First Bowl Nottingham Review

Great fun for all the family. Love the elephants that help children to bowl.

Issues with our lane and the "arcade" is very minimalist.

Needs upgrading!!!
The bowling alley machine broke constantly so we had to keep asking for assistance. He literally bowled a ball down the aisle and it loaded again but this 'failure' happened almost every time we had a turn. It would have been good value for money IF the machines worked.

Awful beer and tasteless food. Our lane broke down 3 times too. Nice staff though.

Tried to use money off voucher as instructed on leaflet posted through our door, but they refused to honour it saying the printers made an error stating book online then present on arrival. It is only valid for walk ins! I did try to ring to clarify but there was an issue with the phones. Girl at the desk unhelpful and pretty rude to be honest, almost as though this was a recurrent complaint...
All bowls are in bays so need to ask other groups if you need other weights/ finger sizes.
No coffee from bar and the machine I was directed too didn't work.

Enjoyed it alot.. Only downsides were it was very cold and couldn't find a ball that suited me, so the ones I tried were too heavy making it hard to play.

It is a nice friendly place but unfortunately the lanes kept breaking down. Food good but only a vending machine for teas and coffees

Currently having work done but the experience was fine. Great little bar area and good condition bowling lanes.

A lot of the balls were heavily damaged and there didn't seem to be a lot of selection of sizes. Also some of the pins didn't load, and the scoring was way off.
I appreciate it's a busy place but to be honest it could do with a facelift and some redecorating.
Saying that the bar prices were fair and the food was good, so have given it an extra star for that. Was a good night out which we all enjoyed, apart from the scoring

Today I went for the first time with my nephews. Firstly the booking i had made was not in thw correct name and the women on reception was rude when I was trying to talk to my nephew explaining what a sign said. Like I'm unable to read?! After paying the women took forever to get our bowling shoes while she talked with another staff member about someone else. And said to keep our shoes with us, when other bowling alleys do take your shoes?! The velcro on one of my nephews shoes kept coming undone, so I had to go back with them and change them. Altho no one was on the reception and couldntbsee any staff anywhere so I just sealed them myself. We were short on time for a booked table. Once on the alley we couldn't find bowling balls light enough for my nephews so again had to go back to reception and wait until someone turned up eventually. She told me balls were behind the reception?! Why not tell us that on arriving??? The lane barrier on one side was broken and the pins kept falling into the alley and again had to keep going back to the staff to fix the problem. After many times of this happening I didn't bother saying anything because I had to take my 3 and 6 year old nephews with me each time as they don't like being left alone. Then the machine stuck at one point. So had to go again try and find someone which I was told in a very uncaring way that I needed to bowl another ball to reset the machine. All in all quite a stressful experience at a very dingey bowling alley! I'd not go back again!! Awful awful awful!

Really needs a new carpet and a lick of paint. Was cheap for bowling compared to the other places, but it feels a bit tired and dated

Booking on website keeps crashing and Called 10 times throughout the day no answer at all.
You guys need a phone system!!

Bowling decent however

This bowling centre has been neglected for far to long,i fear for its long term future when the broadmarsh centre gets refurbished and gets one for itself.
Not a lot (decor wise)has changed since AMF sold this centre quite a number of years ago, the one thing that has changed is the lack of maintenance, bowling with your own shoes (which would be frowned apon by amf) this lacks professionalism by this massive centre which it used to have. Also taking food and drinks down onto the lane area shouldn't be allowed in my eyes which again has only started happening the last few years. Lots of the old AMF equipment is still being used today and you can see great effort has been made to hide or remove the logo around the centre and in doing so has made things look tacky and unprofessional . If you remove a logo replace it with the new name!! Theirs always something going wrong with the lanes and i dread if I'm bowling on lanes 23/24 always a problem... been going on since the early 00's.
The house bowling balls need to renewed
A better menu is needed in the cafe... and equipment by the looks of it... and now you have to get a coffee from a machine yourself not from the cafe area. !!!

The toilets are awful and not had an update...again since amf in the early 00's.

The staff seem disinterested and never tell you deals on prices unless you ask.

Over run by arcade machines, which seems to be the norm for these places now.

I feel sad for the league bowlers who expect high standards, but when you can tell the lanes haven't been oiled properly...what's the point.
Nottingham bowling used to be the place other teams feared visiting but now it's a laughing stock.
The whole place needs a good revamp which at the size of it I doubt will ever happen.

Please please try MFA you have ruined this place.

very poor quality.. need to spend to ba able to make money people... this place is very outdated and does not look like it has been decorated in 20 years... however it is still fun going and thats why its a 2 star from me

Poor! Pre-booked three games of bowling and paid online! All was fine when we arrived other than being told barriers weren't allowed to be put up because we weren't with children and adults have been damaging them. Started bowling and after first strike machine wouldn't register. Constantly had to reset the pins. Regularly didn't register a bowl so ended up having to bowl another one down for it to register. Kept on randomly dropping extra pins onto the lane infront of the set pins.

Worst part of all was the fact I cut my thumb on a sharp thumb hole on one of the balls that I hadn't noticed before bowling. I informed the management of this and asked for an antiseptic wipe and plaster. They didn't have any antiseptic items so could only offer me a plaster and piece of tissue. Following our second game my thumb was too sore to carry on bowling and we were fed up with all the errors making the scoring pointless! All we got offered as compensation was a voucher for the final game that we had already paid for but not actually played. I will be writing/emailing a formal complaint about the personal injury, poor equipment and all the other issues!

Very tried looking not much changed in 50 years still think they have the same balls

Good experience but problem with the lane and not enough staff to get help

A little dated and in need of a revamp. The pins needed reseting more often than not but still a good laugh and fairly cheap.

So much fun here and nice and friendly staff was so helpful and nice place for drinks and games

Lanes constantly kept breaking and pins not resetting. Expensive for what it is and not enough staff, especially on a Saturday night.

Disappointing trip. Our game was ruined by some constant technical glitch. I would avoid bowling here!

Fantastic place to go for a night out staff are so helpful

Good thing first. Even though we didn't reserve a slot, they gave us one after an hour. You have pool tables so you can kill time playing it. And bad thing ...bowling lanes are really bad. After few throws it won't work. Then it'll take their own sweet time to make it work. Again it went off and you need to change lane. And after strike you need to manually reset to clear lane.

Great fun.
The staff was helpful and polite.

After you have finished bowling they have a bunch of arcade games to play, a couple of pool tables and some coin pushers.

Very noticeable damages on the equipment, looks like an old bowling alley that has poor management, but the prices are understandable and staff is very helpful. Perfect location in the heart of Nottingham, it's always fun in there, although I suggest avoiding weekends as the place gets too crowdy.

The food was awful to the point I didn't eat it, all the barriers were broken or on the floor and all our balls had to be retrieved manually. One if the staff was aggressive towards us and a machine robbed me of 80p

We were on Lane 1 and there was so much wrong with it from not registering when a ball had been rolled to constantly having to manual reset, as well as pins getting stuck in the lifting mechanism. Not good.

I wouldn't recommend Nottingham Bowl. Countless times i had to go up to the desk and complain about issues to do with the lane. Not very clean and most of the bowls have chips and grooves so the bowl doesn't roll too well and i had to laugh when going for my first bowl there were no pins had to roll a bowl to get a set of pins down and it came up saying i'd scored a strictly. Anyone wanting to go bowling look around. Only one good Point not too expensive. No rating zero. And that rating is because i had to give one.

don't know what everyone else is complaining about, balls went down alleys and it was fine.

Nice enough place. You don't have to wear bowling shoes, which is a plus in my mind. Cheap enough. No complaints, but it's nothing to write home about.

Family day out, and really enjoyed it. Yes the place is tired and I need of a lot of TLC, the place needs a good refurbishment but the fun didn't stop. Had food which was fabulous, the lady made sure our kids got there's in quick time. It was good food for a good price. The video games were loved by all, if again not old. The bowling was fab. The balls or lack off were badly damaged. The stand for the kids to use was broken, but we had a great time.

My only concern was for the 3 staff who did there job more than well. 3 staff on a Friday at half term. Surely anyone can see that's not enough. Well done lady's our trip was very good.
Thank you

Much improved after the refurbishment of the bowling lanes. Good fun on a rainy day.

Things are getting a bit dated needs a facelife and equipment not functioning as well

Good fun as always, but a bit dated inside, could do with a refresh and a few repairs to equipmen

Lanes didn't work very well they moved us to another same issue

This isn't the newest place out there, but the lanes are fine and the atmosphere is great; cheap games, good beer and relaxed environment.

Changed lane 3 times because of technical difficulties, ended up leaving.

Only issue is there isn't always on the bar so you have to wait a while

Would be 5 but u have to have a child to have the bumpers up which so stupid I can play like that and that's my only complaint

We've bowled here regularly in the past. It's getting old, but so are we and we're only after a game for fun. Recently though it appears that the staff are getting as poor as the surroundings. But now we're getting sent emails with great offers, only they aren't actually available unless you meet the T&Cs that aren't in their emails or even on their website. Spoke to a 'manager' that couldn't access a computer or manage anything but be rude. Would definitely suggest Tenpin near Showcase for lanes, or Mansfield Superbowl for value rather than waste your money on these.

Been here a few times with kids. Last time on Sunday 31st Jan 16 it's not the best place to go but I like a bit of that. Wear your own shoes, chilled place. Nice staff. I come up from Derby to play. I suppose you get what you pay for. I'll will defo be back again.

It's still a good bowling alley, but it really does need some investment.

Good place to go bowling it is also cheaper for students

Terrible. The place is bordering on dilapidated. Lanes are broken, balls are in awful shape and the machinery constantly fails. You can understand the no cash refund policy. Avoid.

Great value for the two lads we supported here today. They had a good time.

Went with work. We had about 16 lanes on the go. My lane worked fine (lane 8) but there were reported issues on other lanes

Nice place, renovated, but disgusting music and super loud! You cannot even talk to your mate! You feel like in a club not in a bowling.

Not the best around but i have been to a lot worse. not as busy as some other bowling alleys which is good.

Old style bowling alley, quite a few arcade machines, staff very friendly

Always good fun bowling here. The place is looking a little tired now could do with some upgrades. There game/screen controls are temperamental/broken. There's not many balls available, it would be better if they had a bigger range. The bar has good drinks choice but is cash only. It is cheap though.

A cheap bowling alley. Bit grubby and run down so don't expect a premium experience.

Have bowled there for the last 30+ years and was going down hill but hopefully the new owners seem to be injecting new life into the place.

Avoid the place staff are rude and arrogant you asked for the barriers to be put up for them turn around and say you can't have them up because you have no kids with you which is pathetic every time we've been bowling anywhere else or even that place before when it was amf you could always have the barriers up whether you had kids or not. asked for a refund for them to turn around and say no you can't have one which is not right if you paid to do something without there being terms and conditions in clear view you should be entitled to a refund. there is no terms and conditions anywhere on show on any posters on the walls or around the till area.

Could do with some modernisation, but reasonably priced

Reasonable pricing, but catering can't meet demand so is very slow on busy days (most Saturdays), lanes are flaky to register balls, so you often get 3 shots rather than 2 per go, the selection of lighter balls for kids is very thin, and almost all of the arcade machines are geared towards giving tickets where you need hundreds to win poundstore tat. Good location though, and friendly staff. I'll still go back, I'm sure.

Some 3 years after taking over from AMF sticky labels still cover the AMF logo on signs. But the lanes are pretty flat and the machinery works most of the time.

Brilliant at nights they have DJ on so very good atmosphere, brilliant price compared to other bowling alley near showcase and drinks are reasonable prices so overall very happy with this place

Lanes are terrible, half the time they don't drop any pins or with pins fallen down.

Lane constantly broke, every strike broke down lanes 3 and 4. Dodgy area

This place is honestly a joke. The bar is cash only with a very minimal selection of drinks the score machines look like they have been there since the 80's, the balls are all chipped and the lanes are disgraceful.
When playing, half of the time we weren't getting all the pins, if you reset them then you would lose a turn and half of the bowls didn't actually register.
we reported the problems to staff who said that they couldn't do anything and that it was probably our fault anyway as we were likely using a ball that was too light.... We were using there balls.
definitely won't be going back again.

Expect no thrills fun. It looks like they haven't touched the decor in decades! Food is also incredibly average, as you would probably expect anyway but then some. Don't expect anything fancy at all but its fine for a game of bowling, I've always had a laugh here and its relatively cheap.

It's very tired and needs a serious overhaul. Our lane in particular kept getting the number of pins wrong on screen so the scores were all over the place!

In desperate need of renovation. Used to be awesome.

Out dated and I wouldn't recommend this BUT the prices are cheap.