids, birthday parties, after school bowling. The owner is very friendly and helpful. Highly recommended. read more