This isn't a flashy new wave bowling alley, but an old fashioned type. Nevertheless, we always have a GREAT time here. We are in our first ever league, a 1pm weekday starter. The staff is very friendly and the drinks are reasonable. They have a senior weekday special at $1.00 a game, call for exact details read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

I visited on Monday jan 19 at approx 10:30 am. Paid for 4 games. I lined up for my first shot in my normal position on the lane and missed my mark by 2 boards left, which would normally either still hit the pocket or maybe go high and leave a 9 pin. Instead, my ball took out the 7 pin clean. After 6 frames of attempting to get my ball to the pocket i went to the front counter and asked if there were any lanes with any oil on them. They said 'No, we are a dry house'. I went back to the lane and pulled out my dark blue hammer Efffect Solid, and cleaned it. Then i lined with the inside of my left foot even with the left gutter and threw my ball and hit the 20 board at the arrows. My ball never got right of the 17 board it hooked at my feet, and clipped the 7 pin off the deck. It came back without a spot of oil on it. I packed up my things and went to the front counter and asked to speak to the owner, who informed me the lanes has not been oiled since Thursday. I told her i could not practice lanes without any oil. I was never offered a refund for the last 3 games i paid for. I told her that if that is the way she runs her alley it was the last dollar I would ever spend there, at which time a younger mane with a beard behind the desk got rude towards me. He said 'it is part of the game'. To me bowling is a sport, not a game. And while adjusting to lane oil patterns and how they change is part of the sport of bowling. Dry lanes with no pattern on them at all is not. I feel sorry for league bowlers at this house who only get oil before leagues. They can never practice on lanes with any oil. I will take my business elsewhere and i highly encourage others to do the same. read more

Sunset is a step back in time. They haven done much to improve it, but they are more fairly priced than the competitors. They have a full bar, and COLD beer! There are many alley balls to choose from, not just a few. The managers or owners who run the alley are very friendly. The snack bar prices are very fair. Plus, you can rent a U-Haul here...seriously! read more

I love Bowling games and it's so fun to play with my friends and it was so good seeing! read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Cheeseburger - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

The whole staff is super nice and very accommodating, never met a better staff than here. Sawyer especially is super kind and personable. Would recommend to all my friends in the San Marcos area. read more

I'm attending a course that meets at this alley, which has quickly become my favorite class and bowling alley! Teri has such great energy, and her dedication to the facility is commendable. Not to mention, her coaching and advice have helped me bowl better and feel more confident in every aspect of the game. I've even decided to purchase my own gear at the pro shop, which is also a fantastic experience. While I haven't received my order yet, the process was easy and engaging. This place is a true gem in San Marcos, and I'm not looking forward to the end of this semester as my time here will be up. read more

Love to go here on student nights and on the weekends! The lanes are well taken care of and the management rocks. Thankful for sunset because I know we'll always have a good time! read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Such a great bowling place with a family feel. We went for the 1st time on a Saturday night at 8 with 2 families and, though it was busy, we didn't have to wait long for a lane. It looks like it went under a renovation recently and is really cute inside. The bathrooms were also updated and clean. The staff was helpful and friendly. We love to support local businesses like this one and will definitely be back again soon. read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Horrible place to go to bowl. Literally go anywhere else. The only saving grace is the nice bartender and the wonderful women behind the food counter. This place is not disability friendly. I'm a type 1 diabetic and chronically ill, and I have to have water and snacks in my bag just in case. I didn't mind buying food here, that's fine, but when the extremely rude male told me I couldn't have my water bottle no matter what. His tone was so rude, and they even took a ball from my friend because it was supposedly a child's ball. But it was the only one she could use comfortably, and when she tried to tell the man, he said it didn't matter and hid the ball behind the main counter. Ridiculous. $1 bowling and $1 shoes is a complete lie. It was a false advertisement. It was roughly $7 per person. What sucks is this is a college town, and they treated college students (some in our party weren't even college students) like trash. Go anywhere else if you can. read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

This place is awful - they sold my lane out from under me after i bought two games - they dont need your business apparently read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

I don't know what has changed with management but Sunset is not as fun when the older lady with thin hair is there. She seems grumpy with an attitude every time I try to get a lane. All of my friends and family hope Gary is okay and comes back soon because Sunset is not the same. read more

We had a great time and I love that you pick the amount of games and not the hours played.... You don't have to rush. The owner (or owners son) was so rude at the front desk. If it wasn't for him I would give 5 stars. He was dismissive from the start and didn't help us with any questions. read more

It was such a good time! First time bowler here and I absolutely loved it me and my date had such a wonderful time the atmosphere was great and the owner was friendly and welcoming shoutout Gary and his establishment read more

Good lanes won money had fun I'll be back and we are having fun bowling there it's awesome

Sunset Bowling Lanes is truly a San Marcos staple. The school district that I work for currently utilizes the space for weekly Special Olympics practice and they couldn't be more accommodating and friendly to our staff and students. I'm so happy that they are still thriving in the town that I love so much. I attended my first college class here over 15 years ago and within that time, I have gotten meet the family that owns it, Gary and Mary and there kids. They are awesome! Also, go to sunset bowling for college night, you won't regret it! read more

Nice bowling not a bad place. Can't reserve a lane which is kinda bogus. This biggest disappointment, no music. There is no music the vibe is bland and you have to PAY for the music! Scam much? Like this place would be 10/10 great vibes great time if there was some dang music. read more

I am not sure what to say about this place. We came here to have a good time bowling but happiness was replaced with a solemn feeling of sadness combined with nostalgia. It reminds me of a 1980s bowling alley. A 1980s bowling alley that reigned in the 80s, was a bit worn in the 90s, was ready to close in the 00s, and is clinging onto life support in the 2010s. The staff is nice. The beer was ok. The price was cheap. Now for the bad: The balls are wonky and chunky. The spare tire off of your car would roll better. They are in a word...destroyed. The place looks dirty and no matter how clean it actually is it will look dirty. The equipment is from the 1980s. It smells funny, the shoes smell funny, everything smells funny. The worst part is...you have to pay for music. Of all the inexpensive perks music would be it. Instead of at least playing some 1980s rock we have to suffer through the bone chilling grinding of age old machines that are pieced together by Wall-E's great grandfather. read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - 1982 Commodore 64 - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

I'm going to keep it simple: this place is lame and if there was an alternative bowling alley in San Marcos nobody would come here. The only reason for two stars is because it's the only regulation lane in town. No free music, if you don't want to play in silence then you have to pay to put money in the jukebox. Only people with Texas licenses can order alcohol... um what? Is that legal? And don't get me started on the rest of the concessions. Nowhere to sit while you're waiting for your turn. There are tables and chairs way back behind the lanes, but only 3 plastic chairs per lane.... it gets crowded real fast. Our group of 6 literally stood behind the lane the whole time. I never dog places out like this, but come on. It is clear that the owners do not care about this place. It could be sooo much better if they just cleaned up a few things. It's like they know they're the only bowling alley in town so they don't need to improve anything because the people have to come here anyway. I'd rather not bowl than come here again. read more

Back again. Still old and rundown. But what tops it is the manager? (owner?) spent more time on his phone playing games than anything else. He could have been cleaning the straw dispenser or the floor around the desk. read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - There's way too much to be done around here for this guy to be ignoring guests and playing games. - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

The owner, Gary, is very impatient and rude to guests. He purposely overcharged me for the games I was buying because he couldn't understand and do simple math. I was trying to follow his logic and explain what exactly we needed but was just getting more mad and impatient so I just paid whatever because I thought he was gonna kick me out for no reason. Also he stopped our game in the 9th frame and couldn't let us finish it. I was expect more patience or kindness from an alleged Christian read more

The owner of this place is absolutely horrible. The man at the front warned the lane next to us about wearing tennis shoes when bowling, but never warned us, he instead shut down our lane until one person put on bowling shoes(which smelled horrible and were practically falling off). Management is horrible and will never choose to go here if i decide to go bowling. The man also almost kicked us out for brining in a water bottle that had one sip life in it. Terrible bathrooms and the place is filthy. Would not recommend to anyone ever!!!!!! (the owner also hit on my friend as soon he had heard her name, waste of money, avoid at all costs) read more

Very rude staff when me and friends went a little bit ago on college night. The staff most likely thought the audience would not mind their behavior but I found it somewhat vulgar and quite annoying. The boys working the the desk were continuously cursing over the intercom for the entirety of the building to hear because I assume they thought it was funny. They were also calling out random lanes and offering them free beer if they made strikes which is cool if the establishment allows but I'm going to assume it's not permitted. They were also allowing bowlers to smoke cigarettes and a number of other things at their lanes, one party happened to be beside us and I went and told a man at the desk. He replied, and I quote, "I could do something about it but I really don't give a fuck." Now I wanted to call and tell the owner instead of leaving a review but before I could ask for their number, the girl on the phone said "they aren't here," and hung up on me. I've never had a problem the few times I had come here in the past, and I know the people that run the place are quite nice as I've taken a bowling class there. It's just the staff last night that created such an ugly enviornment. read more

Boyfriend and I were having a great time. We had literally just ended our game when another group showed up to play on our lane. I told the group "sorry y'all we just finished I didn't know people would show up so fast" they responded with "it's okay, take your time". As the boyfriend and I were taking off our bowling shoes the owner came by and grabbed our unfinished beers, we had not left the lane yet, shook them, and asked if we were finished with them. Basically forcing us off the lane a minute after we had just finished our game. We responded "no, we'll take those beers" and he said okay and passed them back to us and placed the trash can right behind us. The hospitality has greatly declined since I used to come here as a kid. No need to kick us out, essentially before our shoes have even been taken off. No need to be rude and try to throw away our unfinished beers away in the middle of us taking our shoes off. In all honesty won't be coming back, also they don't clean after every customer which was noticed after the immediate sell of our lane the second we finished. read more

I am so disappointing that we came here. It is extremely out dated, which generally I'm OK with but it was also filthy(definitely not OK with it). Also, we went at a slow period so there weren't very many people there but I was shocked at how expensive it was for one game (2 adults and a two year old). My husband and I both love bowling and we frequently bowl at a place in South Austin. We decided to try this place out instead one day and drove from Buda to do so. We won't be back. Lesson learned. read more

We opted to have my son's birthday party here. We figured it would be easy for my San Antonio family to come in and bowl. You could bring in pizza only. Other than that, no outside food was allowed. It was a $50 deposit. We were going to write a check when an older gentleman pointed to a sign that said, "No Checks". Gee, does your mouth not work where you could have just told me that? You had to buy drinks by the cup. You could not buy them by the pitcher, which was a bit silly. If you are going to make my buy drinks from you, why do you not allow me to buy them in a larger size so I can get drinks for everyone. I ended up using a water pitcher and grabbing cups from them. I even asked and the young girl looked at me like I was crazy for even asking if they had larger pitchers. I will agree with the comment from Blair A who said, "The alley doesn't look like it's been updated since 1984." That is so true. The scoring machines had faded control pads. You would have thought that you would put a little money into the upkeep of these lanes. We had issues bowling. The lanes got stuck. They had college kids running the place that looked like they knew about as much about running a bowling alley than I did. The bowling alley was non smoking; yet, I watched two guys smoking like chimneys in the Pro Shop. We were in and out in 2 hours. We have had birthday parties at a bowling alley in Austin that was much better. At that bowling alley, the party price including food, drinks and 2 hours of bowling. This place either needs to get some large pitchers so you can buy drinks, or change their policy and let people bring in their own food. You are already paying $129 for 2 hours of bowling on 2 lanes. What is ironic is I had family members bring in drinks from outside and they did not seem to mind. I about ran to the store to grab drinks for my guests. read more

Haven't been bowling since high school so I came in with no expectations at all. My friends and I all had a great time, very inviting staff. They do serve food and drinks. I had a pitcher of beer with my friends. Very casual, red Solo cups, cold beer, and and clean facilities. So many different kinds of balls to choose from, Lanes and equipment all was in great shape and pretty easy to use. Staff was friendly and laid back. I don't know enough about the sport to really say much more than I'll definitely be returning often, it was a very affordable way to have a good time with friends, and that I'm sure you'll also enjoy yourself. Games were cheap, beer was cheap, food was cheap (gonna try it next time), and I didn't feel intimated for being a total novice. 10/10 read more

Good company, loud music, asshole "DJ." I came here to celebrate my friend's birthday. We got there about 9:30pm and it was surprisingly packed for a Monday night. The night started off well, we were having fun and enjoying the club-esque music. But as the night progressed, the music got louder and louder until it was pretty much unbearable. And then this guy that I guess works there though I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would hire him, started harassing people over the loud speaker. He was giving out free beers to bowlers on a random lane that he picked who could get a strike. A couple people won and got free beers but we soon found out that they weren't the only ones drinking. Closer to the end of the night, he started verbally assaulting customers if they didn't get strikes. He even cussed at people and was just inexcusably rude. There was a police officer (I guess on duty?) that told him to tone it down but that didn't really help. We ended up leaving before we finished our last game. Although I don't live in San Marcos, even if I did, I wouldn't be returning to this bowling alley. At least until the pretentious prick is fired. It's fine to joke around and play with the customers to keep up the energy, but he was just annoying. He was THAT GUY. The only thing good was the price. $10 for one game for a whole lane. I guess here you sacrifice professionalism for cheap admission. read more

Sunset Lanes is a bowling alley not unlike other ones in small towns. The walls smell like smoke. The same family has owned it for years. The alley doesn't look like it's been updated since 1984. LOVE! Currently I'm taking a bowling class here for a PE Credit (called a PFW) at Texas State University. I meet Tuesdays and Thursdays with my class at 11 am and hurl balls down the alley in hopes of making a 110 average for the semester--let me tell you how much THAT is going to happen *shakes head* The place is outdated, but the lanes are oily and sensational for throwing that elusive strike. The shoes are stretched out and old like in most places, but you can remedy that by buying your own shoes (I bought mine online for $20 and I LOVE them!). Also, they do "College Night" on Mondays where you can rent your shoes for 50 cents and each game is $1, or on Wednesdays from 9pm-Midnight you can rent your shoes and bowl two games for $5. CHEEEEEAP. And, y'all, I loves me some cheap. read more

Love bowling at Sunset! The new lanes are super nice and consistent. Awesome staff and the owner is always friendly and accommodating. Just a all around great bowling alley (and we're picky about lanes). read more

Wow! They've really done a fantastic job with the renovations. New lanes, backdrops and did some work on the walls. Looks really terrific and the lanes are beautiful!! Same scoring system, but honestly I like the nostalgia of it. Would love to see a revamp on the bathrooms, game room and the refreshment bar with the counter and kitchen capacity (some new menu items perhaps), but all-in-all we're happy with the renovations. We'll done! The staff definitely seems happier too! Also, thanks for always having Zeiggenbach on draft. read more

I have been coming here for years, since back in the 80s when my parents were in a league and I'd spend time running to the arcade. Well, sad to say, looks like no one has cleaned or cared for this place since then. I came with a friend for a girls night and it was absolutely the worst. Our lane broke down THREE times, needing to be completely turned off, while the young unshaven dirty guy went to the back to fix and restart it. If that wasn't bad enough, the scoring board was wrong by at least a pin on EVERY FRAME, and needed to be manually adjusted. Talk about a pain in the ass. It would've been easier to just keep score old school style with a pencil and score pad. The place was dingy and there were actual dirty wet pink towels on the floors by the bathroom. Needless to say, we did not think it wise to try any food or drinks from their little cafe area. Can't even imagine how dirty the kitchen must be if the rest of the place was that neglected. read more

Recently renovated, this bowling center is awesome. I visited Sunset Lanes last week, and was very impressed with the experience. They have a cool retro feel, and once inside you will find new synthetic lanes, excellent equipment, super clean conveniences, great food, a pro shop and outstanding service. In addition, they try to separate kid/family bowlers on one side of the building, and reserve lanes on the other side for more serious bowlers. Automatic scorers and ball returns are a little old school, but they work better and have fewer problems than new facilities I bowl at. They have had open lanes every time I call, and I plan to bowl there quite often in the future. Highly recommended. read more

Sunset bowling reminds me of a regular bowling alley. Nothing spectacular here other than if you're a student on Monday's they offer $1 game night with your Student ID! Not too shabby for those of us on budgets. They have a jukebox that you can select music of your choice to be blasted in the building. Only down side of this, you better pick a good song or else you get "looks". haha! I guess one more con is that this jukebox desperately needs some updated song choices. The lanes aren't bad tho... I would love to maybe see some renovation done. Perhaps some glow in the dark, disco ball(after 10pm), big screens with music videos or something. Maybe even stay open later, 1am? I know I'm speaking money but I'm just saying, it could help. San Marcos is growing so who knows what may lay in store! read more

I came here for the first time with my girlfriend and her friends. I was meeting everybody so the game took about an hour for four people. Within that time, an employee came up and told us we should keep bowling because you're taking too long. About five minutes and 2 frames later, he proceeded to turn off our lane and tell us that if we were going to take our time then he was going to give our lane to someone else. It was absolutely horrible customer service. We paid for two games, and he wanted to cut us off half way through the first one. read more

I'd make it 0 stars, we paid $150 for 10 people to play and they ended our game early. Due to being closed. Someone said the only reason we're able to finish is because we're "crying" about it........terrible customer service at the end of the night, other than that the bartender was amazing I'd suggest going to Fiesta Lanes who lets you pay for the money to you spend no matter closing time. read more

I'm not going to get too much into detail, but this beer sucks. It's flat, and tastes bad. The small pitchers and large pitchers are literally the exact same amount so be sure to order a small because it's almost $3 cheaper.. read more

Sunset Bowling Lanes - I'm not going to get into it, but this beer sucks. - Bowling Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

My name is Greg Anderson from south austin, and I love sunset lanes... I play in a wednesday league there and drive to SM weekly to practice at sunset... the owner Gary does a great job hosting a fun bowling experience, with top notch lanes... the staff is cool, the food is great and the lanes have just been resurfaced. The league I am on is run really well too, its a fun place to be and the lanes are top notch. 5 stars from me.... read more

I love to bowl, even if I am no good at it. The whole being part of a team and tossing a ball down a lane to knock something out, just thrills me. I went here with my coworkers on our day off and had a really great time. However, I did not enjoy that smoking is allowed in the building. read more

See all

Place is a total dump, we took the kids to kill sometime. I took my bowling ball and we had to switch lanes 3 times bc the ball return system kept cutting gouges into the ball. The lady at front desk was friendly and kept sending me to the pro shop to have them buffed out, but if we kept sending it back at this rate I would not have a ball left to buff. Obvious issues; chipped cracked floor, Celling tiles falling out, urinals don't flush and wreak, bumpers are manual type and don't got up and down by player. Good experiences; lady at front desk and pro shop guy we both great to deal with. read more

See all

horrible. kicked me out because i "drank a beer underage" when i didn't. i didn't argue bc it wasn't worth it. absolutely horrible place. gross lanes. don't clean after each person plays. and also serve to people underage with some bar tenders. one of the bar people tried to start A fight because I called one of my friends a bitch and she thought I called her a bitch when I didn't. not worth the money. horrible place read more