Annapolis Bowl

Lets make this quick and painless.
This place is horrible, just like the entire city of Annapolis.
Rude employees, that half the time don’t respond if you ask them for help and a concession stand which was so dirty you ‘oughta think twice before eating anything coming out of there. Plus 45 minutes for a pizza when the place was near empty? Are you kidding me?
The scoreboard didn’t work right either, and the touch screen display to change the names and games would randomly turn off and reboot.
Make the smart move and just don’t come here.

I’ve never had a good experience here. The older women behind the counter are always rude. They make you pay for shoes upfront, but your games after the fact. I have bowled there twice, expecting to use free game vouchers for some of the games I bowled, and both times the coupons (which were valid) were rejected, since it was a «special» night. According to their calendar, every night has a «special», so I can only assume the coupons are useless and just a scam to get people to come and bowl.
Also, expect to be put right next to other bowlers, or between occupied lanes, even if more than half of the lanes on the other side of the alley are open. I can only guess this is to save them time cleaning the lanes at the end of the day.
If you want a basic bowling alley, this place will probably be good enough for you. I expect more for services I pay for, though, so I won’t be returning.

I used to come here as a kid and teenager. While it was great back then it’s a crap hole run by a bunch of money hungry curmudgeons now. We went as a family to bowl and paid for two adults and one child (he was 4) and didn’t pay for our 1 year old because we figured she wouldn’t play very much. Well we put her name on the game board and apparently that cost money to do that. No one had mentioned it to us when we paid for our games and shoe rentals. When we finished our games they came over and said they needed money for Evelyn. A one year old. Who bowled two times (not games) and was over it. They wouldn’t refund our money for the simple mistake that wouldn’t have happened if someone had shared all the details. On top of that their place smells like stale cigarettes. So if you’re into old grumpy ass people, this is the place for you. If you’re looking for family fun DO NOT GO HERE! Try Crofton instead.

My neighbor and I brought our kids to Annapolis Bowl today on their day off from school. We arrived a little after 11am and found out lanes would not be open until noon because of league play. It wasnt a problem for us. We figured the kids could play a few games in the arcade and we would order a pizza so the kids were fed and ready to bowl at noon. We ordered a pizza and asked if we could get a pitcher of water. The woman at the concession told us they dont «do» pitchers of water but she would see. We ended up getting a pitcher of water and a pizza but were told we could not eat in the bar area (which was completely empty). We found that there was an empty meeting room with a table. We went in there and when I went back to the concession to get a fork, the women told me we were not allowed in their. I asked here where she would like us to eat as there were no other options. Should we have just sat on the floor??? It was clear to us that we were not wanted anywhere in this building at the time. We finished eating in the meeting room, and cleaned everything up – returned the pizza tray and water pitcher and threw out the plates and napkins. I wiped up the table and it was about 11:50. We went to the desk and asked if we could rent shoes so the kids would be ready. The man at the desk told us we’d have to wait. Meanwhile our children were all well behaved and within 10 feet of where we were standing. NONE of the children ever went onto the wood bowling floor. However, the man very rudely told us that he couldnt have our children bothering the players. I’m not sure what players he was talking about as the two lanes on either side of us were completely empty. He then decided to «school» us on how serious league play is. While I’m not discounting how serious people take their Thursday morning bowling league, my children were doing nothing wrong and were NOT disturbing any of their players. We were looking for a fun day for the kids and decided not to give this place any more of our business and left without playing. I will never go back to Annapolis Bowl as this is NOT a family friendly establishment. A rude and cranky staff are never ok in my book. I will advise anyone I know to stay away from this place. If you are looking for a great family friendly bowling establishment, head to Crofton Bowl. We left Annapolis bowl and drove straight to Crofton Bowl. We asked if they had any affiliation with Annapolis Bowl and were told absolutely not. We told them of our horrible experience. They were so kind and friendly and even threw in free shoe rentals for our troubles at the Annapolis bowl. The kids had a great time and were shown respect which Annapolis clearly doesnt have. Bottom line, Annapolis Bowl treated us very badly and I would never recommend going.

$ 5 cover on Thursdays will let you bowl for $ 1 per game + $ 1 for shoes AND $ 1 hotdogs and sodas. Quite a steal!
Fridays and Saturdays are very crowded with families and teeny boppers sitting on each other’s laps. Night bowling is fun, if you want a nice semi-​sober time with your date or the family.
It’s the only place to bowl in the Crownsville/​Annapolis vicinity, so I have no other place to compare it to. It’s worth a try!

Regarding the bowling itself, it’s decent. Pretty standard. The employees here seem pretty upset with their job. I read a couple reviews before going and read similar things. Right when we walked in it wasn’t very clear where to get shoes and pay. Got a nasty look from some older lady. Walked farther in and saw the fat lady behind the counter get up and walk to the register after I was almost already at the lanes and confused on where to go.

Mixed thoughts on this place. Had a great experience with fun bartender and other employees that were entertaining and helpful. Had a bad experience with a bartender that was plain rude and confrontational for no good reason?

this place was fun! employees were friendly, everything was really clean, and they played fun music. went for a girls day — and we had a blast!

If all you want are lanes, bowling balls, and shoes then they have you covered but if you are looking for atmosphere, it is sub-​par. Now this is based on a weeknight experience, I hope the weekends are better but I don’t know. The food/​bar service was so slow (and it wasn’t busy) and the food was just awful! And I know bowling alley food already holds a low standard so maybe we ordered the wrong things, but don’t order the sweet potato fries or the chicken wrap! You’ll waste your money and have to wait foreverrr!
Better stick to safer items, like the nachos. Those were fine, since its just chips and cheese. And the music was just one country song after another. I would rather have more upbeat music or more variety, but if you love country then you’d be a happy camper. And they stopped serving drinks an hour before they closed which was also a bummer. So I gave two stars for merely existing as the only option in Annapolis but I have been to better ones.

The alley is clean, the staff is friendly and the shoes and bowling balls all seem to be in good condition. Plenty of parking is available. I enjoy bowling here… when I can get a lane. The last 3 times that I have gone, I have not been able to get a lane. Ok, I understand that they have leagues, but it’s so disappointing to walk in and see every lane empty waiting for the teams to show up in an hour or so. Again, I understand, it’s just frustrating that a non-​league person cannot go out with friends after work and expect to get a lane.
In an effort to avoid getting blocked out like we did our prior two attempts, a friend and I went on 1÷11÷2013 around 2:30pm to try to get a game or two in. That should be early enough, right? People are still at work, most kids are still in school and it’s a weekday. No luck. Apparently they had again reserved all of the lanes for a youth league. Sheesh! I have no idea of when to show up at Annapolis Bowl to actually bowl!
So just three stars.
Oh yeah, not that this is the fault of Annapolis Bowl, but making a left out of the parking lot can be a nightmare. You can stay stopped waiting for a large enough gap to pull out for several minutes.

Great lanes and all you can bowl after 9pm for $ 11

Went to a kid’s birthday party at the Annapolis Bowl and I was so impressed! I haven’t been there before but have been to MANY parties at the Crofton Bowling Lanes. Annapolis Bowl was a great, fun place for the kids! Loud, current music (the kids were dancing on the lanes), strobe and party lights when they turned off the main lights in the building. Great effect! The tables and chairs are awesome… comfortable and clean. You can actually sit right at the alleys and have your food and drink, which is much different from Crofton. The party package included pitchers of drinks, popcorn, pizza, balloons and a bowling pin that the party participants sign for the birthday kid. You bring your cake and they supply all plates and cups. I peeked in to the bar and it seemed nice and cozy. Bathrooms were very clean and maintained and friendly staff. I think the cost was $ 16.00 per kid, including 2 hours of bowling. The children had a blast, I bowled with some of the adults (oy vey), had some great french fries and iced tea and wished it was my birthday party, only sub out the soda for pitchers of beer! Perhaps my bowling would improve after a few alcoholic beverages…

It’s clean, it’s got a vending machine that sells socks, 32 lanes, friendly staff and, of course, super mediocre, but still delicious bowling alley food. (How does that make sense?! Whatevz.) I don’t know what it is about bowling alley food, but I love it. I think it’s because bowling is a physical activity and that makes you hungry, which makes food automatically taste better. But not cat poo. Cat poo, regardless of hunger intensity, still tastes like shiznitz. Don’t ask me how I know!!!

annapolis bowling alley is the best. It’s located on generals hwy (going to crownsville) on the right, just past the annapolis mall.
this bowling alley features three things you need a fun night of bowling–
1.A Bar–
the bar is open to everyone 21 and older. they sell pitches for a decent price with quick service and a good selection of mixed drinks (well for a bowling alley anyway). you can even take your pitcher with you to your lane.
2. A snack bar–
the snack bar is quick, friendly, clean and features a great selection from pizza, to fires, to chicken fingers to sandwiches.
3. a great monday night special–
at the time of this review, the monday night special was as follows: all you can bowl from 9pm to midnight $ 10 per person ($ 15 if you need shoes). ** don’t go before 9pm as the leagues are practicing**
great fun at a great price with great staff.

Out of all the bowling alleys I’ve been to, this is probably the best. And you can’t not like bowling, of course.