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AMF Boulevard Lanes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
14 reviews for AMF Boulevard Lanes
14 reviews in English
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Review from N B.
North Bay, CA
8/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I hadn't been bowling in months, and finally decided it was time to drink beer, eat fried food, and throw a ten pound ball down a wooden lane again.
Went on a Friday and was shocked by how empty the place was... Maybe we were there too early (7-ish)? It was about $48 for three of us for two games each and shoes, and the guy at the front desk was friendly enough. Balls were all color coded by weight and well organized, which made it easy to get started.
My gripe with the place is with the restaurant. I feel bad saying it because the guy was so nice, but the food was disappointing, to say the least. (Yes, I know this is a bowling alley; I assure you my expectations were in line.) Our group had among us nachos, cheese fries, a quesadilla, and a burger. The nachos and fries were what you might expect: doused in pumped processed cheese. According to the menu, the quesadilla was cheese, chicken, guac, salsa, and sour cream. What I got was a grease-laden folded tortilla with a meat of questionable origin and cheese. I still haven't figured out what it was I ate.
Overall? I will definitely be back for some bowling and some beer, but I'll be sure to eat first next time. -
Review from Mimi C.
Petaluma, CA
1/22/2012
While this facility is clean and a nice local place to go, their customer service is BAD. I went in there one day with a couple of friends and all lanes were busy with league play. Next time we decided to go, I called ahead and the person on the line made me feel like an idiot for calling. We got there and they had available lanes and it was a decent time. I recently filled out their online form to secure a spot for my adult group of friends for my birthday party. I filled out their online form and didn't get a response so then I called. I haven't heard back from anyone and this is now a week later. I shouldn't have to hunt someone down to do business with them. Customer Service here sucks, plain and simple.
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Review from Fabiana D.
Kentfield, CA
6/27/2011
I hosted a friends 24th birthday party here and I must say, I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out! From the very beginning when I called to inquire about party packages both Mark and Marv were extremely helpful, friendly and willing to work with me to make the party a success.
When I arrived on the day of the party to set up, I was greeted by friendly staff and a clean venue, which is a big PLUS!! Every staff member that I encountered was pleasant, greeted me with a smile and willing to help out in anyway. I was able to set up the tables and put out all the decorations that I brought and it looked great!
EVERYONE at the party had a GREAT time! The birthday girl had fun and so did her friends, parents and the little kids. This is the perfect spot for a group of any age! We got the kids their own lane with bumpers and they had a blast! At 9pm they turned off the lights for black light bowling and that really made the atmosphere fun. Everyone was having a good time and they even agreed to turn up the music for us.
I have nothing bad to say about this place. It's clean, has a full bar, lots of food choices, but the best part was the staff and service. Simply amazing. I would highly recommend this place for a birthday party or any party, for any age!! -
Review from Cath y.
Santa Rosa, CA
5/30/2011
Took the kids bowling for the first time, and the staff was very helpful and patient when we traded shoes four times and the ball got stuck in the gutter once or twice.
Spent some time at one of the pool tables as well, and got to partake of both the bar and the restaurant. We'll be back with a group of friends, maybe on a night with reduced rates.
One thing about the bathrooms - the ones closer to the pro shop are nice and new, the one by the bar is old and barely stocked. -
Review from Sierra B.
Rowland Heights, CA
3/29/2011
Pros:
Clean
A lot of lanes
Decent food
Cons:
EXPENSIVE!
$6.50 a game and $4 for shoes!
Yes they have some deals but none of them are worth it.
Computer system and lanes are usually broken in some way or another. -
Review from Steffi P.
Novato, CA
3/28/2011
Worst. Experience. Ever.
We showed up on Monday $1 night, there were TWO people in line in front of us, and the counter person took 10 minutes to acknowledge we were there. Great start.
Then we only bowled 3 frames. 3. After the first two, the lane broke. We managed to get the pins reset but on frame 3, the barrier went down, and it never came back up.
So we hit the service button. And we waited. And waited. I went up to the counter person and let her know our lane was broken, and she said "Yea, whatever, be right there." And we waited. And waited. No one showed up.
The only saving grace was the referee cocktail/bartender girl. She was really sweet and she realized we had been sitting in front of a broken lane for 20 minutes. We asked if there was a manager available, and she said the manager was "on lunch" and "you don't want to bug her when she's on lunch." She finally got the counter person's attention. At which point the counter person hit a button and our lane was fixed. It took a half second to do...so why did we wait for so long? At that point we had already taken the shoes off and were on our way out the door.
We didn't even want to wait to get our money back. They can keep it. It's the last money we're going to spend there. -
Review from Aleta W.
Greenbrae, CA
2/5/2011 1 photo
I'm so sad this place has been ruined for me. I've been there several times in the past and had fun, but when the general manager is rude, it's hard to want to go back.
First, the waitress was rude at the diner, we couldnt even eat there, even though it was empty. Then after our lanes opened up, no one called us, we had to notice. Finally, to top it all off, the G.M. was extremely rude!
I don't plan on returning... -
Review from houston '.
Petaluma, CA
8/19/2008
After going a few more times I have changed my rating to a five star. I would say for just me it would be a four star but I take my nephew and he loves it, even when he bowls poorly. Keeping a kid happy for an hour or two isn't easy so I now rate it as a Five star venue for when I am watching him.
As far as alleys go it is clean, the music isn't too loud and the staff are all friendly.
I have now taken my 9 year old nephew 5 or 6 times, some with family some without. We go mostly during the week but have gone on a Friday afternoon and have always gotten more than attentive service.
One thing I can say about this place is that everyone employee I have run into is great. They know that mid-day is their slow time and so they aren't affraid to cut you some deals. On one trip they only charged for bowling and not for shoes. On another they honoured a coupon that was a few days old and even gave me some more coupons for the future. On another they didn't charge us for pool after we bowled. I like a place that knows where their future clientelle is going to come from...the kids of today. It is that kind of friendly service that makes it feel "down home" and makes me that much more likely to take my nephew back time and time again for a few games on a lazy afternoon instead of sitting in front of the TV. And with the rainy season coming up I bet we will get even more use out of it.
I haven't had their food or drinks since going there over 15 years ago so I can't claim to know anything about that but I do remember that the diner had decent food and the waitresses at the bar were very nice.
I would highly recommend this place if you are a fan of bowling and/or have kids. They are very kid friendly with lots of lite balls and small shoes. They even have birthday party packages where you get one hour of bowling and then one hour of cake/party/gift time. Your kid even gets his/her own bowling pin to take home. Not sure what the cost was but I bet it makes for a lot of fun for the kids.
Special note: if you have kids and want a ball that is lighter than 7 lbs you need to ask for it special at the desk. (These balls can't handle the same amount of beating as a standard one so they aren't left out but they have no problem lending you some for your kids.)
Their pool tables are what you would expect at a bowling alley but their prices are pretty good and the tables are spaced out nicely.
Also, their pro-shop, although very small, is very friendly. I needed an adjustment to the thumb hole on my ball and they did it while I waited and then didn't charge me for, even though I bought my ball at the Reno National Bowling Stadium. Nice! I like places that don't sweat the small stuff!
Other reviewers have mentioned things not working or not getting help but I have never found this to be a problem. Nothing ever works perfectly at a bowling alley (even at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno) but I am happy to report that any problem I have had was taken care of quickly and with much courtesy.
So, to wrap up I would say that they are pretty similar to most bowling alleys. You get better attention to your problems if you don't go at the busy times but since I go during the middle of the day or really late at night I never run into those problems. And if you do going in during busy times try asking the bowler next to you for help if it something having to do with the scoring computer...usually people are more than happy to help out where they can.
I think their service is great and they always have coupons/discounts going. -
Review from Kelly V.
Petaluma, CA
10/9/2011
I'll give 4 stars for the bowling alley. They are great at dealing with 3 year olds at 5:00pm but the restaurant is the reason for this review. I would give a -5 if I could. So this is possibly a weird gripe but after ordering 4 "entrees" at this fry hole my friend ordered a milk shake for our kids to split and when the gentleman brought them out to us in glasses she asked for plastic cups so that they weren't smashed all over (and someone possibly injured) and was told that "his boss wouldn't let him". Hmm that is weird - she did not understand this so she went to speak with her and she was a rude *&^$ (fill in your word of choice). She mentioned that we were lucky that she let us split the $6 shake in the first place and would not put them in a plastic or styro cup unless my friend purchased a $6 pitcher of soda. Even then she put the milkshakes in a cup size that did not have a lid on purpose just to be obstinent.
When we asked one of the workers at the alley who she was they said she owned the restaurant and that they hear about her being a jerk all the time. Why do you own a restaurant where you have to deal with people when you are terrible at it??!
Next time we should just let the kids break the glass on her floor and I'll say mazel tov as I watch her clean it up! -
Review from Simone H.
Petaluma, CA
3/11/2008
Yes Chris P., bowling alleys aren't what they used to be.
We also experience much "technical difficulties" upon our bowling endeavors. Though we are there on the slow sunday $2/game days so the speediness of assistance may be expidited in our case.
However, how can you beat such good clean fun? We always have a great time. If only the Orbit Room opened earlier. (Which it did on league day! Pitcher of Coors Light for the lot of us!) -
Review from Chris P.
Novato, CA
2/6/2008
This place has been more and more disappointing since the first time I've been there.
- The staff is young (mostly high school students it seems) and have to deal with big crowds of people and frankly they seem overwhelmed a lot of the time.
- The lanes are not in good shape, it seems almost everytime we get a lane it "breaks" in some way: the scoring system doesn't work, the pins don't always come back up... etc.
- When you ask for help it takes time (30-40 minutes sometimes) because the staff is already overwhelmed.
Anyways all of the above add up to some unnecessary frustration and wasted time which could be resolved by:
1) better maintenance on the lanes so that they work right off the bat.
2) better management, training and organization of staff.
Until the mentioned problems are fixed, this place will remain a sub-par experience. -
Review from Audrey C.
Santa Rosa, CA
1/30/2011
I am updating my review and removing my previous remarks and I will tell you why. After emailing the company about my less than ideal (shall we say) experience for my daughter's birthday, I received a really swift response from the head honchos of AMF and the manager of the bowling alley, Mark. Mark called a day or two after I emailed so I decided to just drop by the lanes instead of doing this over the phone. He was genuinely apologetic, didn't try to make too many excuses and really listened to my laundry list of issues. It takes a LOT for me to go that far to complain and it was really lovely to be received with understanding rather than defensiveness. Mark graciously granted me a partial refund which I requested. Really, that is all he needed to do. He also offered to have my family and friends back to the bowling alley to replace our bad experience with a good one. That is good management and that is just a good guy. Thank you, Mark. Good customer service is what it's all about.
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Review from Sonlay V.
11/29/2009
Place is alright... I been going to this place ever since I was little and the place hasn't really changed since then. Arcade is generic, pool tables are alright with alright pool sticks, food is okay, bar is limited, blah blah. Nothing really terrible to say, but also nothing really great to say. Only thing I can really give positive feedback about is their specials on Thursday nights. Besides that, eh...
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Review from Claire S.
Berkeley, CA
8/5/2008
I was really disappointed with the service. It was very very slow and everything is super outdated.
