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Review Highlights
“I'd also like to commend Sparetimes on how clean the bowling alley is and how nice the lanes are.” in 11 reviews
“I don't like the price point for glow bowl its a bit expensive but still a good time.” in 5 reviews
“I had tried relentlessly to call the amf here in norfolk to see if they had leagues playing, lane availability etc but no answer etc.” in 3 reviews
Location & Hours
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Amenities and More
About the Business
Business owner information
Kevin M.
Welcome to Sparetimes. Sparetimes is a locally owned and operated full-service bowling center in beautiful Hampton, Virginia. We were established in 1960 and have been doing business since. Our facility features a full-service snack bar, bar, and lounge including pool tables and a game room. At Sparetimes, quality of customer service and the experience you have within our establishment is our personal goal with each and every customer. We are military friendly, and have great party packages for you. Come see what sets us apart from the competition and why we have truly stood the test of time. Call today for rates and information.
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Recommended Reviews
Overall rating
32 reviews
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1 star
- Kris N.Wenatchee, WA02Sep 7, 2023
A very family friendly place with good prices! They have a family meal deal which includes a 16" pizza and soda with your bowling for less than bowling alone at most places. The pizza was amazing and all the staff were amazing as well!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Sashae B.Brooklyn, NY5821May 4, 2022
It's wonderfully priced. The environment is everything you'd expect from a bowling alley [music, food, vibes, this one has beer and hard liquor ;) ]. The balls I believe go as low as 5/6 do it isn't heavy to bowl with. The parking lot is huge so that wouldn't be an issue. The staff is polite and all in all my Beau & I had a great time celebrating his bday.
Helpful 1Thanks 1Love this 0Oh no 0 - 17488542577Feb 18, 2019Updated review
From our first experience with this place two years ago, I think the service and quality has improved. We've come a few times just to play and have always enjoyed it, so when my son said he wanted to do his birthday party here, I thought, okay - let's give it a shot. Based on our prior attendance at a few, I wasn't sure how it would go, but we had an excellent experience this past weekend.
They offer a variety of party packages -- so depending on the bells and whistles you want, you can pretty much custom tailor things as you please. This apparently is key -- the basic kid's birthday only covers the kids bowling. We wanted both the kids and adults to be able to bowl, so we simply rented the lanes (each lane rental covers up to 6 bowlers) for two hours and added the shoe rentals, opting to do food separately. It was easier that way to order some pizzas to feed the kiddos and let the adults pick and choose what they wanted. They also allowed us to bring in some basic decorations and some cupcakes, which was incredibly helpful.
The staff was very helpful, getting the kids set up in the lanes. You can tailor per bowler whether or not the bumpers are on, which is fantastic. They also have the little dragon aimers that help kids from being frustrated. Several of our kiddos discovered a chat function on the monitors and basically started texting each other in between bowling with all kinds of silly emojis. Very fun. Everything moved smoothly and seamlessly and everyone had a great time! Honestly, the only reason I'm placing it at a 4 and not 5 is the quality of the pizza. Not terrible, but oy, did a number on the adult tummies later. Kids with stomachs of steel seemed to do just fine.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this as an excellent indoor location to have a kid's birthday party! The variety of customizing the packages is nice and there are many reasonably priced options compared to other indoor party locations.Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 0Business owner information
Kevin M.
Jun 10, 2017
I'm glad you had a chance to visit, Michaela, and that you found the wide variety of entertainment options fun and enjoyable. I'm sorry the food and service left something to be desired -- we'll do our best to step it up in the future. Thanks for the feedback and we hope to see you again soon so we can show you an even better experience next time.
Best wishes,
Kevin Morris, GMFeb 18, 2019Previous reviewWe had an excellent experience here for my son's birthday. They offer a variety of party packages -- so depending on the bells and whistles you want, you can pretty much custom tailor things as you please. We wanted both the kids and adults to be able to bowl, so we simply rented the lanes (each lane rental covers up to 6 bowlers) for two hours and added the shoe rentals, opting to do food separately. It was easier that way to order some pizzas to feed the kiddos and let the adults pick and choose what they wanted. They also allowed us to bring in some basic decorations and some cupcakes, which was incredibly helpful.
The staff was very helpful, getting the kids set up in the lanes. You can tailor per bowler whether or not the bumpers are on, which is fantastic. They also have the little dragon aimers that help kids from being frustrated. Several of our kiddos discovered a chat function on the monitors and basically started texting each other in between bowling with all kinds of silly emojis. Very fun. Everything moved smoothly and seamlessly! Honestly, the only reason I'm placing it at a 4 and not 5 is the quality of the pizza. Not terrible, but oy, did a number on the adult tummies later. Kids with stomachs of steel seemed to do just fine.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this as an excellent indoor location to have a kid's birthday party!Apr 3, 2017Previous reviewWe found this place over the weekend courtesy of a kid's birthday party we were invited to. Since it was during the day, I didn't get the sketchy vibe that others have written about, but I can totally see that being an issue late in the evening. I was surprised at how well kept up the inside is - it has some arcade games, pool tables, a bar with touch screens, and of course, bowling lanes. There's even a back room that some guys rent out to play a game where they build a bunch of cities. Something for everyone.
In terms of the kid's party planning, I wasn't terribly impressed with the service - everyone seemed incredibly bored and disinterested about working there except the lady who was behind the food counter. But it took forever to get food (an issue when you have cranky hungry toddlers) and then it wasn't good. I mean, similar to a Chuck E Cheese quality vibe. It's more about the fun games than the food, but it would have been nice to eat something that wasn't completely lackluster. Kiddo and I had hot dogs. Nothing to rave about, could have done it at home.
Overall, a fun place to burn off some kiddo energy, but if we go again, we'll do it after we've eaten elsewhere and just use our cash for the games. - Aug 11, 2017
I'd recommend this bowling alley...seems very family oriented. So on this particular Friday early evening, myself, my daughter and her friend visited this location for some bowling fun. About four months ago, I signed up for free bowling passes for the children and paid maybe $30 for an unlimited bowling pass for myself (adult) and this passes is made available to three other adults as well.
This pass would be super beneficial if we lived closer to the bowling alley or if I had a different work schedule. The bowling passes are valid Mon-Fri for the children listed from open to 7pm. So in my case, I am off at 4:30 pm and considering traffic, I'll make it to the alley about 6pm. As a result, that gives us one hour to bowl for free.
The passes are valid for two games/two hours and shoes are not included. You pay the cost of the bowling shoes or bring your own.
Nevertheless, I left work early on this particular Friday and arrived to the alley at 5pm. We finished under two hours and was able to bowl 2 games each. And for one adult and two children our shoe cost totaled a little over $6. A great deal overall, but I wish they included weekend or later hours...at least until 8pm.
The passes are valid a few weeks before the start of the Summer months until September. But it's so worth the cost and family fun.
This was my first time visiting this alley. It's pretty much hidden from the main street/highway. Therefore, it is super easy to miss if you aren't familiar with the area or cannot follow directions well. But once you're there, the outside appearance of the building looks super historic. And when you walk in it looks historic still. Of course we are used to the newer AMF lanes in Chesapeake, so to come here and see their set up, we were a little hesitant.
Well it was early in the evening and the alley wasn't packed at all. Plenty of lanes available and no waiting in line. The girls enjoyed themselves and order heavily from the snack bar menu.
Food from the snack bar wasn't too pocket friendly, but we were pleased with the quality and ate everything.
The alley has a bar for adults separate from the snack bar and I liked that.
The alley is small and it's very well possible they can fill up quickly.
Arcades games are available and the alley hosts several events as well as hosts parties. Party rooms are available as well.
Parking no issues. We left about 7:30 pm and guests started to flow up, but it still didn't reach capacity.
The alley is located maybe 5 minutes from the Hampton Town Center area and minutes from a Wal-Mart.
I highly recommend you invest in the adult passes and definitely sign up for the free bowling passes for the children. They have offered this perk every Summer. Again just make sure the times suit you all...before 7pm during the week. And call ahead to ensure there is space available. It'll be a real bummer to arrive at 3pm and league bowling is in progress.
Have fun and enjoy life!Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
Kevin M.
Aug 14, 2017
We appreciate your recommendation, Maria! It's awesome that you've had the chance to take advantage of our unlimited bowling passes. For quality entertainment and food, you can always count on us. We're so glad you all had fun on your first visit and we hope you'll come see us again soon.
Take care,
Kevin Morris, GM - Christina M.Chesapeake, VA67186237Feb 11, 2020
We hosted my son's 9th birthday party at Sparetimes! It was a nice package. For 8 kids, we got unlimited bowling for 2 hours, shoe rentals, food for the kids, and a bowling pin for my son. It was cool! We brought the cake in ourselves and they had a table decorated with bowling themed paper products. The screen was getting weird recording the kids' scores so they ended up giving us paper score sheets, which I dont know how to use. The kids enjoyed their food and we ordered pizza for the adults, which I enjoyed but others commented that it was too doughy. Overall we had a great time and my youngest son has already requested to go back for his birthday.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Josh K.Norfolk, VA1934323Apr 1, 2018
Had a group there yesterday for a charity event. Everything went really smooth and Spatetimes was really easy to work with. I'd also like to commend Sparetimes on how clean the bowling alley is and how nice the lanes are. I've been to other alleys in the area and after every couple frames we'd have an issue..... Not here. The snack bar was also efficient and fairly priced as well.
Kudos to Sparetimes and all the staff. Keep it up, you're truly a gen of a bowling alley.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
Kevin M.
Apr 2, 2018
Thanks for the feedback, Josh! We're so glad you enjoyed having your charity event here. You can always count on us for a great time, and we hope to welcome you back in the future.
Best wishes,
Kevin Morris, GM - Rose M.Chesapeake, VA782141720Jul 27, 2015
First time having been here and it was a nice experience. The desk is right in front of entryway so you get right to business with your shoe purchase ($3) and lane assignment and even put our names in for us.
Lanes are well maintained. Staff was friendly and helpful. Mid afternoon they were not busy either plenty of lanes available.
Kids summer bowling offered here. Kids bowl 2 free games (shoes are additional purchase).Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Laurena B.Central Newport News, Newport News, VA12712Sep 27, 2019
Went to SpareTimes for the first time, nice enough place. Got the fried chicken basket, which was decent enough, but by the time you finish it you feel gross. The curly fries were good though-- I should have just ordered those. I also had occasion to try... I want to say buffalo chicken pizza? It was a free slice from an event so I don't exactly know, but it was decent.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - James R.Portsmouth, VA124411Sep 28, 2018
I've been here twice, and I'm definitely going back. I worked at a bowling alley diner for 5 years. If I know bowling alleys, I would say that the demographic is the same. Bowlers are special people, and so are the people that work at the alleys. Their job is a lot more than just handing out shoes, taking your money, and spraying disinfectant in your eyes. They also maintain the lanes, the balks, and the facility. It's a community, and if you are a recreational bowler (every now and then) you may sense a sort of nonchalant vibe coming from them. Don't take it personally, bowlers are just particular people, and most are SERIOUS about the sport. You don't often find dedicated bowlers bowling at the same times we "recreational" bowlers bowl. Catch them during league time, and you'll see a different side of them, both employees and bowlers. I found that chatting them up a bit perks them up. Probably because everyone that comes there simply sees them as a "service." I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. Become a regular, and you'll likely have a totally different experience.
This place was cool, the prices weren't bad, and the food was decent and made to order, so it wasn't cold AT ALL. We had to wait for it to cool down, even the burgers! The value was pretty good before glow bowl, and really good after. Be mindful of small children during glow bowl, because some of the videos .Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0
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